§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
What record they have of the number of United Kingdom subjects who have rejected citizenship of the European Union; and what arrangements they have put in place to accommodate their rejection. [HL4189]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanSince the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty "every citizen holding a nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship." (TEC Article 17.1). Because it is a consequence of their UK citizenship individual UK citizens cannot separately renounce EU citizenship. They can however choose not to exercise the rights that EU citizenship brings, such as the rights to travel visa-free, study, work, and retire throughout the EU; to live in any EU country, and take out a mortgage, open a bank account, claim free or reduced cost emergency medical care or vote in local and European Parliament elections there; and, in a third country where there is no British Embassy, to get consular help or protection from any EU member state embassy.