Voting from abroad
Overview
About voting from abroad
If you are a British citizen living abroad, you are entitled to vote in UK Parliamentary elections, regardless of how long you have lived outside the UK.
To do this, you must register as an overseas elector. Your registration will last for three years, before you will need to renew.
To be eligible to register, you must:
- Be a British citizen (including Irish citizens born in Northern Ireland, and citizens of Crown Dependencies)
- Have been previously registered to vote or previously resident at an address in the UK
How to apply
To register as an overseas elector, you must complete an application. The easiest way to do this is online (GOV.UK)
You’ll need to provide your overseas address, as well as the last address in the UK where you were registered to vote or resident.
You don’t need to have a relationship with your last UK address. It is used to work out where you will be included on the electoral register and where your vote will count. This is called a qualifying address, and we do not send any correspondence there.
How to vote
Once you’ve registered to vote as an overseas elector, you must apply for an absent vote, unless you intend to return to the UK to vote in person.
There are two types of absent vote. Click the links below to find out more about each type and how to apply for them:
Last updated: 20/05/2026 17:06
