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, provided you have been registered to vote in the UK at least once in the last 15 years.
The Elections Act 2022 has committed to extend this provision to British citizen who have been living overseas for more than 15 years. However, this change is not expected to be implemented until Summer 2023.
More information will be published here when it is available.
How to apply
To register as an ‘overseas elector’ you need to complete an application form. The easiest way to do this is online (GOV.UK)
It takes just 5 minutes and you will need your National Insurance number. You will also need to provide a correspondence address abroad and a ‘qualifying address’.
Your qualifying address is the last address where you were registered to vote in the UK. You don’t have to have any relationship with this address anymore, we only use it to determine which register your name should be added to.
Once your overseas registration is verified, you are entitled to 12 months of registration before you have to renew it. We will send you a reminder when it is time.
How to vote
Overseas electors can vote in UK parliamentary elections only – you won’t be able to vote in any local elections.
Overseas electors have all the same voting options as ordinary electors, but are most likely to want to:
It is very important that overseas electors choose the method of voting that best suits their circumstances, and you should contact Electoral Services if you’re not sure which method to choose.
Last updated: 09/05/2023 11:25
