Register to vote as an overseas elector

A change to the law is now in force affecting British citizens living overseas. There will no longer be a 15 year limit on voting rights, and the registration period will change.

If you are a UK citizen living abroad, you can apply to be an overseas elector. This means you can cast your vote in UK elections and referendums while still living in another country.

Register as an overseas elector

You can register to be an overseas elector using the online form below.

To complete your registration, you will need to provide your:

full name
address
date of birth
National Insurance number.

You may also need your passport details.

Find out more about National Insurance numbers on the GOV.UK website.

Who can be an overseas elector

You can use this service to register to vote, or to renew or update your registration. British and eligible Irish citizens living overseas can register to vote in the UK no matter how long ago they left or were last registered to vote in the UK.

Any British citizen living abroad who has previously lived in, or been registered to vote in the UK, will have the right to vote at UK Parliamentary elections. These voters will be registered at the constituency where they were last registered to vote, or where they lived if they were not registered to vote before.

If you should move back to the UK, then you can register to vote at your new address as an ordinary elector. You will have full voting rights for all elections eligible to you.

Renew your registration

The 15 year limit on voting rights for British citizens living overseas has been removed, and the registration period for these voters has been extended from one year to three. This means that overseas voters will only need to register to vote every three years.

We will contact you when it is time to review with what you need to do next.

If you change address, return to the UK or no longer wish to be registered as a overseas elector, you must inform the Electoral Registration office.

Email: electoralservices@nfdc.gov.uk

Phone: 023 8028 5445

How to vote

You can vote in one of three ways:

by post
by proxy
in person if you are in the UK.

Voting by post means using a form to register your vote and sending it by post. Voting by proxy means applying for someone else to cast your vote on your behalf. Find out more about voting by post or by proxy.

We strongly advise that you appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf instead of a postal vote. If the person you nominate wishes to cast your vote in person they must be in the UK on the date of the election and be able to visit the polling station local to your qualifying UK address. This ensures that your vote will count.

Due to the election timetable, postal packs will not be dispatched until around 10 days before an election. We are not responsible if postal packs do not reach you in time to be returned to us prior to the deadline to be counted.

You can only vote in person if:

you can get to your normal polling station on election day
you or your proxy hasn't applied to vote by post
you have not already cast your vote
your proxy has not already voted for you.

Privacy notice

There are two versions of the electoral register.

The full register is used for elections and referendums, preventing crime, and checking applications for credit. When you register to vote, your details will appear on the full register.

The edited register is available for general sale, and can be used for commercial activities such as marketing. You can choose if your details will appear on the edited register.

For more information on how we use your personal data, see our Electoral Services Privacy Notice.