Form

Register to vote if you're living abroad - paper form

If you're a British citizen living abroad, you can apply to be an overseas voter.

Documents

Details

You can register as an overseas voter if you’ve previously lived in the UK and are either:

  • a British citizen
  • an eligible Irish citizen registering to vote in Northern Ireland

If you want to vote in England, Scotland or Wales, you canÌýregister to voteÌýin the normal way. Alternatively you can fill out this voter registration paper form.

If you want to vote in Northern Ireland, you need toÌý.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýappre are different arrangementsÌýif you’re going to be abroad temporarily on election day.

Renewing your registration

Your registration lasts up to 3 years. You’ll get a reminder when it’s time to renew.

If you do not renew your registration, you’ll be removed from the register and must make a fresh application in order to vote again.

Voting if you’re registered as an overseas voter

You can vote in UK Parliament elections.

You may be able to vote inÌýreferendums. Each referendum has different rules on who can vote in it.

If you’re registered in England, Scotland or Wales

You can decide whether you want toÌývote by proxyÌý(if you’re eligible) orÌývote by post:

If you’re registered in Northern IrelandÌý

You can vote by proxy, if you’re eligible. You need toÌý.

You cannot vote by post.

Updates to this page

Published 29 April 2015
Last updated 16 January 2024 show all updates
  1. Page updated to include a link to the Register to vote service and remove details about electors who were registered to vote as a resident in the UK in the last 15 years, or were too young to register. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp law has changed to remove the 15-year rule. All eligibility information can now be found on the start page of the Register to vote service.

  2. Form 'Register to vote as an overseas voter (originally resident of Scotland)' updated.

  3. attachments updated

  4. Previous PDFs have been replaced with new PDFs containing updated wording relating to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws.

  5. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page