British citizens living overseas

If you are a British citizen currently living outside of the UK, you may be eligible to be registered as an overseas elector. Being registered as an overseas elector will enable you to vote in UK Parliamentary elections.

You are eligible to register as an overseas elector if you are living abroad, providing that meet one of the conditions below:

Previously registered condition - You were registered to vote in the UK before you left the UK.
Previously resident condition - You were previously a resident in the UK, or were not old enough to be on the electoral register before you left the UK.

You must apply to register as an overseas elector in respect of the address where you were last registered to vote in the UK. If you were never on the electoral register, then you should register with the last address at which you were a resident.

If you are eligible, please click here to complete an overseas elector application on the GOV.UK Register to Vote website.

Once registered as an overseas elector, you will be required to renew your registration every three years, and the Electoral Services team will contact you when you are required to renew your registration.

Voting by post or proxy?

Once you are registered as an overseas elector, you can apply to vote by post or by proxy (someone voting on your behalf).

However, as UK Parliamentary elections can be called at short notice, we would strongly advise you to apply for a proxy vote rather than a postal vote as we cannot guarantee that you will receive your postal vote in time for you to complete and return it to us by the 10pm deadline on polling day.

For more information on how to apply to vote by proxy, click here.

For more information on how to apply to vote by post, click here.