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Vote from abroad: votes for life

Living abroad doesn't cost you your vote. Since January 2024 every British citizen who once lived or was registered in the UK can vote in UK general elections, however long they've been away. Nonpartisan guides to registering, renewing, postal and proxy votes, deadlines and help.

The guides

Registering

Registering as an overseas elector: the five-minute form and the bits after it

The online form takes five minutes. Proving where you used to live can take longer. Here's every step, from the NI number to the attestation form.

Registering

Renewing your overseas registration: the 1 November date that quietly removes you

Overseas registrations always end on 1 November. Here's how the three-year cycle works, how to renew early, and what to do if you've already dropped off.

Registering

Updating your overseas registration: new country, new name, or back to Blighty

Moved from Spain to Portugal, married, or moving home to the UK? Here's what to tell the council, what happens to your overseas registration and your postal or proxy vote.

How to vote

Postal vote or proxy vote from abroad: which one actually gets counted

A postal pack can't leave the UK until 19 working days before polling day. Here's how to decide between post and proxy, and the deadlines for each.

How to vote

Which constituency you vote in from abroad: your last UK address decides

You vote where you last lived or were registered in the UK, even decades later. Here's how that address works, what boundary changes mean and how to check.

How to vote

Deadlines for general elections and by-elections from abroad: beat the clock

A UK general election takes 25 working days from dissolution to polling day. From abroad, that's barely enough time. Here are the deadlines and how to get ahead of them.

How to vote

What overseas electors can and can't vote in: Westminster, yes; the council, no

Votes for life means a vote for Westminster, not for your old council, mayor or devolved parliament. Here's exactly what's on and off the ballot from abroad.

How to vote

Flying home to vote in person: photo ID, your old polling station and the day itself

Overseas electors can vote in person if they're in the UK on polling day. Here's which photo ID works, which foreign ID won't, and what to sort before you fly.

How to vote

Voting from abroad with a Northern Ireland address: paper forms, proxies and no postal votes

If your last UK address was in Northern Ireland, it's a paper form to EONI, a proxy or a trip home, and earlier deadlines. Here's how it all works.

Help

Getting help with voting from abroad: who to ask, and what they can do

Your council runs your registration, the Electoral Commission explains the rules, and the embassy can't help at all. Here's who to contact for what, from abroad.