Register to vote if you're living abroad
If you're a British citizen living abroad, you can apply to be an overseas voter.
Documents
Details
Deadline for registering to vote in the General Election
Register by 11:59pm on 18 June 2024 to vote in the General Election on 4 July 2024.
Voting from overseas
If you’re abroad, you can vote:
- by post
- by applying to have someone else vote for you (voting by proxy)
You must have applied to register to vote in the UK before you can apply to vote by post or proxy.
If you are registered in England, Scotland or Wales
Voting by post
If you’re applying for your postal vote online, you must apply by 5pm on 19 June 2024.
If you’re applying by post for your postal vote, you must get your postal vote application to your local Electoral Registration Office by 5pm on 19 June 2024.
If you live abroad and want to vote by postal vote, make sure you apply for and return your postal vote as soon as possible. It can take a long time for your ballot pack to reach you and get back to the UK, especially if your local postal services are irregular or if you live far from the UK.
The Electoral Commission advises people living overseas to apply for a proxy vote if possible.
Voting by proxy
If you want to apply online for a proxy vote, you must apply by 5pm on 26 June 2024.
If you’re applying by post for your proxy vote, you must get your proxy vote application to your local Electoral Registration Office by 5pm on 26 June 2024.
If you are registered in Northern Ireland
You can no longer apply for a postal or proxy vote.
You can apply for an emergency postal or proxy vote by post if you have a medical condition that could not have been foreseen before 14 June 2024 or because you are employed to deliver the election.
An application for an emergency proxy vote arrangement must reach the Electoral Office by 5pm on 26 June 2024.
You can register to vote from overseas online or fill out an electoral registration form.
The form will ask for your National Insurance number (but you can still register if you do not have one). Find your National Insurance number.
Make sure you sign the declaration on the registration form and send it to your local Electoral Registration Office.
Last updated 16 January 2024 + show all updates
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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. The 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.
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Form 'Register to vote as an overseas voter (originally resident of Scotland)' updated.
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attachments updated
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Previous PDFs have been replaced with new PDFs containing updated wording relating to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws.
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First published.