Overseas electors

How you vote when you’re abroad depends on:

• whether you’ll be abroad temporarily or living abroad
• where you want to vote.

We strongly advise that you appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf instead of a postal vote. We have to wait for all candidates to request to stand before postal packs can be printed and sent out. This means that postal packs will not be dispatched until around ten days before an election. 

Temporarily abroad

If you will be abroad on election day (for example on holiday or a work trip), you can either:

• apply to vote by proxy (appoint someone else to vote on your behalf)
• apply to vote by post (please check dates of dispatch before setting up)

Moving or living abroad

If you are living abroad, you can only vote in UK Parliamentary elections and some referendums (each referendum has different rules on who can vote in it) and will need to register as an overseas voter.

If you are eligible, you will then need to:

• apply to vote by proxy (appoint someone else to vote on your behalf)
• apply to vote by post

You will be asked to make this choice when you register.

Please note: Proxy voters appointed to vote on behalf of a registered overseas elector will need their own photo ID to vote in the polling station at a UK Parliamentary election from October 2023. More information