The Council and democracy Register to vote

Overseas electors

From 16 January 2024 any British citizen living overseas can register to vote as an Overseas Voter if they meet one of two conditions:

• they were previously registered to vote in UK elections, including as an overseas voter, or
• they were previously resident in the UK before moving to an address abroad.

Overseas voters must apply to register in the local authority of the last address they were registered to vote or were resident.

Registering to Vote as an Overseas Elector

You can register to vote online the same way an elector in the UK does:

Register to vote on gov.uk.

Registration is valid for three years and you will be sent a reminder that your registration needs renewing.

If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas, please email us at electionsoverseas@manchester.gov.uk

When you register to vote, the default setting will be that you vote in person at a polling station, so you may need to complete a second application form to tell us which method you want to vote by.

How you can vote from overseas:

• Proxy Voting If you are not based in the UK you can appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf.  As an overseas voter we would advise that you apply to vote by proxy if possible. Your appointed proxy has to attend the polling station you were last registered to vote at, so make sure that the person you appoint can get to the Polling Station that you'd have previously voted at. Alternatively, your proxy can apply to vote by post as a proxy. Please note, if your proxy needs to vote by post, you still need to apply to appoint them as a proxy first and then they should contact us for a postal proxy form, which cannot be completed online.
• Postal vote If you are registered as an overseas voter you can apply to vote by post. You will need to make sure you have time to receive and return your ballot papers by polling day. If you choose a postal vote and there's any issue with it arriving to you in time, you cannot then change your method of voting. By law, all postal votes must be posted out: we are not allowed to email them to you.