From 16 January 2024, British citizens living abroad are now eligible to register to vote in UK general elections, regardless of how long they’ve been living outside the UK. A new law passed in 2022, which came into force this week removes the previous 15-year time limit.
The UK Electoral Commission is calling on voters in the UK to help spread the word and tell friends and family living abroad to check if they are eligible.
“This change gives more British citizens living abroad the opportunity to participate in UK Parliament elections, and to contribute to the funding of political parties and campaigns”, said Craig Westwood, Director of Communications at the Electoral Commission. “We know there are eligible voters in every corner of the world so we’re calling on those with friends and family abroad to help spread the news. With a general election likely this year, it is important this newly enfranchised group of voters are aware of the change and can take action. Registering to vote can be done online in just five minutes”, he said.
The change could mean three million overseas British citizens could be eligible to vote.
According to the BBC, the change followed a long campaign by World War II veteran Harry Shindler, who left the UK to live in Italy around 40 years ago. Unfortunately the World War II veteran was not around long enough to see the change come into force – he passed away in 2023 at the age of 101.
British citizens living abroad will need to provide details of the address and time they were last registered or resident in the UK. Local authorities, which are responsible for the electoral roll in their area, must be able to verify an applicant’s identity and past connection to the area. Children who left the UK before voting age are able to register using the address of their parent or guardian.
More information is available on the Electoral Commission website. Voters living overseas can find contact details for the relevant local council by entering the postcode of the last place they lived in the UK, using the Commission’s postcode lookup tool.
Before 1985, UK citizens living abroad were unable to vote in UK general elections. After a law change, they were able to do so for five years after leaving. The time limit was then extended to 20 years in 1989, before being reduced to 15 years in 2002, wrote the BBC.
More on this:
EC press release (in English)
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
