Are you eligible to vote in the EU Referendum?
UK nationals who have been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years can vote in the EU referendum on 23 June 2016.
UK and EU flag
At the 2015 General Election there were almost 106,000 overseas electors on the register, the highest number of overseas voters registered ever. However this is still a fraction of the 5.5 million UK citizens estimated to be living overseas, and potentially eligible to vote at the EU Referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.
UK nationals who have been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years can register as an overseas elector, to be able to vote in UK Parliamentary General Elections, UK-wide referendums, and European Parliamentary elections.
You can apply to register to vote in five minutes at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
It’s best to register sooner rather than later so you can be sure you’re registered in time. It is important to remember if you are not registered you can’t vote in the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union when it takes place on Thursday 23 June 2016.
You will need to know your National Insurance number and date of birth, and have your passport to hand if you have one. If you don’t have a National Insurance number you can still register, but you may have to supply more information to show who you are.
You can choose how you wish to vote. You can vote by post or by proxy (voting by appointing someone you trust to vote on your behalf).
It should be easier to vote by post for this referendum as the timetable for postal votes has been extended to allow postal votes to be sent out even earlier than usual, giving overseas voters further time to receive, complete, and return their ballot pack to the UK.
For more information please see www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/uk-expats-dont-miss-out-you-may-be-able-to-vote-in-the-eu-referendum