Research Briefing
16 January 2024
By Neil Johnston

Overseas voters

Summary
1
Current rules
2 Brief history of overseas voters
3 Number of overseas voters
4 Barriers to overseas voters casting their ballot
5 Representing overseas constituentscommonslibrary.parliament.uk

Number CBP 05923

Overseas voters

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Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Contents
Summary4

1

Current rules

6

2

Brief history of overseas voters

13

2.1

The Representation of the People Act 1985

13

2.2

The Representation of the People Act 1989

15

2.3

Home Affairs Select Committee report October 1998

17

2.4

The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

18

2.5

Elections Act 2022

19

2.6

Previous attempts to remove the 15-year limit

21

3

Number of overseas voters

24

3.1

Numbers of overseas voters registered

24

3.2

How many potential extra overseas voters could there be?

27

4Barriers to overseas voters casting their ballot

29

4.1

Barriers to registration

30

4.2

The election timetable

32

4.3

Barriers to voting

34

5

Representing overseas constituents

37

3

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Summary
British citizens living overseas are entitled to be registered to vote in elections
to the UK Parliament. They are known as overseas voters or overseas electors.
They cannot vote in local elections or elections to the Scottish and Welsh
Parliaments or the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Votes for life from 2024
From 16 January 2024 the rules on eligibility to register as an overseas voter
changed. The previous rule that someone could only register for 15 years after
they left the UK was abolished.
This was a manifesto commitment from the Conservative Party under their‘votes for life’ policy. The Labour Party favoured keeping the 15-year rule.

Eligibility to vote from overseas
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 anoverseas 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.
Voters registering in England, Wales and Scotland can apply to vote online orwith a paper form in the usual way; overseas voters registering in Northern
Ireland must fill in a paper form.
Applications must be verified, and electoral registration officers can ask for
additional documentary evidence to confirm a connection with a previous
address.
Providing false information is an offence.
Registration is valid for three years and overseas voter will be sent a reminderthat their registration needs renewing. Previously Before 16 January 2024

4

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas votersregistration lasted a year before overseas voters had to reapply. Transitionalarrangements will be in place to cover the change to the renewal cycle fromevery 12 months to every three years for existing overseas electors.

How many overseas voters are there?
Until 2015 the number of overseas voters registered to vote had never risen
above 35,000. However, the number increased after 2015, when there was anoverseas voter registration campaign in the run up to the 2015 General
Election and interest in the 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of theEU.
At the UK General Election of 2017, a record 285,000 registered overseas
voters were registered (see section 3). At the time, the Government estimatedthat this was about 20% of eligible expats under the 15-year limit.
At the December 2019 General Election 233,000 overseas voters wereregistered. This has since declined to 105,000 in December 2021 as overseas
numbers tend to decline between elections. Many do not renew theirregistrations in years when no election is expected.
The Government estimates (PDF) the changes, ending the 15-year limit andallowing all British citizens previously resident to be eligible, will meanaround 3.5 million British nationals living overseas would be eligible toregister to vote.

5

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

1

Current rules

Summary of rules for overseas voting
Overseas voters, also known as overseas electors, are British citizens who areliving outside the UK but who are eligible to register to vote.
To qualify they must have previously been registered to vote in UK elections,or previously been resident in the UK before they left.
They must register in the last constituency they were registered or resident.
From 16 January 2023 new registrations or new renewals are valid for three
years. If an overseas voter does not renew their registration it will expire on
the third 1 November following the date they were added to the register.
Overseas voters can only vote in elections for the UK Parliament or inreferendums using the UK parliamentary franchise. They cannot vote in local
elections or elections to the devolved legislatures.

Eligibility to vote from overseas
Overseas voters are a type of special category elector. Most voters areregistered at their normal home address. Special category electors arepeople who are entitled to register but cannot fulfil the normal residence
requirements. 1
The eligibility to register as an overseas voter is set out in legislation, theRepresentation of the People Act 1985, as amended. The most recent
amendment was the ending of the 15-year rule.
Before 16 January 2024 overseas voters could only register for up to 15 years
after they left and must have been registered to vote before they left, unlessthey were too young to be registered before they left.

1

Commons Library briefing CPB 8985, Who can vote in UK elections? explains the basics of registering
to vote6

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Eligible British citizens can now register to vote as an overseas voter if they
are living abroad and if they fulfil one of two conditions:•

They were previously registered to vote in the UK before they left or•

They had never registered to vote in the UK but were previously resident
in the UK, which includes those who were not old enough to register tovote when they left.

The eligibility includes citizens of Crown Dependencies if they meet one of theconditions.
Someone who was previously registered, known as the ‘previously registeredcondition’, includes:•

Someone registered to vote as an ordinary voter at an address in the UK•

Someone who was previously registered as an overseas voter but whose
registration expired, either because they had not renewed it or becauseof the old 15-year rule•

Someone registered as another type of special category elector using adeclaration of local connections, such as a service voter.

People who were not previously registered can vote from overseas if they used
to be resident in the UK, known as the ‘previously resident condition’. This will
include a person who was of no fixed abode but who would have been entitled
to register to vote.

Service voters
If someone is serving overseas in the armed forces, or is a Crown servant,there are different provisions for registering to vote. These are known as‘service voters’.
Briefly, members of HM Armed Forces and their spouses can register using aservice voter declaration. A service declaration is valid for five years and thenmust be renewed.
Further information on this can be found in the Library briefing Armed Forces
Voting.
Crown servants and British Council employees employed in posts outside theUK, together with their spouses, are also entitled to be registered for all
elections and have to submit a Crown Servant or British Council declaration
with their application to register.

7

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Overseas Irish citizens voting in Northern Ireland
Irish citizens residing in the UK can register to vote in all UK elections. 2 Some
Irish citizens can register to vote as overseas voters if they meet conditions set
out in the 1985 Act as amended.
The Belfast Agreement of 1998, also known as the Good Friday Agreement,
recognises “the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify
themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may sochoose.” 3
The 1985 Act was amended so an eligible Irish citizen for overseas voting
denotes:a person who is an Irish citizen under Irish law, who was born in Northern
Ireland and who also qualifies as a British citizen under UK law. 4

Registering for an overseas vote
Overseas voters must apply to register in the local authority of the last
address they were registered to vote or were resident, depending on which
condition they are registering under.
An applicant who has been previously registered at more than one address
must apply to the local authority of the address they were most recently
registered at. If they are registering under the previously resident condition it
must be at the last address they were resident before they left the UK.
Some applicants applying under the previously registered condition may havebeen registered in two places at the same time before they left. 5 The elector
must choose which one of those addresses to register in connection with.
It is an offence to provide false information to an electoral registration officer.

How to apply to register for an overseas vote
Overseas voters registering in connection with an address in Great Britain canapply to register using the online register to vote website. They may also
apply by downloading a form and sending it to the relevant electoral
registration officer. Some registration officers may also accept an application
over the phone.

2
3
4
5

8

As above, Who can vote in UK elections?, section 6.1
Belfast Agreement, April 1998
Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, Explanatory notes to section 15
Commons Library briefing CPB 8985, Who can vote in UK elections? Section 4.1 Residence andsecond homes

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Overseas voters registering in connection with an address in Northern Irelandmust use the appropriate paper form and cannot apply online.
The Electoral Commission’s website gives further details about theregistration of overseas voters and a link to the relevant registration forms.
Applicants must provide a National Insurance number or the reason theycannot provide one. This is to verify their identity, in line with domestic voters,
and there is an exceptions process for those without a National Insurance
number.
An overseas voter application must include certain information. This includes:•

a declaration that provides a correspondence address•a statement that the applicant is a British citizen (or Irish citizen under
the special provisions available in Northern Ireland)•

if they have a British (or Irish) passport, the number, date, and place ofissue of that passport even if it is expired.

If the applicant is using the previously registered qualifying condition, theirdeclaration must include details of their previous registration.
If the applicant is using the previously resident qualifying condition, they must
provide details of the address and when they were last resident.
Overseas voters can also apply as anonymous overseas electors. Anonymous
registration is available to voters who may be at risk if their address is
included on the electoral register. Certain conditions must be met to registeranonymously. 6

Evidence required for overseas voting applications
An electoral registration officer will have to verify applications meet thecondition of being previously registered or previously resident at the addressprovided.
For previously registered applicants this will involve checking old versions of
the electoral register. If older registers are no longer available otherinformation can be used, such as Department of Work and Pensions data,
other local records, or documentary evidence supplied by the applicant.
Applicants can also include documentary evidence with their application. If
an electoral registration officer needs further evidence of eligibility undereither the previously registered qualifying condition or the previously resident
qualifying condition they may ask for additional documentary evidence.

6

9

Commons Library research briefing CBP 8202, Anonymous electoral registration, provides more
information

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Additional evidence can include old driving licences, court documents,
council tax bills, rent books, a solicitor’s letter confirming a property sale, or
utility bills.
Applicants who left before they had turned 18 may be asked to provide the fullname of a parent or guardian who was resident at the relevant address.
Address attestation
An applicant may also be asked to provide an address attestation if
additional evidence is required. Attestation is where another registered voter
vouches that what the applicant says about when and where they wereresident at the relevant address is true . An attestation must include an
explanation that the qualifying attestor is able to confirm the applicant met
the relevant requirement.
An attestor cannot be the spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother,sister, child, or grandchild of the applicant.
Where an attestor is a domestic elector, a voter registered in the UK rather
than another overseas voter, they must be “a person of good standing in thecommunity”. 7 This is not defined in legislation.
Attestors are limited to signing address attestations for no more than two
individuals in any one electoral year (normally from 1 December to 30
November).

Renewing an overseas vote
The renewal process for overseas voters has changed. To remain registered,an overseas voter must complete a renewal declaration before their existingregistration expires. This can be in writing by letter, email or paper
application. There is no set form for a renewal but must include the required
information. Overseas voters cannot use the online application service torenew their declaration.
New applications made after 16 January 2024 will be valid for three years.
Previously overseas voters had to reapply annually. Transitionalarrangements will be in place to cover the change to the renewal cycle fromevery 12 months to every three years for existing overseas electors.
An electoral registration officer must remind overseas electors of the need tomake a renewal declaration in the four months before an overseas
registration is due to expire. The registration officer can choose the method of
sending the reminder and it should explain the requirements of a renewal

710

Regulation 26I(3)(d) of the Representation of the People Regulations (England and Wales) 2001 (asamended), and equivalent rules for Scotland and Northern Ireland

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas votersdeclaration and include a paper renewal declaration for the overseas elector
to complete.
A renewal declaration will confirm that the details held on the electoral
register are accurate and will also provide an opportunity for overseas
electors to provide updated correspondence details.

How do overseas voters cast their vote?
Overseas voters registered in constituencies in Great Britain can vote by postor proxy. Applications can be made online using the ‘Apply for a postal vote’and ‘Apply for a proxy vote’ services on GOV.UK.
Overseas voters can also vote in person at their allotted polling station if they
are in the UK at the time of the election and have not applied for a postal
vote. If they have appointed a proxy and the proxy has already voted thenthey cannot then vote in person.
Overseas voters registered in constituencies in Northern Ireland can only voteby proxy and cannot use the online application process for proxy votes. They
must apply in writing, including via email, to the electoral registration officer
in Northern Ireland.
The Electoral Commission recommends that overseas voters should consider
appointing a proxy to vote on their behalf because of the limited period
available for ballots to be sent and returned from overseas during an election(see section 4).8
The Government agreed and in its response to the Electoral Commission’sreport on the 2017 UK Parliamentary election stated:
We agree that overseas electors should be encouraged to register as early as
possible ahead of the registration deadline and will look to further improve themessaging on GOV.UK to more clearly highlight the need to make an absent
vote application and the choices open to people living abroad. 9

There are transitional arrangements for absent votes for overseas votersdepending on whether they applied before or after the 16 January 2024 datewhen the new eligibility and applications processes started.
Proxy vote arrangements made before 31 October 2023 for all overseas voterswill be revoked on 31 January 2024. All electors will need to reapply for a
proxy voting arrangement before this date.

8
9

11

Electoral Commission guidance, Absent vote timetable
Cabinet Office, The UK Government’s Response to the Electoral Commission’s reports on the 2017 UK
Parliamentary General Election Incorporating a response to the Association of Electoral
Administrator’s report on the 2017 UK Parliamentary General Election, November 2018, p8

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Postal voting arrangements in place for overseas voters made before the dateof the new arrangements, 16 January 2024, may need updating as a postal
vote may only be granted for remaining length of time of their original 12month overseas elector registration. New applications after 16 January 2024
will be valid for three years before needing renewal.
Voters should contact the relevant electoral registration officer if they are
unsure whether they have absent voting arrangements in place, or if they areconcerned their absent vote may expire before the next general election.

Rules for political donations
Electors whose name appear on the electoral register are allowed to donate
to political parties, candidates, and other political campaigners.
Those receiving the donations must check the source of those making
donations. Permissible sources of donations are set out in the legislation
covering political donations, principally the Political Parties, Elections andReferendums Act 2000. This is aimed at preventing foreign donations being
made to political parties and others.
As registered electors are a permissible source, it means overseas electors
who appear on an electoral register are allowed to donate money to politicalparties, candidates, and other regulated political campaigners. The recipient
must ensure that the overseas elector is correctly registered at the time the
donation is received.

12

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters2

Brief history of overseas voters

Summary
Before 1985 British citizens were unable to register to vote in UK elections if
they moved abroad unless they were service voters.
The Representation of the People Act 1985 extended the Parliamentary
franchise to British citizens resident overseas and enabled them to register as‘overseas voters’ in the constituency for which they were last registered.
This was initially for a period of five years but was later extended to 20 years
by the Representation of the People Act 1989, and then reduced to 15 years bysection 141 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
The Elections Act 2022 scrapped the 15-year limit and from 16 January 2024
eligible British citizens will be able to register regardless of how long they
have been away from the UK.

2.1

The Representation of the People Act 1985
During the 1970s there was pressure to extend the franchise to British citizens
living and working abroad. Submissions were made to the Speaker’s
Conference on Electoral Law in 1973-4, but the Conference did not make any
specific recommendations on overseas voters. A previous Speaker’s
Conference, in 1965-68 specifially rejected overseas voting. 10
The Home Affairs Select Committee recommended in 1983 that all UK citizens
resident in the then European Economic Community (EEC) countries shouldhave the right to vote in British parliamentary elections. 11
The Committee considered the issue of allowing overseas voters to also votein local elections. However, some witnesses disagreed. The Committee
concluded that local elections should not be included:
Our own feeling is that it is the lack of an opportunity to express a view on
government policy at a national level which provides the most legitimate

10
11

13

Common Library briefing paper SN 4426, Speakers’ Confernces, section 2
Home Affairs Select Committee: Representation of the People Act 1949. First Report, HC 32 1982-3,
para 27

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas votersground for complaint, and that the argument is less strong when applied to
local issues. The Home Office thought that there was “little demand’’ to vote at
local elections, and we do not imagine that, even if such a right wereavailable, it would be very generally exercised. 12

The Government response to the Committee’s report recommended a sevenyear limit, noting that “in the Government’s view a person’s links with theUnited Kingdom are likely to have weakened significantly if he has lived
outside it for as long as ten years.” 13
The Government also recommended that the right be extended to British
citizens living in non-EEC countries, saying that it would find it hard to defend
provisions giving British citizens the right to vote in Paris, but not in New York.
On whether overseas voters should be able to vote in local elections, theGovernment agreed with the Committee, saying:
It accepts the Select Committee’s view that electors resident abroad should
not have the right to vote at local elections. 14

There was a period of consultation before legislative proposals were brought
forward. The Representation of the People Act 1985 subsequently madeprovision for British citizens who were resident overseas to remain on theelectoral register in the UK for a period of five years.
The Bill, as introduced, had a time limit of seven years. During the first sessionof the Committee of the whole House this was amended on division (382 votes
to 21) to a 5-year limit.15
The House of Commons accepted an Opposition amendment to the Bill, atreport stage, that an overseas application must include a statement from theapplicant that they did not intend to reside permanently outside the United
Kingdom.16
As well as placing a time limit on how long overseas voters could register,eligibility was restricted to only those who had previously registered to vote
before leaving. Anyone who had not been registered to vote anywhere in the
UK was not eligible to be an overseas voter. This general restriction remainedin place until the provisions of the Elections Act 2022 were implemented. An
exception was added for children who would have been too young to registerin the 1989 Act (see below).
The Bill that became the 1985 Act originally included provisions for children
who left the UK before the age of 18 to register as an overseas voter once they

12

13

14
15
16

14

Home Affairs Select Committee: Representation of the People Act 1949. First Report, HC 32 1982-3,
paragraphs 51 and 52
The government reply to the first report from the Home Affairs Committee. Session 1982-83. HC32-I
Representation of the People Acts, Cmnd 9140 January 1984
Cmnd 9140 January 1984, p10
HC Deb 29 January 1985 [Extension Of Parliamentary Franchise], c181-240
HC Deb 27 February 1985 [Registration Of British Citizens Overseas], c415

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voterscame of age, by virtue of a residential address of a parent or guardian. Thiswas removed by an amendment moved by the Labour Party that was
accepted by the Government.
David Mellor MP, the Home Office minister, spoke of the practical difficulties
of determining which constituency they should be registered in. He
recommended that the House should accept the amendment on the basis of“the importance which the Opposition attach to this amendment” and inseeking to reach “an accommodation over matters of constitutionalsignificance like the Representation of the People Bill”. 17
The Commencement Order implementing the provisions of the 1985 Act
relating to registration of overseas voters took effect in July 1986. 18
Take up by those eligible was initially low. In the first year, just over 11,000
overseas were registered (February 1987 figures). The figures dropped to
2,092 in February 1988 and in the two subsequent years dropped further, tobelow 2,000 (see section 3 for information on the numbers of overseas
voters).

2.2

The Representation of the People Act 1989
The Representation of the People Act 1989 (as passed) extended the time limit
on being able to register to vote after leaving the UK to 20 years.
The Government had committed to keep the new arrangements introduced by
the 1985 Act under review. The level of overseas registration under the 1985
Act was far lower than expected despite overseas publicity. Some of theapparent lack of enthusiasm for the new scheme was attributable to its
practical operation, including the need for the elector to re-register without
reminders.
The Conservative manifesto for the 1987 general election promised to extend
the period of eligibility but was not specific about a new time limit.19
A consultation paper was issued in April 1988. 20 This suggested a new time
limit of between seven and 20 years, or even an unlimited qualification.
In the parliamentary session 1988-89, a Bill was introduced to extend andsimplify the scheme. 21 The Bill, as introduced, proposed a 25-year period(clause 1).

17
18
19
20
21

15

HC Deb 29 January 1985 [Extension Of Parliamentary Franchise], c225-6
Representation of the People Act 1985 (Commencement No. 3) Order 1986
The Next Steps Forward 1987
Dep NS 3902 see HC Deb 29 April 1988 c 285-6W
Representation of The People Bill 1988-89 [Bill 162]

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Clauses 2 and 3 enabled children who had left the UK before being on theelectoral register to apply for an overseas vote at their parent or guardian’s
previous registration address.
Clause 4 abolished the requirement for an overseas elector to make astatutory declaration that they did not have any intention to residepermanently outside the UK and clause 5 allowed for reminder notices to besent to existing overseas voters. 22
At the committee stage the Labour Party tabled an amendment that the time
limit should be increased to 20 years instead of the 25 years proposed in theBill. The amendment was moved by Alistair Darling, who said:
We see that there is an argument for extending the time after which a voter
may vote in elections in the country, but we do not believe that 25 years isjustified.
We believe that a period of five years was unduly restrictive, especially as it is
now clear that a number of people will leave this country perhaps to take up
work in Europe or in other parts of the world but will still maintain a lively
interest in the affairs of this country. 23

Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) tabled an amendment that specified a time limit of
10 years saying that it was “nonsense to enfranchise people who have lived
abroad for 25 years”. 24
Gary Waller (Conservative) proposed an amendment that 15 years should be
the time limit saying there was no objective way of determining how long theperiod should be. He went on to say, “if 25 years is considered right to denotea continuing link with this country…one might consider 15 years appropriate
to denote a link with a certain constituency. For those reasons, I have opted
for 15 years.”
In winding up the debate on which time limit to select, the Home Officeminister Douglas Hogg concluded that the Government was prepared toaccept Alistair Darling’s amendment on the basis of seeking consensus:
Judged against the general proposition which I have set out, the amendments
proposing 10 and 15 years are too short. Neither 10 nor 15 years would beappropriate, bearing in mind that the general principle must be that British
citizens have the vote unless there is some jolly good reason to the contrary.
That leaves a choice between 20 and 25 years. I am perfectly willing toconcede that, in a sense, we are plucking figures out of the air, and it isdifficult to say that there is a distinction of principle between 20 and 25 years.
The hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Darling) has described his
amendment No. 4, which proposes 20 years, as a sensible compromise. In
electoral matters, there is much to be said for attracting as much support as

22
23
24

16

HC Deb 29 June 1989 [Representation Of The People Bill], c1140-64
HC Deb 5 July 1989 [Extension Of Permitted Period Of Overseas residence], c411-2
As above, c413

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voterspossible around a particular proposal for change, and because of that I
recommend to the Committee that amendment No. 4 be accepted. 25

The amendment for 20 years was accepted by 144 votes to 27. 26
The provisions that extended the time limit to 20 years, modifications to thedeclaration and the extension of the ability to register to those who werechildren when they left the UK were commenced on the 1 April 1990. 27
Subsequently, the number of overseas voters registering increased to over
34,000 by February 1991. However, after the initial surge numbers fell back to
between 10,000 to 20,000. They did not rise above 30,000 again until 2010.

2.3

Home Affairs Select Committee report October
1998
The Home Affairs Select Committee published a report in October 1998,
Electoral Law and Administration. 28 The Committee considered the provisionsof the Representation of the People Act 1985 relating to overseas voters.
Some witnesses considered that it was unreasonable for people who havebeen away for so long to retain the right to vote. They argued that someone
voting in a constituency many years after they had left would have little
knowledge of contemporary local issues.
Electoral administrators pointed out that there were costs attached toregistering overseas citizens and that reducing the time limit would make theoverseas voter registration system cheaper and easier to operate.
In evidence to the Committee, the Labour Party, and the Liberal Democrats
both argued that 20 years was perhaps too long a period. The Home Officereported that most of the correspondence it had received on the issue was notfrom people calling for the 20-year period to be lowered but from people
resident abroad for more than 20 years arguing for it to be increased.
The Committee took the view that the 20-year period within which a British
citizen living overseas could retain the right to vote was excessive andrecommended that the earlier limit of five years should be restored. 29

As above, c422
HC Deb 5 July 1989 [Extension Of Permitted Period Of Overseas residence] Division No. 282
27
Representation of the People Act 1989 (Commencement No. 2) Order 1990
28
Home Affairs Select Committee, Electoral law and administration, HC 768 1997-98
29
As above, Section F: The Franchise
25

26

17

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

2.4

The Political Parties, Elections andReferendums Act 2000
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill 1999-2000 as introduced
initially included a provision to reduce the overseas voter time limit to 10
years. 30
During the passage of the Bill amendments were proposed to review this newlimit and in the House of Lords at committee stage, the Government
suggested increasing the proposed limit from 10 years to 15 years. This meant
a reduction of five years on the existing limit of 20 years.
An amendment to create a 15-year limit was subsequently passed
unopposed. 31 This provision, in section 141 of the Political Parties, Elections
and Referendums Act 2000, took effect from 1 April 2002 and it is this time
limit that was in place until the provisions of the Elections Act 2022 wereactivated.
There were calls to increase the registration rate amongst British citizens
living abroad. The Electoral Commission launched campaigns to encourage
British citizens abroad to register to vote in UK elections.
In 2009 the Commission issued a press release describing its overseas
registration campaign before the forthcoming general election:
British citizens living abroad can register as overseas voters if they have beenregistered to vote in the UK at any time within the past 15 years. Yet of theestimated 5.5 million British citizens living abroad, less than 13,000 overseas
voters are currently on a UK electoral register.
Brits living overseas can vote by post or arrange for a proxy to vote for them ina UK Parliamentary election and the Commission has launched a campaign toencourage British citizens abroad to register to vote ahead of the next generalelection.
Jenny Watson, Chair of the Electoral Commission, said:“British citizens living abroad come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but weknow that most maintain strong links with the UK. It is easier than ever before
for British citizens abroad to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues
back home and many will also want to have their say in elections. 32

Other awareness campaigns were run in advance of the 2015 General Election
and the 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. The number ofregistered overseas voters reached over 250,000 during this time (seesection 3).

Clause 30 of the Bill, as introduced
HL Deb 22 November 2000 c924
32
Electoral Commission press release, 22 September 2009
30
31

18

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Overseas voters

2.5

Elections Act 2022
The Elections Act 2022 received Royal Assent in April 2022. It contained
provisions to abolish the 15-year limit.
These were not brought into force immediately. Additional secondary
legislation was required to set out the application process and how electoral
registration officers would process applications.
The secondary legislation was approved in the autumn of 2023 and took effectfrom 16 January 2024. 33
The change fulfilled the Conservative Party manifesto commitment to end the
15-year limit on overseas voter registration, its ‘votes for life’ policy. The
Conservative Party had been committed to removing the 15-year limit on
overseas voter registration in each election since 2015. 34
The Labour Party wanted to maintain the 15-year limit. Its 2019 manifesto
instead committed to extending the franchise to 16-year-olds and 17-yearolds. 35 The Liberal Democrats 2019 manifesto committed to allowing all British
citizens living abroad to vote in separate overseas constituencies covering
areas of the world that would elect MPs to sit in Westminster. 36

Consultation on abolishing the 15-year limit
The Government published a policy statement, A democracy that works foreveryone: British citizens overseas, in October 2016. 37
The statement confirmed the Government’s intention to abolish the 15-year
limit on overseas voter registration. It also confirmed that eligibility would be
extended to all eligible British citizens living overseas not just those who werepreviously registered.
To qualify, someone who was not previously registered to vote would need toprovide evidence of residence at a UK address. It would also allow an option
for someone without documentary evidence to get another voter to vouch forthem in the form of an attestation.

33

34

35
36
37

19

Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 and theRepresentation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations
2023
Conservative Party Manifesto 2015, p49, Conservative Party Manifesto 2017, p42 and Conservative
Party Manifesto 2019 (PDF) p48
Labour Party, It’s Time for Real Change: For the many not the few (PDF), p82
Liberal Democrats, 2019 Manifesto, Fair Votes
A democracy that works for everyone: British citizens overseas: policy statement (PDF), Cabinet
Office, October 2016

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

The responses to the policy statement were published in February 2018. 38
Although generally positive there were some concerns raised about aspectsof the proposals. Some of these were about how readily available
documentary evidence will be for verifying identity or previous residence forthose who had been away from the UK for a long time. Others noted it would
be difficult to enforce penalties for supplying false information when people
were based overseas, and it would be difficult for electoral registration
officers to check the validity of data.

Overseas Electors Bill 2017-19
The 2016 consultation formed the basis of the Overseas Electors Bill 2017-19.
The was introduced by Glyn Davies (Conservative) as a Private Member’s Bill(a ballot bill) on 19 July 2017. It was given a second reading on 23 February
2018 without a division. Although it was a Private Member’s Bill, the Bill andits explanatory notes were prepared with the assistance of the Government
and would have fulfilled the Government commitments to introduce votes forlife.
The Overseas Electors Bill 2017-19 did not complete its stages and did not
become law. Commons Library briefing, Overseas Electors Bill 2017-19 (CBP8823), details the provisions in the Bill and outlines the stages of the Bill in
more detail.

Elections Bill 2021-22
The Elections Bill 2021-22 (Bill 138 of 2021-22) was introduced in the House ofCommons on 5 July 2021. It was this Bill that went on to be the Elections Act
2022.
Details of the passage of the Bill, including Library briefings on the Bill, can beviewed on the Elections Bill 2021-22 pages on the Parliament website.
The Government released a further policy statement in February 2022. It
provided additional information on how the ‘votes for life’ policy would be
implemented once the provisions in the Elections Act 2022 were implemented.
The key elements of the Act and the secondary legislation passed in 2023
were:•Ending the 15-year limit•

Extending eligibility to British citizens who were previously resident in the
UK but not registered to vote•

Allowing overseas voters to continue to be verified in the same way asthat of domestic electors (using their name, date of birth and National

38

Cabinet Office, A democracy that works for everyone: British citizens overseas Response to feedback
to policy proposals (PDF), February 201820

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Insurance (NI) number). Voters without an NI number will continue to beable use other routes to verify their identity.

2.6•

Simplifying renewals and requiring them every three years instead ofannually•

Requiring overseas voters to provide an overseas address and details of
their passport (or their Irish citizenship for eligible Irish citizens). They
may be required to provide additional information where required which
can be done electronically.

•

Establishing a new method of proving a previous residence for those notpreviously registered on an electoral roll. This included a method of
declaration of previous residence where no other documentary evidence
is available (known as ‘attestation’).

Previous attempts to remove the 15-year limit
Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
The issue of the 15-year limit was raised during the passage of the Electoral
Registration and Administration Bill 2012-13 in the House of Commons.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative) proposed that a new clause should be
added to the Bill to remove the 15-year rule, but the new clause waswithdrawn after a debate.
The Government replied that the it would give the issue serious consideration,
but that it would not rush into a decision “simply because the question ofextending the franchise is a fundamental one, and both the Government andthe House would have to feel comfortable with doing that”. 39

Overseas Voters Bill 2015-16
The Overseas Voters Bill 2015-16 was a Private Member’s Bill introduced by
Christopher Chope (Conservative). The Bill had its second reading debate on
26 February 2016 but was withdrawn at the end of the debate and did notproceed further. 40
Speaking for the Opposition, Ian Lavery said that the Labour Party was unable
to support the Bill but “had no objection to reviewing the time limits on
eligibility”. 41 He added:
However, if we are to consider changing the limit, or even removing itcompletely, as has been argued, I do not believe that that should be done in

HC Deb 27 June 2012 [Electoral Registration and Administration Bill], c353
HC Deb 26 February 2016 [Overseas Voters Bill], c577-92
41
HC Deb 26 February 2016 c582
39

40

21

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas votersisolation. It should happen as part of a wider review of how we can increase
participation in elections in general.

All-party working group on overseas voting
In June 2013, an all-party working group on overseas voting was launchedwith Lord Norton as its Chair. Various blogs for overseas voters have referredto the group. 42
In March 2014, the group published a report entitled Enhancing engagementin the electoral process by British expatriates.
Its recommendations included that more should be done to encourage
overseas voters to register, and the Government should look at the feasibilityof electronic voting for overseas voters.

Court cases
European Court of Human Rights, May 2013
Harry Shindler, a British citizen who moved to Italy to live in 1982, had longfought for a change in the law to allow him to vote in UK general elections. Mr
Shindler died in February 2023 at the age of 101. 43
He first took his case to the European Court of Human Rights in 2009 and hasargued that no time limit should be imposed on the right of British citizens
living overseas to vote in the UK. 44
In its judgment on 7 May 2013, (Shindler v United Kingdom [2013] ECHR 423)
the European Court of Human Rights ruled that there had been no violation of
Article 3 of Protocol No 1 (right to free elections) of the European Convention
on Human Rights and decided that the UK’s electoral law “had not gone too
far in restricting the right to Mr Shindler’s right to free elections” and“allowing non-residents to vote for 15 years after leaving the country was not
an unsubstantial period of time.” 45
Shindler and Maclennan
In 2016, Mr Shindler, along with Jacquelyn MacLennan, who had lived in
Brussels since 1987, took a case to the High Court in England challenging thelegality of the franchise for the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.
They challenged the legality of the franchise for the referendum which,because it was based on the Parliamentary franchise, would exclude British
citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years. Shindler and

42
43
44
45

22

http://www.votes-for-expat-brits.com/
The Times, Harry Shindler obituary (log in required), 25 March 2023
WWII veteran loses ruling on expats voting in UK elections, BBC News, 7 May 2013
Right to vote of British national who has lived outside the UK for thirty years not violated by UKelection laws, European Court of Human Rights press release, 7 May 2013

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Maclennan claimed that the 15-year rule, as applied to eligibility to vote in the
EU referendum, constituted a restriction on their rights of free movement.
The High Court’s judgment on the EU referendum case on 28 April 2016
rejected Shindler and MacLennan’s claim. Shindler and MacLennan sought
leave to appeal the judgment in the Court of Appeal; this application was
heard on 9 May 2016 and leave to appeal was refused by the Court in a
judgment on 20 May 2016.
The Supreme Court also refused permission for them to appeal the Court ofAppeal’s judgment. It said:
We do have considerable sympathy for the situation in which the applicants
find themselves and we understand that this is something which concerns
them deeply. But we cannot discern a legal basis for challenging this statute.
Accordingly the application for permission to appeal is refused. 46

46

23Permission to appeal decision refused in EU referendum case, Supreme Court 24 May 2016

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters3

Number of overseas voters

Summary
Until 2015 the number of registered overseas voters never exceeded 35,000.
Increased awareness of overseas voting, particularly as a result of the 2016
EU referendum and the 2017 snap general election, saw numbers jump. There
were 285,000 overseas voters registered at the 2017 General Election.
The snap general election of December 2019 saw just over 230,000 overseas
voters registered. The number tends to decline in years between generalelections. In December 2021 the number had dropped to 107,000.
Recent estimates of the number of British citizens living abroad have put the
number at around 5 million. Estimates during the debate on the Overseas
Electors Bill 2017-19 suggest 1.4 million British citizens could be eligible toregister under the 15-year limit. The Government estimates this could rise toover 3 million with the 15-year limit is abolished.

3.1

Numbers of overseas voters registered
Until 2015 the number of registered overseas electors never rose above
35,000. There were small peaks in the years when there was a generalelection (with the exception of 1991) before falling again over the next few
years.
The chart below shows the number of overseas electors on the register foreach year since 1987, the first-year data was recorded following theRepresentation of the People Act 1985. The full figures are shown in the
appendix.

24

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Overseas electors on the register of parliamentary electors
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,0001987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017 2020

Notes: The release date changed in 2001 from Feb to Dec. The 2013 and 2014 figures for
Scotland were published in March 2014 and 2015 respectively as opposed to being publishedin December the same year previously. The 2015 figure is for the UK general election. The
2019 figure is for the UK general election
Source: ONS, Electoral Statistics; General Registrar Office for Scotland; Electoral Office forNorthern Ireland; OPCS; and House of Commons Library communication, Electoral
Commission electoral data 2017 and 2019.

The increase in numbers of overseas electors in 1991 resulted from theRepresentation of the People Act 1989 which extended the period during
which overseas voters could be registered to vote in UK Parliamentaryelections from 5 years to 20 years.
In 2015 and 2016 the numbers of registered overseas voters increased
significantly.
In advance of the 2015 UK General Election the Electoral Commission ran anoverseas voter registration campaign (from 2 February to 17 April 2015). The
2015 General Election was the only scheduled election under the terms of the
now repealed Fixed-term Parliament Act 2011. As a result, the Commission
was able to run an overseas voter registration campaign well in advance ofpolling day of 7 May 2015. The campaign was run in partnership with theForeign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which coordinated efforts with
consulates and embassies at key points during the campaign. 47
A record number of overseas voters were registered for that election – almost
106,000 – three times the previous record in 1991. 48 This was aided by the

47

48

25

Electoral Commission, Report on the administration of the 7 May 2015 elections, including the UK
Parliamentary general election, July 2015, p37
As above, p36

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas votersadvent of online registration via the GOV.UK website, introduced in 2014,
making it significantly easier for overseas voters to apply to register.
That record was surpassed in the run up to the EU referendum, in June 2016.
The referendum used the Parliamentary franchise, which meant overseas
voters were eligible to vote. In December 2016, there were nearly 264,000
registered overseas voters. Over 135,000 of these were registered during theElectoral Commission’s public awareness campaign for overseas voters,
which ran from 17 March to 9 June 2016. 49
The figure for the June 2017 General Election reached just over 285,000
registered overseas voters. 50 In December 2018, there were just over 124,000
registered overseas voters. The Electoral Commission noted that:
With no national polls during 2018 it seems likely that, as their 12-month
registration period expires, many overseas voters have not re-registered. 51

The Commission expected the number of overseas voters to rise again in
advance of a general election. Electoral Commission analysis indicated that aforthcoming election motivates voters to apply to register:
Our analysis from 2017 shows again that a significant number of people chose
to apply to register to vote directly in response to… the June generalelection. 52

This again appeared to be the case in 2019. The first debate in the House ofCommons on holding an early general election in 2019 was on 4 September. 53
The daily average of overseas voters using the Government’s online Register
to vote service from 1 January to 1 September 2019 was about 260.
The deadline to register to vote when the election was finally called was 26
November 2019. The average number of applications from overseas votersfrom 1 September to 26 November 2019 went up to nearly 1,900. 54 The numberof overseas voters applying on the final day was nearly 18,000. The issue ofregistrations for overseas voters coming so close to an election date isconsidered in section 4 of this briefing.
An application made online via the service may not lead to the same numberof additions to the electoral register. Registration officers will determine
whether applications are successful. Many applicants may already beregistered, and others may not be eligible to registered.

49

50

51
52

53
54

26

Electoral Commission, Analysis of the December 2016 electoral registers in the United Kingdom,
March 2017
Electoral Commission, The administration of the June 2017 UK general election: Report on the 8 June2017 general election (PDF), December 2017, p3
Electoral Commission, Analysis of electoral registration data, 1 August 2019
Electoral Commission, Electoral registration at the June 2017 UK general election Report on the UK
Parliamentary general election held on 8 June 2017, July 2017, p14
HC Deb 4 September 2019c 291-315
Source: GOV.UK Voter registration dashboard, FOI request for data FOI2020/04507

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

The number of overseas voters registered on 1 December 2019, from theannual official electoral registration statistics was just over 204,000. The
actual number registered in time for the 12 December 2019 General Election
was just over 233,000. 55
The trend of overseas voters not renewing their registrations when no generalelection seems likely has continued, with the number registered dropping to
185,000 in December 2020, 105,000 in December 2021 and 80,000 in
December 2022.

3.2

How many potential extra overseas voters
could there be?
There is no official data on the number of British citizens living abroad:•

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) estimated in 2010 that
there were 5.6 million (PDF) (then equivalent to about 10% of the British
population)•

The UN estimates that there were about 4.3 million in 2019. Some of thisdifference may be explained by different ways of counting: the UN counts
people who are born abroad and have foreign citizenship as a migrant,
whereas the IPPR uses a wider range of sources.

In July 2015 the Electoral Commission published a report on theadministration of the 2015 general election. The Commission commented that:
British citizens who live overseas are a particularly challenging audience toreach. The dispersed nature of, and lack of data on, the potential overseas
electorate makes it difficult to produce reliable statistics and while there aresome estimates of the total number of expatriates, there is no estimate at allfor the sub-set of eligible electors who meet the requirement of being on a UK
register within the last 15 years. 56

In the second reading debate on the Overseas Electors Bill 2017-19, the MP incharge of the Bill, Glyn Davies, said that the number of registered overseas
voters at the June 2017 General Election, just over 285,000, represented
about only 20% of the those likely to be eligible.57 This gave a potential
electorate of around 1.4 million under the 15-year limit.
The Government estimated in its Impact Assessment for the Elections Bill2021-22 that there are between roughly 3.2 million and 3.4 million British

55
56

57

27

ONS, Electoral statistics, UK: 2019
The May 2015 UK elections: report on the administration of the 7 May 2015 elections, including the
UK Parliamentary general election, Electoral Commission, July 2015, para 3.16
HC Deb 23 February 2018 [Overseas Electors Bill], c486

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas votersnationals living overseas who would become eligible to vote if 15-year limit
was scrapped. 58
Not all eligible overseas voters are likely to register. The Impact Assessment
for the 2021-22 Bill indicated 17.8% of overseas voters register during anelection year, while 4.7% register during a non-election year. Two-thirds do
not renew their registration in a non-election year and are removed from theregister. The Government expected these proportions to remain broadly thesame. The number of overseas voters expected to register for the first election
had the 2021-22 Bill been passed was around 302,000. 59
In a research survey of UK citizens living overseas, conducted by the Electoral
Commission, and published in September 2016, 58% of respondents believedthat they were currently registered and 30% of potentially eligible overseas
voters responding said that they had voted in the 2015 UK General Election. 60
However, these figures should be treated with caution. The Electoral
Commission has highlighted the problem with gaining representative datafrom British citizens overseas. Surveys on voter behaviour and turnout are
subject to errors as people may over-estimate their likelihood of voting andmay think they are registered when they are not. 61

58
59
60

61

28

Elections Bill 2021-22, Impact Assessment, p47
Elections Bill 2021-22, Impact Assessment, p56
Electoral Commission, Survey of UK citizens living overseas Summary of findings, September 2016,
p3
See for example British Election Study releases, such as The myth of the 2017 youthquake election.
Measuring turnout in surveys is particularly tricky. People who don’t vote also tend to be morereluctant to take survey. Some people will also tell surveys they voted when they actually didn’t.
This makes it very difficult to work out what the turnout rate amongst different groups actually was.

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

4

Barriers to overseas voters casting theirballotSummary
Overseas voters sometimes face practical and administrative barriers tobeing able to cast their vote in a UK general election.
One of the main barriers is the amount time available to return their ballot
papers. The statutory election timetable is 25 working days. Ballots cannot besent out until nominations have closed and ballot papers can be printed.
The lack of time to send overseas ballots is compounded if overseas voter
applications are received when the election is already underway.
The Electoral Commission has recommended that the UK Government needs
to consider innovative new approaches to improve voting for overseas
electors particularly given its plans to increase the number of British citizens
living abroad who are eligible to vote.
The end of the 15-year time limit on overseas voter registration has thepotential to include many more overseas voters on the electoral register.
This is likely to draw greater attention to some of the problems experiencedby overseas voters. Administrative issues prove to be a barrier to casting avote to some overseas voters once registered. These relate to the tendency forsome overseas voters to register only when an election is called, the length ofthe election timetable, and lack of awareness among overseas voters of theapplication and renewal requirements.
In the 2015 general election, 16% of respondents to an Electoral Commission
survey said that an administrative reason, including not receiving their postal
vote, was the reason that they did not vote. 62 The most common complaint
from overseas voters to the Electoral Commission in 2019 was not receiving
postal votes in time to send them back. This affects voters registered toconstituencies in Great Britain. Overseas voters registered in Northern Ireland
are not permitted to vote by post.

62

29

Electoral Commission, Survey of UK citizens living overseas Summary of findings, September 2016

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

The Electoral Commission’s report on the 2019 election provided someexamples of the feedback it had received from overseas voters:
My overseas postal vote arrived the day before the election. This left me notime to send it back, and so I was not able to vote despite my desire to.
The ballot arrived Saturday afternoon. I paid $35 for express shipping to get itback to the UK as soon as possible but it was still unlikely to arrive in time(letters normally take around a week). I don't know why it arrived so late.
IT DOES NOT WORK. My post was sent too late to arrive for me to return it, will
not reach the UK in time. I have no vote.
My postal vote did not arrive until 5 working days before the election, making it
impossible for my vote to be counted. 63

The Electoral Commission has welcomed votes for life for overseas voters, but
it has suggested the UK Government should consider new approaches toimprove voting for overseas voters. It says this could include the option tovote at embassies and consulates, or to download and print postal ballot
papers. 64

4.1

Barriers to registration
Awareness of registration requirements
Previously, one barrier to registering for some overseas voters was a lack ofawareness of the requirements under the old rules. In the 2016 survey
conducted by the Electoral Commission, the ‘15 year-rule’ was understood bya majority of respondents, with 74% knowing that having been on the UK
electoral register in the past 15 years was a requirement to qualify to be on
the register as an overseas voter. The ‘15-year rule’ had lower awarenessamong those that had been living abroad for more than 15 years. As noted in
section 3.2, the results are only indicative because of the problem ofobtaining a reliably representative sample.65
However, there was some confusion over eligibility requirements, with 31%
believing that receiving a UK state pension and 22% believing that owning aproperty in the UK would make someone eligible to vote.
There were also low levels of awareness that an overseas voter registration
had to be renewed annually. Just under a third (29%) believed it is true that
‘UK citizens living overseas must renew their registration once every 12
months’, while 38% believed this is false and 34% were unsure.

63
64
65

30

Electoral Commission, UK Parliamentary General Election 2019, p7
Electoral Commission, Changes to overseas voting, July 2021
Electoral Commission, Survey of UK citizens living overseas Summary of findings, September 2016

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Of those who did not vote, lack of awareness was a common reason. One infive (21%) say that they did not know how to register, and the same
proportion said that they did not know how to vote.
Only 50% or respondents were aware that they could register to vote online.

Registration deadlines
Another barrier to overseas voters returning their ballots in time is thetendency for many applications to be received only once an election is called.
The deadline for overseas voters to register to be included on the register
used on polling day is the same as for ordinary voters resident in the UK midnight, 12 working days before polling day.
In its 2017 report, the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA)
highlighted that this timescale has an impact on applications for overseas
voters, particularly those close to the deadline. It provides insufficient time
for postal votes to be sent abroad and returned in time so that they can becounted. It voiced its concern to the Government over the administrative
challenges of registering overseas voters:
In the vast majority of cases, overseas electors register immediately prior to a[general election] and, as is traditionally the case, immediately following theannouncement of the election, the volumes of applications received increased
significantly.
The administration of overseas electors requires a disproportionate amount ofstaff resource, mainly caused by the requirement to check that the applicant
had been registered within the local authority area within the last 15 years. 66

The AEA has called for review of all election and electoral registration
deadlines to be undertaken. The timing of the snap 2017 General Election
meant some returning officers faced “unnecessary and unreasonable
criticism” because some voters had unrealistic expectations about when theirballot paper should arrive. 67 This is linked to the length of the election
timetable (see section 4.2 below).
The timing of the 2017 General Election also caused some issues with overseas
voter renewals for voters and administrators. At the time overseas voter
registration were valid for 12 months. Many overseas voters who had
registered in order to vote in the EU referendum on 23 June 2016 were thendue to renew their registration in the run up to the 8 June 2017 General
Election.

66

67

31

AEA, It’s time for urgent and positive Government action The AEA’s review of the 2017 local
government elections and the UK Parliamentary general election, September 2017, p37
As above, p44

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

4.2

The election timetable
Postal ballot packs cannot be printed and sent out until nominations close.
With a 25 working-day election timetable this gives a period of four calendar
weeks between the close of nominations (when the details of the candidates
to be printed on the ballot papers are confirmed) and polling day.
Ballot papers must be printed, sent out and returned. For postal ballots to be
included in the count, whether from local or overseas voters, the returned
ballots must be received by the close of poll at 10pm on polling day.

Lengthening of the election timetable
The Parliamentary election timetable was lengthened to 25 days from 17 daysby the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 and this took effectfrom the general election in May 2015. 68 This provision was brought into force
on 6 April 2014 by article 3 of the Electoral Registration and Administration
Act 2013 (Commencement No. 5 and Transitory Provisions) Order 2014.
The Electoral Commission had long recommended that the Parliamentaryelection timetable should be lengthened to bring it into line with the local
election timetable. The Commission’s reasoning was based on the increasing
practice of combining local and general elections but also on the benefits forabsent voters that a longer timetable would bring.
The Electoral Commission’s report on the administration of the 2010 General
Election highlighted the problems of the 17-day timetable:
Some overseas voters who had registered for a postal vote have complainedthat they did not receive their postal ballot packs in time to vote in theelection, or that they did not receive them at all. The election timetable meantthat postal ballot packs could only be issued after 20 April 2010 at the earliest,
leaving two weeks for ballot packs to be received by electors based overseas,
completed and returned to Returning Officers in the UK before 10pm on 6
May. 69

A short debate in the House of Lords on voting arrangements for British
citizens living overseas and members of the armed forces serving abroad washeld on 2 March 2011. The minister, Lord McNally, acknowledged that theGovernment should address the issue of overseas voters. He said theGovernment was looking at the length of the election timetable ‘with a senseof urgency’. 70

Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (Commencement No. 5 and Transitory Provisions)
Order 2014
69
Report on the administration of the 2010 UK general election, Electoral Commission, July 201070
HL Deb 2 March 2011 c1133
68

32

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters25-day timetable still causes issues
Although the timetable has been lengthened, overseas postal voters can still
face difficulties in getting their votes back in time.
Electoral Commission guidance to returning officers is to prioritise postal
voting packs to overseas voters. 71 However, at each election there are reportsthat some voters have been unable to return their ballot papers in time to be
included in the count. This is particularly the case, as noted above, for votersregistering close to or on the registration deadline for a given election, which
is 12 working-days before polling day.
At the 2019 election the most common feedback from overseas voters was notreceiving their postal vote in time to complete it and send it back. 72
The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 abolished the Fixed-term
Parliament Act 2011. The 2022 Act maintained the maximum five-year term of
a Parliament but returned the power to call a general election at the time of
their choosing to a sitting Prime Minister. It made no change to the election
timetable.
During pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill by the Joint Committee on the
Fixed-term Parliament Act, the Committee noted that the proposals in the Bill
would not return the statutory election timetable to 17 working-days days but
maintain it at 25. The Committee recommended that a cross-party working
party should be established to consider how the election timetable could beshortened. 73
The Government responded by saying it agreed in principle that the election
timetable should be “as short as practicable whilst also recognising theimportance of ensuring the operability of elections as effective and well-run
polls are essential to democracy”. 74
In September 2021, the Association of Electoral Administrators and theSociety of Local Authority Chief Executives issued an open letter to theminister in charge of the Bill in response to the Joint Committee’s comments
on shortening the election timetable. In their view reducing the timetablefrom 25-days was, “simply not achievable within our current electoral
system”. 75
In October 2021, electoral suppliers also wrote an open letter to the minister
expressing concerns about any attempt to shorten the timetable, saying:

71
72
73
74

75

33

Electoral Commission guidance, Absent vote timetable
Electoral Commission, In depth: delivering the 2019 UK Parliamentary general election, April 2020
Commons Library Research Briefing CBP-9267, Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill 2021-22
Government response to the Joint Committee on the Fixed-term Parliament Act Report, May 2021,
p15
Open letter from the Association of Electoral Administrators and the Society of Local Authority Chief
Executives, 9 September 2021

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

From a print supplier perspective, the volume of paper, envelopes and working
hours required to print and deliver approximately 48 million poll cards, over 8
million postal votes and more than 50 million ballot papers would make a 17working day timetable extremely challenging. 76

During the committee stage of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Billamendments were tabled to try and alter the statutory election timetable.
The amendments were unsuccessful, and the minister said:
I am happy to confirm from this Dispatch Box that the Government’s position is
to maintain the electoral timetable as it stands—I am not proposing an
extension or reduction 77

4.3

Barriers to voting
The AEA has also highlighted a practical issue with overseas voter
registration applications, that “a significant number of overseas electors did
not request absent voting facilities when originally applying to register”. 78
The AEA recommended that electors should, as part of their original
application and subsequent renewal, be required to specify suitable absent
voting arrangements.
The request for an absent vote is a separate stage to the registration andelectoral administrators have reported that this has led to situations where
overseas electors will have been registered but then unable to participate
without returning to their polling station in the UK.
In its report on the 2017 General Election, the Electoral Commission noted thatappointing a proxy could cause problems for some overseas voters:
Many British citizens living overseas, especially those who have been away fora considerable period of time, may not be able to identify an eligible person
living in the UK who they can appoint as their proxy. 79

The AEA report on the 2017 election said that dealing with overseas electors
provided “one of the biggest administrative challenges this year”. 80 It
reported that there were many incidences where overseas voters mistakenly
believed that they would be able to vote online or have their ballot papers
emailed to them. 81

76
77
78

79

80

81

34

Open letter from electoral suppliers across the UK, 13 October 2021
HC Deb 13 September 2021 [Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill], c731
Association of Electoral Administrators, AEA post-elections report 2017: It’s time for urgent andpositive Government action, p44
Electoral Commission, The administration of the June 2017 UK general election Report on the 8 June2017 UK Parliamentary general election, December 2017, page 15.
Association of Electoral Administrators, AEA post-elections report 2017: It’s time for urgent andpositive Government action, p37
Association of Electoral Administrators, AEA post-elections report 2017: It’s time for urgent andpositive Government action, p51

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

In its statutory report on the administration of the 2019 election, the Electoral
Commission again highlighted the problems faced by registered overseas
voters.
We received feedback after the election from more than 500 overseas voters.
The most frequent problem they mentioned was not receiving their postal votein time to complete it and send it back. Overseas electors were dependent on
the speed of the postal service in the country where they live. 82

The Commission noted there had been some improvements in 2019:
At the 2019 general election, the Cabinet Office and Royal Mail put in place asystem for faster delivery of postal ballot packs to overseas electors. This does
appear to have improved the experience for some electors, but there was still
not enough time for overseas electors in some countries to return their votes intime for them to be counted. 83

Local authorities use the International Business Response Service (BFPO) foroverseas votes (and also BFPO addresses for service voters). Although theextension of the election timetable has provided more time, some electoraladministrators still report problems with getting overseas votes returned intime.
Following the 2017 General Election, the Electoral Commission reported that:
We recommended that Ros should ensure postal ballot packs for future
elections are issued to overseas electors as early as possible and should
include the correct return postage, so that they can be delivered and returned
by voters as quickly as possible before polling day. We were pleased that the
UK Government ensured that Ros for the June 2017 general election could use
the International Business Response Service for overseas postal ballot packs,
despite the relatively short time between the announcement of the election
and the dispatch of postal ballot packs to overseas electors. 84

Following the 2017 election AEA members expressed concern at theInternational Business Response Licence for the return envelopes for overseas
postal votes and the AEA has called for an evaluation of the licence for futurenational polls. 85
Although some reported the system had worked well, some of the comments
received by AEA members indicated that some international reply envelopes
were not recognised by local postal services (some were returned with ‘notenough postage paid’ marked on them and in some places voters wererequired to pay postage).
Some AEA members had concerns about the speed of return by other postal
services. In one area, a number of envelopes that arrived too late for inclusion

82
83
84
85

35

Electoral Commission, UK Parliamentary General Election 2019, April 2020, p6-7
As above, April 2020, p7-8
Electoral Commission, April 2020, How the 2017 UK general election was run, December 2017, p15
Association of Electoral Administrators, AEA post-elections report 2017: It’s time for urgent andpositive Government action, p46

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas votersin the count were date stamped (in the country from which they were sent)
two weeks before polling day.
The Government’s response to the AEA and Electoral Commission reports on
the 2017 General Election acknowledged the concerns:
The Government recognises the difficulties with postal voting from overseas
and has already amended the timetable for parliamentary elections tomaximise the time available for postal vote packs to be printed, posted andreturned. It also recognises the pressures on Electoral Administrators when
dealing with last minute requests.
The Government must look to strike the right balance between providing asystem which is accessible to overseas electors, workable for electoraladministrators and protects the security and integrity of electoral registration.
We agree that overseas electors should be encouraged to register as early as
possible ahead of the registration deadline and will look to further improve themessaging on GOV.UK to more clearly highlight the need to make an absent
vote application and the choices open to people living abroad. 86

The Voting when you’re abroad page on the GOV.UK website now makes it
clear the absent voting options available when registering to vote as anoverseas voter. 87
The Elections Act 2022 has made changes to the absent voting arrangements
for elections to the UK Parliament (and other reserved elections). 88 From 1
November 2023 applications can be made by voters registered in GreatBritain online using the ‘Apply for a postal vote’ and ‘Apply for a proxy vote’services on GOV.UK. The Government’s view is that “Digitising the absent voteapplication process will also benefit overseas electors who typically vote bypost or proxy”. 89
Different arrangements apply in Northern Ireland and voters registered in
Northern Ireland must contact the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.
Overseas voters may only vote by proxy if they are registered to vote in a
Northern Ireland constituency.
The Electoral Commission and the Government continue to recommend that
where possible overseas voters consider appointing a proxy voter to vote on
their behalf rather than rely on a postal vote. Overseas voters voting in aconstituency in Northern Ireland must appoint a proxy, postal votes are notallowed.

86

87
88
89

36

Cabinet Office, The UK Government’s Response to the Electoral Commission’s reports on the 2017 UK
Parliamentary General Election Incorporating a response to the Association of Electoral
Administrator’s report on the 2017 UK Parliamentary General Election, November 2017, p8
GOV.UK, Voting if you move or live abroad, accessed 31 October 2023
Commons Library research briefing CBP 7419, Absent voting
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Policy paper: Identity verification forabsent vote applications and an online application service, 3 February 2022

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

5

Representing overseas constituents

As noted above, eligible overseas voters must be registered in the last
constituency they were registered or were resident in before they left the UK.
There is no specific guidance for MPs on constituency correspondence withexpatriates, whether they are registered as overseas voters or not. Nor are
there any legal restrictions on how an MP undertakes their duties.
In his evidence to the Modernisation Committee’s 2007 inquiry into the role ofthe backbench MP, the then Clerk of the House wrote that “how backbenchers
perform their role as Members of the House is largely a matter for each
Member to decide”. 90
The convention that MPs should only handle casework on behalf of their own
constituents does not go beyond that basic outline. It offers no advice toindividual MPs as to how they should undertake such casework.
The Commons Library’s briefing paper SN 2028, Members and Constituency
Etiquette quotes the former MP, Edmund Marshall. He wrote the fullest
account, yet to appear, about the practicalities of MPs dealings with theirconstituents:
The simple, general principle is that any citizen in the United Kingdom should
first get in touch with his own constituency representative…
There is a convention, almost universally observed on all sides of the House ofCommons, that Members deal with personal inquiries only from their own
constituents. 91

Edmund Marshall’s advice goes on to say British citizens abroad, whether
they are eligible to be on the electoral register or not, “who wish to contact
an MP, should in general approach the Member for the constituency where
their names last appeared on an electoral register”. 92
There have been suggestions that there should be a MP specifically for British
citizens living overseas; similar suggestions for a MP for the armed forces
serving abroad have also been made.

90

91
92

37

Modernisation Committee, Revitalising the Chamber: the role of the back bench Member, 20 June
2007, HC 337 2006-07, Evidence from the Clerk of the House of Commons, Ev 97
Commons Library Research Briefing SN02028, Members and Constituency Etiquette,
The House of Commons provides a constituency locator in order to deduce in which constituency aparticular address falls, http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

During the second reading debate on the Overseas Electors Bill 2017-19,
several MPs made reference to the arrangement that exists in France, where
11 seats in the Assemblée Nationale are reserved for French nationals living
overseas. The 11 constituencies cover different zones of the world outside
France and French territories (which have their own seats in the Assemblée
Nationale).
The Government has said it does not support such an arrangement for theHouse of Commons.
The Government does not support the creation of parliamentary constituencies
for overseas electors. The current and proposed overseas voting arrangements
are based on the principle that overseas electors continue to have some formof connection to the area of the country where they were last resident. This is
the approach taken generally in other democracies with overseas voting.
The creation of overseas constituencies would also require changes to the waythat electoral administration (the registration of voters and the conduct ofpolls) is organised in Great Britain, where responsibility lies at the local
authority level. It would clearly not be appropriate for the Government to carryout these functions for overseas constituencies. 93

It is also sometimes difficult for MPs for British citizens living abroad to assist
with problems raised by their constituents which concern the government andadministration of the country in which they live and where the UK Government
has no jurisdiction. Having MPs for specific areas overseas would not solve
this particular issue.

93

38

PQ 3045 [Constituencies], 10 July 2017.

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

Overseas voters

Appendix
Overseas electors on UK electoral register, 1987-2022
Year

NumberYear

Number

Feb-87

11,100

Dec-0615,099Feb-882,092

Dec-07

11,295

Feb-891,836

Dec-0812,926

Feb-901,237

Dec-0914,890Feb-91

34,454

Dec-1032,725

Feb-92

31,942

Dec-11

23,526

Feb-93

22,131

Dec-12

19,399Feb-94

18,552

Dec-13i

16,031

Feb-95

17,934

Dec-14i

27,005

Feb-96

17,886

Dec-15108,275

Feb-97

23,583

Dec-16

263,962

Feb-9817,315Jun-17

Feb-9913,677

Dec-17

225,900

Feb-00

10,669Dec-18124,398

Feb-01

11,496

Dec-19iv

204,231

Dec-01

13,009Dec-19v

233,588

Dec-02

9,786

Dec-20185,289

Dec-03

8,552

Dec-21

105,352

Dec-04

9,669

Dec-22

79,829Dec-0519,002iii

285,198

Notes:(i) The 2013 and 2014 figures for Scotland were published in March 2014 and 2015 respectively as
opposed to being published in December the same year previously(ii) The figure for the May 2015 General Election(iii) The figure for the June 2017 General Election is GB only(iv) The figure for 1 December 2019 annual statistics(v) The figure for the 12 December General Election
Sources:
ONS, Electoral Statistics and House of Commons Library communication
General Registar Office for Scotland, Electoral Statistics
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, House of Commons Library communication
OPCS, Electoral Statistics
HC Deb 7 Apr 2005 c1573W, HC Deb 8 Jul 2003 c733W, HC Deb 28 Oct 1999 c962W
Electoral Commission report on the adminsitration of the 2015 General Election
Electoral Commission analysis of Dec 2016 electoral register.
Electoral Commission Electoral Data, 2017 general election
Electoral Commission statutory report on 2019 General Election

39

Commons Library Research Briefing, 16 January 2024

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