Special category voters

From 16 January 2024 British citizens living abroad, who were either previously registered or resident at an address in the UK, may register to vote in UK Parliamentary Elections. This includes those who left the UK before they were 18. The previous 15 year restriction on registration has been removed.

You can register as an overseas elector online at www.gov.uk/registertovote.

Overseas Electors may either appoint a person to vote on their behalf at the polling station (a proxy), or choose to vote themselves by post. If a postal vote is chosen, the applicant should take into account the length of time taken for post to travel in either direction to and from an overseas address, as postal ballot papers may only be sent around 2-3 weeks before Polling Day and must be received by Polling Day in order to be counted.

Once registered as an overseas elector, an application for a postal vote can be made online at Apply for a postal vote - GOV.UK or an application for a proxy vote made online at Apply for a proxy vote - GOV.UK.

Registration as an Overseas Elector will last for up to 3 years, expiring on the third 1 November after an application is approved, and will then need to be renewed for the registration to continue. The Electoral Services team will contact electors in advance who need to renew their registration and will advise on the available methods for doing so, as well as the required actions to keep any postal or proxy vote in place.

More information can be found on the Electoral Commission website

If you need any further information please contact our Electoral Services team who will be happy to help.

People serving in the UK’s armed forces, and their spouses, are entitled to register either as ordinary electors, or through a separate process called service registration. Service registration is particularly useful if you are likely to be posted to different places or are regularly serving away from home, and therefore run the risk of missing the autumn household registration process.

Service voter registrations remain valid for a 5 year period. Service voters should therefore ensure that any correspondence address details and address changes for postal ballot papers are kept up-to-date within that period, as otherwise their ballot papers may be sent to the wrong address. Service voter registrations have to be renewed before the 5 years have expired to stay current and Electoral Services will send the relevant renewal forms 3 months before a registration is due to expire.

The main advantage of registering in this way is that you can appoint a proxy without the need for your employer to support your application. Also, the reminder to renew your registration can be sent to a correspondence address rather than to the address where you are registered, from which you may be absent for long periods.

If you would like to apply to register as a Service Voter or as the spouse of a Service Voter, you can register to vote online. If you need any further information please contact our Electoral Services team who will be happy to help.

Please note that service voter details will not appear on annual canvass communications sent to properties. However, this does not necessarily mean that you are not registered. Please contact Electoral Services to check before making any response to your canvass communication, to avoid unnecessary duplicate registrations or any delay in responding which would result in a visit to your property.

You can register as a Crown Servant or British Council Employee if you are not a member of the armed forces but you are employed in the service of the Crown or British Council in a post outside the UK. A spouse living abroad with an employee of the Crown or British Council may also register in this way.

Registration as a Crown Servant will only last for twelve months so registrations must be renewed annually. Applications can be renewed by completing the form which will be sent by Electoral Services or online via Register to vote (Crown servants and British Council employees) on GOV.UK.

This category of elector may either appoint a proxy or choose to vote themselves by post. If a postal vote is chosen, please remember to take into account the length of time it may take for post to travel in either direction to and from an overseas address, as postal ballot papers may only be sent around 2-3 weeks before Polling Day and must be received by Polling Day in order to be counted.

If you would like to apply to register as a Crown Servant or as the spouse of a Crown Servant, you can apply online via Register to vote (Crown servants and British Council employees) on GOV.UK. If you need any further information please contact our Electoral Services team who will be happy to help.

You are entitled to register as an elector by means of a Declaration of Local Connection if you fall within one of the following categories:

• You are currently resident as a patient in a mental hospital and would not be entitled to be registered by virtue of residence at any other place
• You are currently resident at a place where you are remanded in custody, otherwise than after being convicted of any offence, and would not be entitled to be registered by virtue of residence at any other place
• You have no fixed address

If you have no fixed address you can still register to vote. You will need to make a declaration of local connection to show that you are connected to and spend time at a particular place. You can only do this for one place.

If you would like to apply to register in this way, please contact our Electoral Services team to request an application form. This type of application must be renewed annually and you will need to provide your date of birth and National Insurance number on the application.

If your personal safety or the safety of someone in your household would be at risk from your name and address appearing on the electoral register, you may be able to register anonymously. Anonymous electors are shown with a letter ‘N’ on the register, and their names and addresses never appear on any public register. Anonymous registration was introduced in 2007 and new rules have come into force in March 2018. However the requirements for registering in this way are still relatively strict and are set out in law.

To qualify, you will need to make an application that includes evidence which demonstrates that your safety, or that of someone in the same household as you, would be at risk if your name and address were on the electoral register. This evidence can take one of two forms:

1. A court document that is for your protection or someone in your household; or
2. An authorised person signing your application form. This is known as an ‘attestation’.

More information on the range of court documents that can be used and the persons who are qualified to sign an attestation can be found at the Electoral Commission website.

Please note: The qualifying officer does not have to be based in the same area as the applicant, but the attestation cannot be delegated to a more junior person within their organisation.

If you would like to apply to register in this way, please contact our Electoral Services team to request an application form. This type of application must be renewed annually and you will need to provide your date of birth and National Insurance number on the application.

Please note that anonymous registrations will not appear on annual canvass communications sent to properties. However, this does not necessarily mean that you are not registered. Please contact Electoral Services to check before making any response to your canvass communication, to avoid unnecessary duplicate registrations or any delay in responding which would result in a visit to your property.