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Who can register?
You can register as an overseas elector if you are a British Citizen and you have been on a UK Register of Electors at any time within the past 15 years.
If you have never been registered as an elector in the UK, you will not be eligible to register as an overseas elector. However, if you left the UK before you were 18 years of age you can register at your parent's or guardian's address, providing that you left the country no more than 15 years ago. If that address was not in the Leeds City Council area you will need to contact the electoral registration office at the local council where your parents or guardian were last registered.
How to register
A form to register as an overseas elector is available to download from this page. You can register as an overseas elector at any time, but you should be aware that for most of the year the register can close up to six weeks before an election. The annual canvass carried out between 1st September and 1st December means that the September register is used for any election during this period.
You will need to provide:
- your full name and overseas address
- the UK address where you last registered (or the address where you were living on the last qualifying date before you left); and
- the date you left the UK
If this is the first time you have made an overseas elector's application (or if you have been registered as an elector living in the UK since making a previous application) you will have to give additional information to show you are a British citizen. If you left the UK before you were old enough to be registered, you will have to provide a copy of your full birth certificate and information about the parent or guardian whose registration you are relying on.
If this is the first time you have made an overseas elector's declaration, you will also have to find someone to support what you say in your declaration.
He or she can be anyone who:
- is aged 18 or over;
- is a British citizen;
- is not living in the UK; and
- is satisfied that you are not living in the UK on the date of the declaration but is not a close relative
You should return the form, and any required supporting documents to Leeds City Council Elections Office, the electoral registration office where you were last registered to vote in the UK, or where you would have been eligible to vote if you were old enough.
Your application must reach the electoral registration office within three months of the date you sign the form.
Your registration will last for 12 months and must be renewed every year, but can be cancelled by you at any time. You will be sent a reminder 2-3 months before your registration runs out. When you renew your registration you do not need to have a witness.
An application form is available to download on this page.
If you have any queries about overseas electors please contact our Helpline on (0113) 2476726.