Vote From Portugal: UK Overseas Voters and U.S. Absentee Voting
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A British citizen who has previously lived in the UK can register as an overseas voter on GOV.UK and then vote in UK Parliament elections from Portugal, by post, by proxy or in person. For Americans, the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) says absentee voting starts with the Federal Post Card Application, which registers you and requests your ballot.
Voting is one part of staying connected to your country after a move. If you are weighing Portuguese nationality as well, see our guide to Portuguese citizenship for Americans and Britons and what dual citizenship means for each. This guide is an overview of official pages, not legal advice.
Who can register as a UK overseas voter?
The GOV.UK guide “Voting if you move or live abroad” says you can register as an overseas voter if you move or live abroad. You must have previously lived in the UK and be either a British citizen or an eligible Irish citizen registering to vote in Northern Ireland. The guide does not state a limit on how many years you may have been away, and we do not add one from memory.
The Register to vote page asks you for the postcode of the last UK address you were registered to vote at, or, if you never registered, the last UK address you lived at. It says you may also be asked for your passport details.
How do I register?
- England, Scotland or Wales: register to vote in the usual way, online on GOV.UK or with a paper form sent to your electoral registration office.
- Northern Ireland: register with a paper form, returned to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.
- Armed forces, crown servants and British Council employees: there are separate registration services. Service voters renew every 5 years.
If you change your name, address or nationality, GOV.UK says to contact the electoral registration office where you registered.
How often do I renew?
You must renew your registration every 3 years to keep voting in UK elections while living abroad. The electoral registration office sends a reminder by email or letter. The renewal service asks for the 9 digit access code in that reminder; if you cannot renew online, a paper form comes with the reminder. If you do not renew, you are removed and must register again.
Which elections can I vote in from Portugal?
GOV.UK says overseas voters can vote in UK Parliament elections. The page on types of elections lists, for a general election, that you must be registered, be 18 or over, be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen, and either live at a UK address or live abroad and be registered as an overseas voter. Referendums each have their own rules.
Post, proxy or in person?
| Option | What GOV.UK says |
|---|---|
| By post | Available if registered in England, Scotland or Wales. You must apply for a postal vote; it can be for one election, a specific period or up to 3 years. Return the pack as quickly as possible. |
| By proxy | Being registered as an overseas voter is one of the circumstances that allow a proxy vote. Apply by 5pm, 6 working days before election day in England, Scotland or Wales (14 working days in Northern Ireland). |
| In person | At the polling station you used when you lived in the UK, or the one for where you used to live. You must show photo ID. |
Registered in Northern Ireland, you cannot vote by post. GOV.UK also suggests contacting your electoral registration office to find out when postal votes might be sent, which can help you choose between post and proxy.
How does absentee voting work for Americans in Portugal?
FVAP, the U.S. government’s Federal Voting Assistance Program, says a U.S. citizen living outside the country can vote absentee while living away from the voting residence. The steps it gives:
- Register and request a ballot in one step. Fill out the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and send it to your election office. FVAP says that using the FPCA ensures your state will send your ballot at least 45 days before the election, a protection it says is not guaranteed with other forms, and that it is a good idea to send a new FPCA every January and each time you move. For a general election, it says it is best to send the FPCA by August 1; check your state’s own registration deadline.
- Know your voting residence. FVAP says you need a voting residence to vote by absentee ballot, even for federal offices only, because your election office uses the exact address to decide which offices and candidates you can vote for. It describes it as the U.S. state or territory where you register, likely your legal residence.
- Vote and return the ballot when it arrives. For a general election FVAP says to expect the ballot by early October, to return it as soon as you receive it and to check your state’s deadline. If you requested a ballot and it has not arrived, FVAP says to ask your election office about its status.
- Backup. If there is not enough time to receive and return the ballot, FVAP says to use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). If your official ballot arrives afterward, fill it out and send it too: only one will be counted.
FVAP also says your nearest U.S. embassy or consulate can give you hard copies of the forms. The page we read dates its example vote-by day to the 2024 general election and shows no update date, so check fvap.gov for the dates of the current election.
Can foreign residents vote in Portugal?
We did not read an official Portuguese page on which elections non-citizens resident in Portugal may vote in, so this guide does not say.
Date of the information
The GOV.UK guide “Voting if you move or live abroad” was last updated on 4 July 2025, which is this guide’s update date. The Register to vote page is dated 4 November 2024, the How to vote guide 12 November 2024. We read them on 19 October 2026. The GOV.UK renewal page mentions a reminder deadline of 1 November 2026 for those who received one; check your own reminder.
Related guides: passport renewal and consular services in Portugal, moving to Portugal as a British citizen after Brexit, moving to Portugal as an American, your first year settling in, U.S. taxes for Americans abroad.
Official pages read for this guide: the GOV.UK guide Voting if you move or live abroad, Register to vote, How to vote, and Types of election, referendums and who can vote. All were read on 19 October 2026, and the FVAP page How to Vote Absentee for overseas citizen voters, read in a browser the same day.
FAQ
How often must a British overseas voter renew?
GOV.UK says you must renew your registration every 3 years to keep voting in UK elections while living abroad. Your UK electoral registration office sends a reminder, and if you do not renew you are removed from the register and must register again as an overseas voter.
Can I vote by post from Portugal if I am registered in Northern Ireland?
No. GOV.UK says you cannot vote by post if you are registered to vote in Northern Ireland. You can vote by proxy, applying on a paper form, or in person.
Which UK elections can an overseas voter vote in?
GOV.UK says you can vote in UK Parliament elections if you are registered as an overseas voter. You may be able to vote in referendums, and each referendum has its own rules on who can vote.
What address do I give when I register from abroad?
The Register to vote page says you give the postcode of the last UK address you were registered to vote at. If you have never registered, it is the postcode of the last UK address you lived at. You may also be asked for your passport details.
Sources
Official pages this article was checked against, with the date we last read them.
About the author
See author pagePatricia Cunes writes the guides on Portuguese paperwork and the long road to settling for good: appointments with the administration, files that stall, residence renewals, and citizenship. Her work follows the steps in the order they have to happen, because the order often decides whether a file moves.
She studied Law at the Universitat de Barcelona and Migration Studies at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, with a focus on residence and nationality procedures.
Her method is the site's: the competent authority's page is the source, the link is in the text, the date is on the page.
Her work is practical information, not legal advice. When a file needs an immigration lawyer, she says so and helps you get to the appointment prepared.
