Right of expatriates to vote in their country of origin

The right of expatriates to vote in elections in their country of origin varies depending on the legislation of an expatriate’s country of origin. Some countries (such as France) grant their expatriate citizens unlimited voting rights, identical to those of citizens living in their home country. Other countries allow expatriate citizens to vote only for a certain number of years after leaving the country, after which they are no longer eligible to vote (e.g. 15 years for the UK and 25 years for Germany). Other countries reserve the right vote solely to citizens living in that country, thereby stripping expatriate citizens of their voting rights once they leave their home country (such as Ireland, with extremely limited exceptions).

Expatriates' voting rights in local elections sometimes vary within individual countries, usually those with federal systems, such as Switzerland and the United States. For example, Swiss expatriates originally hailing from certain cantons may vote in elections at cantonal level, while those from other cantons may not.

As of 2006, 93 countries allowed their expatriate citizens to vote: 21 African countries, 13 countries in the Americas, 15 Asian countries, 6 Pacific countries and 36 European countries.

Country-by-country breakdown

Australia

Australian citizens living abroad may vote if register to vote within three years of leaving and intend to return to Australia within six years of leaving. Australians who were under 18 when they left Australia may vote if they intend to return to Australia within six years of their 18th birthday. Voting may be done by post or at an Australian embassy, consulate or high commission. Unlike for Australians living in Australia, voting is not compulsory for expatriate Australians.

Austria

Austrian citizens living abroad may vote by post in Austrian presidential and parliamentary elections, as well as referendums, with no expiry date. They must enrol on a dedicated foreign voters' register and must renew their registration every ten years.

Belgium

As of 2017, Belgian citizens living abroad can register to vote for elections to the Chamber of Representatives and the European Parliament. Once registered in a consular post (which is optional), the person is subject to compulsory voting. Expatriates cannot vote in regional or local elections.

Originally, the law of 18 December 1998 first gave Belgians living abroad the right to vote in federal elections (i.e. for the Chamber and Senate). However, the law was inadequate and not generally applied.

The law of 7 March 2002 improved the procedure. Belgians abroad could register in a municipality of their choice, determining the constituency in which their vote would be cast. In practice, most votes were cast in the linguistically sensitive Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency.

The sixth Belgian state reform (ca. 2012), which also abolished the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency and direct Senate elections, replaced the free choice by an objectively defined municipality (where the person last lived, or else further criteria apply).

The law of 17 November 2016 slightly changed the procedure, and also extended the right to vote for European Parliament elections to Belgians living in a non-EU member state. Belgians living in another EU member state already had the right to vote on Belgian lists in European Parliament elections.

On 26 August 2016, the cabinet also approved the right to vote in regional elections; however, this change is subject to approval by special majority.

Brazil

Brazilian citizens living abroad aged between 18 and 70 must vote, as Brazil's policy of compulsory voting includes expatriate Brazilians. Voting is possible, but not mandatory, for Brazilian expatriates aged over 70 or under 18 (Brazil's minimum voting age is 16).

Canada

Canadian citizens living abroad can vote by post if they have lived outside Canada for less than five consecutive years. Only Canadians working for the Canadian government, a Canadian company or an international organisation in which Canada is involved are exempt from this expiry date.

Canadian citizens living abroad who are not eligible to vote by post may still vote regardless of how long they have lived abroad, but only if they return to Canada to vote in person.

Chile

Chilean expatriates have the right to vote in presidential elections (primaries, first and second round) or national referenda in the consulate where they registered. The law allowing the vote of Chilean citizens was presented by President Michelle Bachelet and approved by Congress in August 2016. The primaries for the 2017 presidential election were the first time that expatriates where allowed to vote.

France

French citizens living abroad enjoy full voting rights in presidential and parliamentary elections, regardless of how long they have lived abroad.

France has a dedicated Assembly of French Citizens Abroad, the president of which is the French Foreign Minister. France also has a system of 11 constituencies for French residents overseas, each of which are represented by a deputy who sits in the National Assembly.

Germany

Article 12(2)(1) of the Federal Voting Act states that German citizens who live abroad and have no residence in Germany may vote in German parliamentary elections and European Parliament elections if:

a) they have resided in Germany for an uninterrupted period of at least three months since their 14th birthday and within the last 25 years; or

b) they have a close personal and direct relationship with German politics and are personally affected by political developments in Germany.

India

Expatriate Indian citizens have been allowed to vote in all Indian elections since 2010, provided that they have not acquired the citizenship of another country (India does not permit dual nationality).

Ireland

Ireland forbids almost all of its expatriate citizens from voting. Only members of the armed forces and diplomatic staff abroad may vote in Dáil (lower house) elections, while only expatriates who are graduates of the National University of Ireland or Trinity College, Dublin may vote in Seanad (upper house) elections.

In March 2017, the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) announced that a referendum would be held to amend the Constitution to allow expatriate Irish citizens to vote in presidential elections.

Italy

Main article: Overseas constituencies of Italian Parliament

Italian citizens living abroad retain the right to vote in Italian parliamentary elections. They may vote either by post or at an Italian consulate or embassy. However, for Italian citizens who live in a country which has no Italian diplomatic representation, the only way to vote is to travel to Italy to vote in person. Citizens who choose to do so are reimbursed by the Italian government for 75% of their travel costs.

The Italian Parliament reserves 20 seats for those citizens residing abroad: there are twelve such seats in the Chamber of Deputies and six in the Senate of the Republic.

Japan

Japanese citizens living abroad have been allowed to vote in Diet elections since 2005, when the Supreme Court ruled that a ban on eligible overseas Japanese citizens from voting was unconstitutional. Citizens can vote either by post or at their local Japanese embassy or consulate.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg citizens living abroad may vote in parliamentary elections and referendums, but not local elections.

Malta

Maltese citizens may only vote if they are physically present in Malta on election day. There is no rule forbidding expatriate citizens from voting, but they may only vote if they return to Malta in person to do so, at their own expense. There have been attempts and petitions to allow Maltese citizens living abroad to vote by post.

Namibia

Namibian citizens living abroad have been allowed to vote in national elections since 2014, when amendments were made to the Electoral Act 2009, Namibian expatriates may vote at temporary registration points, usually set up at Namibian embassies or high commissions.

Netherlands

Dutch citizens who live abroad (and have deregistered as Dutch residents) are allowed to vote in elections for the House of Representatives and for the European Parliament, but not for municipal or provincial elections. They must register as voters.

New Zealand

New Zealand citizens living abroad have full voting rights with no expiry date as long as they have lived in New Zealand for at least one year continuously at some point in their lives and have visited New Zealand within the last three years.

Philippines

Under Republic Act No. 9189 (also known as the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003), Filipino citizens living abroad are allowed to vote, with no expiry date.

Portugal

Article 49 of the Portuguese Constitution grants all Portuguese citizens the right to vote, regardless of where they live.

Portugal has a Council of Portuguese Communities (Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas), a consultative body which is part of the Portuguese government and represents the interests of Portuguese citizens living abroad.

Singapore

Singaporean citizens living abroad may vote in presidential and parliamentary elections, with no expiry date. However, they may only vote in person at one of ten designated overseas polling stations, located in Australia, China (two polling stations: Beijing and Shanghai), Japan, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States (three polling stations: New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.). Each citizen is assigned to an overseas polling station depending on where they live. Expat citizens are also assigned a polling station in Singapore, where they can vote in person if they happen to be in Singapore on election day.

South Africa

Pursuant to Chapter 1, Section 10 of Electoral Act 73 of 1998, South African citizens living abroad retain the right to vote in national elections, with no expiry date. Expat citizens wishing to vote must do so in person at a South African embassy, consulate or high commission.

Spain

Article 68, Section 5 of the Spanish Constitution guarantees Spanish citizens living abroad the right to vote. They may do so either at a Spanish consulate or embassy, or by post.

Spain has a General Council of Spanish Citizenship Abroad (Consejo General de la Ciudadanía Española en el Exterior, CGCDE), an advisory body which represents the interests of Spanish citizens living abroad.

Sweden

Swedish nationals living outside Sweden can voting in Riksdag elections & outside the European Union in European Parliamentary elections up to ten years after leaving Sweden. They cannot vote in either county or municipal elections. Voting are conducted either by post or in Swedish embassies.

Switzerland

Swiss citizens living abroad may vote, with no expiry date, in elections for the National Council (lower house of parliament), provided that they register with the relevant Swiss representation abroad. Their eligibility to vote in elections for the Council of States (upper house of parliament) and in cantonal and municipal elections depends on the law of the canton in which the person was registered before leaving Switzerland.

Tunisia

Tunisia expatriates have allowed to vote in presidential elections since 1988 and additionally in parliamentary elections since the Tunisian Revolution in 2011

United Kingdom

British citizens living abroad may vote in UK general elections, referendums and European Parliament elections for up to 15 years after leaving the UK. However, they may only do so if they were registered to vote in the UK while living there. British expats who were under 18 at the time of leaving the UK may vote as long as their parent or guardian was registered to vote in the UK.

British expats are not allowed to vote in local elections or in elections for the devolved Scottish Parliament or Welsh or Northern Irish Assemblies.

United States of America

US citizens living abroad enjoy full voting rights, regardless of how long they have lived abroad. In addition, 36 states, plus the District of Columbia, allow US citizens who have never resided in the US to vote in the respective state based on where their parent or legal guardian was last registered.