How to fill in the application

To use this form you must be a British citizen and satisfy one of the following sets of conditions

Set 1

• Your name was previously recorded on the Parliamentary Electoral Register for an address within the Runnymede Borough Council area;
• You were resident at that address at that particular time;
• There are no more than 15 years between the date of your application and the date of your previous registration on the Parliamentary Electoral Register for Runnymede Borough Council; and
• Subsequent to the expiry of that previous registration, no other entry was made in any Register of Parliamentary electors on the basis of residence at any other address.

Set 2

• You last lived in the UK less than 15 years between the application date and the date you were last resident within the United Kingdom;
• You were by reason of age incapable of being included in the Register of Parliamentary electors in force on the last day you were resident in the United Kingdom;
• A parent or guardian was registered on the electoral register for the address at which you rely;
• You are at least 18 years old, or will become 18 while the register you now want to be on is in force.

The Application Form

Part 1

Fill in your name and non UK address in the space provided.

Your UK registration address is the address in the UK where you know or believe you were last registered as an elector. Tick the appropriate box if you were registered either as a service voter or as a voluntary mental patient.

If you left the UK when you were too young to register as an elector, your registration address is the address where you were living before you left the UK.

Fill in one of the boxes A, B or C.

If you have registered before as an overseas elector and, since then, you have not been registered as an elector living in the UK, enter the date of the register you were registered on in the Box A.

If you were last registered as an ordinary UK elector, enter the date you left the UK in Box B.

If you left the UK and you were too young to register as an elector, and you have not registered before as an overseas elector, enter your date of birth in Box C.

If your name has changed since you were last registered or if you filled in Box C, remember to state your former name in full and the reason for the change e.g. marriage

If you filled in - Box A - complete part 4

Box B - complete parts 3, 4 and 5

Box C - complete parts 2, 3, 4 and 5

Part 2

If you filled in Box C in Part 1, you must state in Part 2 the full name of the parent or guardian whose registration as an elector in the UK you are relying on. He or she must have been on the electoral register for the address you have given as UK registration address in Part 1.

If you filled in Box C you must send with this application a photocopy of your full birth certificate (showing the full names of either or both of your parents).

Tick the box to show that you have enclosed it with your application.

If the name given in part 2 is not the name of a parent or guardian, as entered in the electoral register or it is not the name of either parent as shown in your birth certificate, please explain why e.g. my mother has married or the person named above adopted me and became my guardian. If you do not know the reason for the change of name, tick the box.

Part 3

If you filled in either Box B or C in Part 1, you must fill in Part 3, giving information to show that you are a British citizen.

If you hold a British passport that describes your national status as 'British citizen', enter the number, date and place of issue of the passport in the boxes provided.

If you do not hold such a passport, but were born in the UK before 1 January 1983 (the date on which relevant part of the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force), enter the place where you were born.

If you do not hold such a passport, and you were not born in the UK before 1 January 1983, enter your date, place and country of birth. Say when and how you became a British citizen (e.g. naturalisation, registration, descent, and marriage to a British citizen before 1949).

Part 4

All applicants must complete and date the declaration.

Part 5

If you filled in Box B or C, you must find someone to support what you say in your application. They must be someone who is:

• aged 18 or over
• the bearer of a British passport which describes his/her status as 'British citizen'
• not living in the UK
• who knows you but is not a close relative (husband, wife, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild)

Your supporter must state his/her full name and number, date and place of issue of his/her passport before signing the declaration.

Absent Voting

If you consider that you will not be able to cast your vote in person you may

• appoint someone in the UK to vote on your behalf, known as a proxy, or
• Vote by post - an application to be found below.

Your vote will be cast in the constituency that covers the address where you were last registered as an elector in the UK or where a parent or guardian was registered.

If you are currently registered as an overseas elector, and have not cancelled your proxy appointment, you need not complete an additional form unless you wish to appoint a different person.

Your proxy must be:

• willing and allowed to vote on your behalf
• resident in the UK
• a British citizen, or a citizen of the Commonwealth or of the Republic of Ireland
• old enough to vote
• not subject to any legal incapacity

A proxy may not vote at the same election in any constituency for more than two people unless they are, a close relative (husband, wife, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild) of the person they are voting for.

If you have consulted your proxy and can confirm that he or she is willing and is allowed to act for you, then only you need to complete the form and send it to the electoral registration officer.

If you are not yet sure whom you wish to appoint as proxy, or if you are not sure if your chosen proxy is willing to act for you, send it to your proxy and ask him or her to sign it and to send it on to the electoral registration officer. The address is listed below.

You, as the applicant, must sign the absent vote document.

You are strongly advised to appoint a proxy as soon as possible. Do not leave it until shortly before an election, since it may be difficult to confirm the proxy's appointment in time for your vote to be cast.

If you or your proxy believes it unlikely that they will able to vote in person on your behalf, tick the appropriate box to ask the electoral registration officer to send an application form for him/her to vote by post.

Please note: Please be mindful of the fact that Postal ballot papers sent overseas can, on occasion, take considerable time to be received and returned, this being exacerbated by the tight timescales associated with elections.

After you have returned the form.

The electoral registration officer will write to tell you if he is satisfied that you qualify as an overseas elector and will be included in the register. If he has doubts about your age or citizenship, he may ask for further evidence or documentation. If he rejects your application he will return this form and explain why.

Once you are registered as an overseas elector, you will be able to vote at all Parliamentary and European Parliamentary elections for a period of twelve months from the date of your entry onto the register. Alternatively, if you have requested to vote by proxy, you may vote in person if you are able to return to the area in the United Kingdom where you are registered on polling day, providing your proxy has not already voted on your behalf.

If a postal vote has been requested by you or your proxy this negates your right to vote in person unless you change your circumstances prior to an election and your informing the electoral registration officer of that fact. There are deadlines associated with changing your voting arrangements and I would advise that you contact the elections office allowing plenty of time if you wish to do so.

The registration officer will send you a renewal application prior to the expiry date.

Warning

It is an offence to make an overseas elector's declaration if you know that you are subject to a legal incapacity to vote at Parliamentary elections, or to make a false statement in this application.

It is also an offence for your supporter to sign the declaration if he or she is not authorised to do so, or if he or she makes a false statement.