Voting for Irish citizens abroad

If you are an Irish citizen living abroad, you cannot be entered on the Register of Electors and cannot vote in an election or referendum in Ireland.

EU citizens who are resident in Spain and aged 18 or over on the day of a local or European election are entitled to vote if they have registered with their Town Hall ("Ayuntamiento").

Irish General Election or Referendum

In order to vote in an election or referendum in Ireland, you must be registered to vote on the Register of Electors. To be eligible to be included on the Register of Electors, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old on the day the Register comes into force
• Have been ordinarily resident in the State on 1 September in the year preceding the coming into force of the Register.

If you are an Irish citizen living abroad, you cannot be entered on the Register of Electors and cannot vote in an election or referendum in Ireland.  You can check online to see if you are currently registered in your local area. If you have any questions, please contact your local authority directly.

Only Irish officials (and their spouses) posted abroad, who are considered to be resident in Ireland for tax and electoral purposes, may register on the postal voters list.

Further information on voting is available on the Citizens Information website. 

Spanish Municipal or European Elections

EU citizens who are residents in Spain and aged 18 or over on the day of a local or European election are entitled to vote. You must be registered on the padrón (list of all the people who live in a town) and have explicitly expressed a wish to vote in municipal or European elections by signing on the electoral roll (censo electoral).

Information on how to register can be found on the Electoral Census Office website, while information on voting rights more generally can be accessed on the website of the Ministry of the Interior.