Voting

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If an election takes place in the UK while you’re studying here, you may be eligible to vote. 

If you are eligible to vote and you receive a voting invitation letter, do not ignore it. You can be fined £80 if you fail to register to vote after receiving a request. You don’t actually have to vote if you don’t want to. 

Different international students can vote in different types of elections in the UK. The Electoral Commission website and toolkit explains in detail who is eligible to vote in each of the different types of election.  For example, some EU citizens are eligible to vote in local government elections but not national general elections.

If your nationality is listed below, you can register to vote.

Do I need a National Insurance number before I can register to vote? 

You do not need a National Insurance number to register. If you do not have one, you can answer the questions in the following way: 

• Question: 'What is your National Insurance number?' 
• Answer: 'I can't provide a National Insurance number' 
• Question: 'Why can't you provide a National Insurance number?' 
• Answer by providing an explanation, for example, 'I have come to the UK to study and do not have a National Insurance number' 

If you would like to find out more about applying for a National Insurance number, visit our Working in the UK page for details.