Vote from overseas

It’s easy to vote from overseas and have your say in the 2020 General Election and referendums. You can vote from overseas from Wednesday 2 September until 7pm, Saturday 19 September (NZ time).

Vote before you go

If you’ll still be in New Zealand when advance voting opens on Saturday 5 September, it will be easier to vote before you go overseas.

Check your eligibility

You can vote from overseas if you’re enrolled and one of the following statements is true:

you’re a New Zealand citizen who’s visited New Zealand in the last 3 years

you’re a permanent resident of New Zealand who’s visited New Zealand in the last 12 months.

Are you a permanent resident?

For electoral purposes, you’re a permanent resident if you’re in New Zealand legally and not required to leave within a specific time.

If you’re Australian, Niuean, Tokelauan, or a Cook Islander, you can vote if you’re enrolled and you’ve lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more.

Are you a public servant or member of the New Zealand Defence Force?

You’re eligible to enrol and vote no matter how long you’ve been outside New Zealand if you’re in one of the following groups:

public servants working overseas and their families

New Zealand diplomats or trade representatives and their families

members of the New Zealand Defence Force and their families.

Contact us if you’re no longer eligible

If you don’t meet the requirements above, please email us at overseas@vote.nz to tell us you’re no longer eligible.

Enrol or update your details

To take part in the election and referendums, you must be enrolled to vote. If you’re already enrolled, make sure your details are up to date.

Overseas voters must be enrolled by midnight Friday 18 September.

It’s easy to enrol or update your details online using your New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or RealMe verified identity.

Getting your voting papers

Your voting papers are not automatically sent to you overseas.

You can download your voting papers

The easiest and quickest way to vote from overseas is to download and print your voting papers for the general election and referendums.

You need to be correctly enrolled before you can download your voting papers.

If you are on the unpublished roll you will not be able to download your voting papers. Please contact us on overseas@vote.nz for further assistance.

You may be able to vote at an overseas voting place or by post

You may also be able to vote at an overseas voting place or ask us to send postal voting papers to you overseas. These options may depend on the COVID-19 situation in your area.

Contact us if you need help

Get in touch with us if you need help to vote.

If you’re overseas, call us on +64 9 909 4182 (international call rates may apply).

If you’re in New Zealand, call us on 0800 36 76 56.

Or you can email overseas@vote.nz

Marking your voting papers

You’ll get a voting paper for the general election and a voting paper for the referendums.

On the left side of your voting paper for the election, tick the circle next to the name of the party you choose. On the right side of your voting paper for the election, tick the circle next to the name of the electorate candidate you choose. You can only vote for one party and one candidate.

On your voting paper for the referendums, vote by placing a tick next to your answer to each referendum question. You can answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Returning your voting papers

When you’ve marked your voting papers, return them to us in one of the following ways:

upload them online

fax them back to us on +64 4 494 2300

post or hand deliver them to your nearest overseas voting place.

You cannot return your voting papers by email.

Your voting papers will include full information on how to return them.