Are you eligible to enrol and vote?

If you’re 17, you can fill out an enrolment form now. On your 18th birthday, we’ll automatically enrol you and you’ll be ready to vote. Easy.

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You're a resident for electoral purposes if you’re living in New Zealand lawfully and you're not required to leave within a specified time.

You’re eligible to enrol and vote if you’re a resident for electoral purposes, are 18 or older, and have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more.

A resident for electoral purposes includes someone who holds a valid resident or other visa if:

• you live in New Zealand
• your visa does not require you to leave New Zealand within a specified time
• you have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life
• you are in New Zealand legally
• you are not subject to sections 15 or 16 of the Immigration Act, for example have a conviction for certain offences or have been deported from New Zealand or another country.

If you hold a 2021 Resident Visa, and you meet the criteria above, you are eligible to enrol and vote in New Zealand.

If you are on a work or study visa that requires you to leave New Zealand by a certain date you are not eligible to enrol and vote.

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You can enrol and vote once you’ve lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more.

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You can enrol and vote from overseas if all the following statements are true: 

• you are 18 years or older 
• you’ve lived in New Zealand for more than 12 months continuously at some time in your life 
• you are one of the following: 
  • a New Zealand citizen and have been in New Zealand within the past 3 years, or
  • a resident for electoral purposes and have been in New Zealand within the past 12 months.

You're a resident for electoral purposes if you're living in New Zealand lawfully and you're not required to leave within a specified time.

If you're enrolling from overseas, your electorate will be where you last lived for 1 month or more.

Enrolling from overseas is not compulsory — it’s your choice whether you enrol.  

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

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

• 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.

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If you’re on remand, home detention, or serving a community-based sentence, and you meet the eligibility criteria at the top of this page, you can enrol to vote.

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You can enrol and vote if you are serving a prison sentence of less than 3 years and all the offences you were sentenced for occurred before 20 December 2025.

You cannot enrol or vote if:

• you are serving a prison sentence of less than 3 years and any of the offences you were sentenced for occurred on or after 20 December 2025
• you are serving a prison sentence of more than 3 years.

If you are homeless, you can enrol at the address where you spend a substantial part of your time. You can also enrol at the last residential address where you lived for at least 1 month, even if that was some time ago.

When you enrol to vote, you'll need to provide a postal address where electoral mail, such as enrolment confirmations, can be sent. The postal address could be a PO Box, or the address of a friend, family member, church or support group, but it needs to be someone who will agree to hold your mail for you to collect.

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You’re not eligible to enrol and vote if any of the following statements are true:

• you’re a New Zealand citizen who has not been in New Zealand within the last 3 years
• you’re a permanent resident of New Zealand who has not been in New Zealand within the past twelve months
• you have to leave New Zealand by a set date, such as a date on a student, work, or visitor permit
• you're serving a prison sentence of 3 years or more in a New Zealand prison
• you’re serving a prison sentence of less than 3 years and any of the offences you were sentenced for occurred on or after 20 December 2025
• you’ve been in a psychiatric hospital for over 3 years after being charged with a criminal offence
• you’ve been convicted of a corrupt practice and added to the Corrupt Practices List

If you’re unsure about your eligibility, call 0800 36 76 56.

Contact our enrolment team

View the legislation covering eligibility to enrol