2026 New Zealand General Election

Voters who are overseas during the General Election can vote from Wednesday 21 October to 7pm (NZ time), Saturday 7 November.

Who can vote from overseas

The rules about who can vote from overseas have changed for this election. You can vote from overseas for the 2026 General Election if you are enrolled and:

• are a New Zealand citizen and have been in New Zealand in the last 3 years, or
• are 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 in New Zealand legally and not required to leave within a specified time.

If you're a New Zealand citizen who has not been in New Zealand in the last 3 years, or a permanent resident for electoral purposes who has not been in New Zealand in the last 12 months, you are no longer eligible to enrol to vote. If this applies to you, please get in touch at [email protected] to let us know that you're no longer eligible.

How to enrol

Enrolment closes at midnight (NZ Time), Sunday 25 October. It's important to keep your enrolment details up to date so that you can take part in the election. It's easy to enrol or update your enrolment details online at vote.nz(external link) using your New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or RealMe verified identity.

You will be enrolled in the electorate for the last NZ address that you lived at for a month or more.

How to vote

You can vote from overseas from Wednesday 21 October. Voting papers are not automatically sent to voters overseas. You can get your voting papers in the following ways.

1. Download your voting papers

From Wednesday 21 October, voters who are overseas can download their voting papers from vote.nz/overseas(external link). This is the easiest and quickest way to get your voting papers.

You will need to be correctly enrolled before you can download your voting papers. Your last chance to download or upload your voting papers is 7pm (NZ time) on Saturday 7 November.

Full information about how to correctly complete your voting papers will be included with your downloaded voting papers.

If you're on the unpublished roll you won't be able to download your voting papers. You'll need to vote in person at an overseas voting place or ask for voting papers to be sent to you in the mail.

If you're not able to download your voting papers or get them from an overseas voting place, email [email protected] or call +64 9 909 4182 (from overseas - international call rates may apply) for help.

If you are not enrolled in time, you will not be eligible to vote in this year's election and will not be able to download voting papers.

2. Vote at an overseas voting place

From Wednesday 21 October, you can also vote in person at an overseas voting place or ask for voting papers to be sent to you in the mail from an overseas voting place. Check vote.nz/overseas(external link).

Overseas voting places will be located at some New Zealand diplomatic posts overseas, and some Australian State Electoral Commission offices. Locations and opening hours of these overseas voting places are available from vote.nz/overseas(external link).

Voting closes at overseas voting places at 4pm (local time) Friday 6 November (but may close earlier in some countries). Overseas voting places are not open on weekends or public holidays.

Request a postal vote

The Electoral Commission strongly recommends that you obtain your voting papers by downloading them or voting in person at an overseas voting place. We are not able to guarantee that you will receive your voting papers in time by post.

If you cannot download your voting papers or visit an overseas voting place, and wish to request a postal vote, please contact the Overseas Team at [email protected] or your nearest overseas voting place to discuss this further.

How to return your voting papers

1. Completed voting papers can be uploaded at vote.nz/overseas(external link) from Wednesday 21 October. Uploads must be received by 7pm (NZ time), Saturday 7 November.
2. You can also post or hand deliver your voting papers to your nearest overseas voting place. Voting papers must be received by 4pm (local time) Friday 6 November. Some overseas voting places may close earlier so please check the closing time.

More information

If you are unable to access any of the voting services mentioned above or if you have further questions about enrolling or voting from overseas, please contact the Electoral Commission.

• Visit vote.nz/overseas(external link)
• Email: [email protected] or
• Phone: +64 9 909 4182 from outside New Zealand (international toll charges will apply).

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