Can You Still Vote in Your Home Country While Living in Spain?

For most nationalities on the Costa, yes: your home country’s national elections stay open to you, and what decides it is whether you are on the right register back home. Ireland and Denmark are the exceptions, closing the vote to nearly everyone who has moved abroad for good.

The rules differ enough to catch people out. Some countries register you once, Germany wants an application before every election, and the UK and Sweden run renewal clocks that quietly expire.

Last verified: 28 September 2026.

Americans

Yes, in federal elections, through the last US state you lived in, using the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). For the 3 November 2026 election, 14 jurisdictions close FPCA registration on 4 or 5 October, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and Ohio among them; the rest close later, and each state’s dates are on its FVAP.gov page. Read the full guide for Americans.

Britons

Yes, in UK Parliament elections, and the 15-year limit ended on 16 January 2024; the conditions now are British citizenship and having lived in the UK at some point. Register online through the Register to Vote service (paper form in Northern Ireland), renew every three years, then vote by post or by proxy (Northern Ireland: proxy only). No general election has been called; Parliament dissolves automatically on 9 July 2029 if not dissolved sooner. Read the full guide for Britons.

Irish citizens

For almost everyone living in Spain, no. An Irish citizen abroad cannot be added to the Register of Electors, so Dáil, presidential and local elections and referendums are closed; the exceptions are officials on duty abroad (and their spouse or civil partner), anyone planning to return to the same address within 18 months, and NUI and Trinity graduates for the Seanad university seats. What stays is the European Parliament vote, cast in Spain. Read the full guide for Irish citizens.

Germans

Yes, for the Bundestag, if after age 14 you lived in Germany for at least three uninterrupted months within the last 25 years, or can show you are personally and directly familiar with German politics and affected by it. The work is a written application before every election to your last German municipality, arriving by the 21st day before polling day. No election has been called; the Basic Law sets it 46 to 48 months after the term began on 25 March 2025, so between 25 January and 25 March 2029. Read the full guide for Germans.

Dutch citizens

Yes, however long you have been away, for anyone 18 or over living abroad without a Dutch municipal registration and holding valid Dutch ID. You register once with the municipality of The Hague, online, ticking the elections you want: the Tweede Kamer, the European Parliament and the kiescollege niet-ingezetenen — electoral college for non-residents, which helps elect the Senate. The kiescollege needs its own tick, and it is the next date that matters: registration closes 3 February 2027 for the vote on 17 March 2027; the next regular Tweede Kamer election is 15 May 2030. Read the full guide for Dutch citizens.

Belgians

Yes, for the federal Chamber and, with a separate request, the European Parliament, once you are on a Belgian career consular post’s population register; voting is compulsory once registered. Register with that post (form, or e-Consul for federal elections only); it takes effect from the first day of the fourth month after filing and lasts while you stay on its register. The next federal election shares the day with the 2029 European election, date not yet set. Read the full guide for Belgians.

French citizens

Yes, for the presidential and legislative elections, the European Parliament and referendums, provided you are on the liste électorale consulaire — consular electoral list. You register once, on service-public.fr or at the consulate with form cerfa 12669. The presidential election is on 18 April 2027 (second round 2 May); the law closes consular-list registration on the sixth Friday before the first round, so 12 March 2027. Read the full guide for French citizens.

Italians

Yes, by post, once your consulate has you on AIRE, the Anagrafe degli italiani residenti all’estero — register of Italians resident abroad; the ballot then arrives by post. Voting in person in Italy instead is a per-election choice: Law 459/2001 sets the deadline at 31 December of the year before the legislature’s natural expiry, and with Parliament seated on 13 October 2022 for five years, that is 31 December 2026. Read the full guide for Italians.

Swedes

Yes, for the Riksdag and the European Parliament, if you were ever registered as resident in Sweden. You stay on the roll automatically for ten years after emigrating, then re-register for another ten with Skatteverket form SKV 7842; once you have dropped off, a vote that reaches Sweden by the day before election day also re-registers you. You vote early at an embassy or consulate that takes votes, or by post; on 13 September 2026 Torrevieja took 2,416 votes, Málaga 1,118 and Barcelona 1,020. The next ordinary Riksdag election is the second Sunday of September 2030, 8 September. Read the full guide for Swedes.

Norwegians

Yes, for the Storting, with nothing to apply for, if you were ever registered as resident in Norway. Under the 2023 Election Act you are on your last municipality’s roll automatically if you were registered as resident within the ten years before election day, and added when your vote arrives if it was longer ago. Whether voters abroad can take part in the municipal and county elections on Monday 13 September 2027 is not yet confirmed; Valgdirektoratet says practical information will follow closer to the election. In 2025 early voting in Spain ran at the Madrid embassy and ten honorary consulates, and the next Storting election is in September 2029. Read the full guide for Norwegians.

Danes

Mostly no. A Dane who moves abroad loses the vote as a rule; the exceptions are a return expected within two years, a Danish state posting, or a temporary stay (in settled practice, not expected to become permanent and not past eight years) for a Danish employer, an international organisation, study or health. Housing, job-hunting, a partner or family reasons do not qualify, which rules out most Danes on the Costa. What stays open is the European Parliament: any Dane in another EU country can apply to Copenhagen Municipality for the European list, whatever the reason or length of stay; the next European election is in 2029. Read the full guide for Danes.

Finns

Yes, with no limit at all: every Finnish citizen aged 18 or over votes in parliamentary and presidential elections regardless of domicile, and in European elections unless registered to vote in Spain. There is nothing to register; the roll is compiled automatically. From Spain you vote in advance at the embassy, or by post with two witnesses and a pack ordered from the Ministry of Justice for each election. The parliamentary election is on Sunday 18 April 2027, and postal packs can be ordered from 18 January 2027. Read the full guide for Finns.

Canadians

Yes, in federal general elections, by-elections and referendums, as long as you have lived in Canada at some point; there is no limit on years abroad. You apply once to the International Register of Electors, giving your last Canadian address, which fixes your riding; the ballot kit is mailed automatically when an election is called. The last election was 28 April 2025, and the fixed-date rule (third Monday of October, fourth calendar year after) points to 15 October 2029 unless Parliament is dissolved earlier. Read the full guide for Canadians.

What you can vote on in Spain

A vote at home changes nothing here: Spain keeps a separate register for foreign residents, the Censo Electoral de Extranjeros Residentes en España — electoral register of foreign residents in Spain, or CERE, covering municipal elections and, for EU citizens, the European Parliament; regional and general elections are not on it. EU citizens register after getting on the padrón — municipal register of residents and declaring the wish to vote in Spain; nationals of the 13 reciprocity-agreement countries, the United Kingdom and Norway among them, register for municipal elections only. In European elections you vote once, at home or in Spain. Details: registering for Spanish municipal elections and who can vote in Spain.

Dates coming up

• 3 November 2026: US general election; FPCA registration closes 4 or 5 October in 14 jurisdictions.
• 31 December 2026: Italy. Last day to opt to vote in person at the 2027 general election (Law 459/2001, article 4).
• 18 January 2027: Finland. Postal voting packs can be ordered.
• 3 February 2027: Netherlands. Registration closes for the Senate electoral college.
• 12 March 2027: France. Consular-list cut-off for the presidential election (sixth Friday before the first round).
• 17 March 2027: Netherlands. Senate electoral college vote.
• 18 April 2027: France, presidential first round; Finland, parliamentary election.
• 13 September 2027: Norway. Municipal and county elections; whether voters abroad take part is not yet confirmed.

What this does not cover

Local elections at home. Most of these countries tie them to residence. France lets a citizen abroad choose a commune list instead of the consular one, Italians vote in them in person in Italy, and Norway’s position for voters abroad is not yet confirmed. Germany’s Land elections and Canada’s provincial elections were outside the sources checked.

Where exactly to vote in Spain: which missions take votes or open a polling station is set per election, so ask yours once an election is called. And no home-country registration opens Spanish regional or general elections; the CERE covers municipal and European votes only.

The five-minute version

• Eleven of 13 countries keep national elections open to citizens in Spain; Ireland and Denmark close them to nearly everyone who moved for good.
• Register once: Netherlands, Canada, France, Belgium, Italy. Renewal clocks: UK every 3 years, Sweden every 10. Apply every election: Germany. Nothing to file: Finland, Norway.
• 2026 deadlines: the US election on 3 November (FPCA registration closes 4 or 5 October in 14 jurisdictions); 31 December for Italians who want to vote in person in 2027.
• 2027: Dutch Senate electoral college (register by 3 February, vote 17 March), French presidential (list closes 12 March, first round 18 April), Finnish parliamentary (18 April), Norwegian local (13 September, with the vote from abroad still to be confirmed).
• In Spain, EU citizens and 13 agreement nationalities (the UK and Norway included) can vote in municipal elections once on the CERE; European elections are one vote, at home or here.

Related guides

• Can Foreigners Vote in Elections in Spain?
• Can British Residents Vote in Spain?
• How to Register to Vote in Spanish Municipal Elections as a Foreign Resident
• Spain Election Calendar for Foreign Residents
• How to Vote in US Elections From Spain

General information, not legal advice, current as of 28 September 2026. Primary sources: FVAP.gov, GOV.UK, Citizens Information, the Bundeswahlleiterin, NederlandWereldwijd, the Kiesraad, Belgium’s FPS Foreign Affairs, Service-Public.fr, Normattiva, Valmyndigheten, Lovdata, Valgdirektoratet, valg.im.dk, vaalit.fi, Elections Canada, the INE and Your Europe.