Press

Press release no. 01/19 of 11. Februar 2019

2019 European Parliament election: Information for Germans abroad

WIESBADEN – As a general rule, people entitled to vote may only participate in the election of European Parliament Members from the Federal Republic of Germany on 26 May 2019 if they are listed in a voters’ register in Germany. The Federal Returning Officer reports that Germans who live outside the Federal Republic of Germany and do not have a registered place of residence in Germany will be entered in a voters’ register only if they file a formal application and the relevant conditions are met. The application form is provided on the website of the Federal Returning Officer under European Parliament election 2019 → Information for voters → Germans abroad.

Printed application forms will presumably be available from mid-February 2019 at

  • the diplomatic and full-time consular missions of the Federal Republic of Germany,
  • the town and district returning officers in the Federal Republic of Germany, and
  • the Federal Returning Officer:

Bundeswahlleiter
Statistisches Bundesamt
Zweigstelle Bonn
Postfach 17 03 77
53029 Bonn
Germany

Applicants may also write to antrag@bundeswahlleiter.de.

Together with their own application forms, they may order forms for other people here. Firms and associations may obtain the number of application forms they require for their staff abroad.

The application for entry in the voters’ register must bear the applicant’s personal handwritten signature; the original has to be submitted to the municipal authority in charge. The application must not be sent by e-mail or fax. It has to be received by the respective municipal authority in Germany by the 21st day before the election (5 May 2019) at the latest. This period cannot be extended. Therefore, the completed application forms should be sent to the municipal authority as early as possible.

The website of the Federal Returning Officer provides detailed information on the right to vote of

  1. Germans residing in one of the other 27 1 Member States of the European Union,
  2. Germans residing in a country outside the European Union, and
  3. Germans residing in Germany and staying abroad temporarily.

 

For further information:
Office of the Federal Returning Officer
tel: +49 611 75-4863
www.bundeswahlleiter.de/contact

 

Member States of the European Union:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 2.

 

1  … in one of the other 26 Member States of the European Union if, in keeping with the notification made in accordance with Article 50 paragraph 2 of the EU Treaty of 29 March 2017, the Treaties have ceased to apply to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland pursuant to Article 50 paragraph 3 of the EU Treaty at the time the election is held.

2  Not applicable if, in keeping with the notification made in accordance with Article 50 paragraph 2 of the EU Treaty of 29 March 2017, the Treaties have ceased to apply to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland pursuant to Article 50 paragraph 3 of the EU Treaty at the time the election is held.