British nationals in Ireland must register for Brexit vote by Monday

British people living in Ireland have until Monday to register online for a postal vote in the Brexit referendum on June 23rd.

UK citizens may register as overseas voters for up to 15 years if they were previously registered to vote there before moving overseas.

More than 112,000 British nationals were recorded as living in Ireland in the 2011 census, while some 407,000 people living in Britain identified themselves as Irish born in the same year.

Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes said a recent survey suggested 20 per cent of UK expats living here thought they were not entitled to vote in the referendum on EU membership.

“A survey by the UK Electoral Commission of eligible voters that revealed that 30 per cent were unsure about the rights of overseas voters, while 20 per cent thought that they were not entitled to vote,” Mr Hayes said.

“If you are a British citizen living in Ireland, who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years, you are entitled to vote. All that’s needed is a passport and national insurance number. The whole process takes five minutes,” Mr Hayes said.

"This is the first referendum on Europe since the UK joined 40 years ago. In contrast we had nine referendums on Europe since we joined. So it's not an exaggeration to say this is a once in a generation opportunity for Britons living in Ireland to have their say on Europe."

Mr Hayes said that while much of the debate so far had focused on economics and trade, there were “countless families with members on both sides of the Irish Sea”.

Further information is available at aboutmyvote.co.uk

Postal votes will be sent out between Monday May 23rd and Friday May 27th.