Once registered as an overseas voter on https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote , it is essential that you also set up an absent vote to be able to vote in the UK Parliamentary elections on 7th May, 2015.
Links to the the required application forms are provided below.
The best choice for voting on time due to a maximum of only 25 days being allowed (for sending you the actual voting papers and for you to complete and then return them if you choose the postal vote option), is to complete the Postal Proxy Application Form below. Note that your chosen proxy does not have to live in the constituency in which your vote is cast but must only be registered to vote in the UK.
The sample letter below received by a newly registered overseas voter, from the Local Registration Officer in the UK constituency concerned, identifies this key requirement for an absent vote:
Dear Overseas Elector,
We currently have you registered as an overseas elector. In a recent review of our overseas electors, we have noticed that you currently do not have an absent vote set up to enable you to vote in UK Parliamentary elections from abroad. As a result, and with the UK Parliamentary General Election fast approaching on 7th May 2015, we have attached some application forms for you to consider and complete in order to set up an absent vote.
You can apply to vote either by post or by proxy. If you decide to vote by post, your ballot paper will be sent to you at a specified address a few weeks before polling day in order for you to cast your vote. However, please note that due to international air mail/postage timings, we can not always guarantee the postal pack will reach you and be returned to us in good time to be counted.
If you choose to vote by proxy, this means you appoint someone you know living in the UK to vote on your behalf. They will go to the polling station for you and cast the vote according to your instructions. If your proxy does not live in the constituency and would not be able to attend a polling station for you on polling day, they can in turn apply to vote by post as your proxy; there is a form attached for this as well. The person you appoint as your proxy must be registered to vote in the UK.
Please do not delay in applying for an absent vote for the general election in May 2015, as once the deadline of 20 April 2015 has passed, we will be unable to make provisions for you to vote.
Votes for Expat Brits blog 
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To my fellow ex-pats. I have just returned to Paris and had to change my address to re-register on-line as an overseas voter. I was lost as to the procedure to follow and also the additional need to set up an “Absent Vote”, to be sure to be able to vote on the D-Day (?) ( deadline) of May 7 (see article linked to below).
Thanks to the advice of British Conservatives in Paris I registered for a proxy vote. You can also register for a postal vote.
Note it takes at least ten days to complete – do it now or else YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO VOTE.
PLEASE REMIND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS THIS WILL BE A CRUCIAL VOTE.”
15 year rule????.!!!!!??
Thank you for your comment, Joanna.
Many of us, including me and I assume you, are already excluded from voting by the 15-year-rule.
However, the more overseas voters who can still vote and do actually register to vote, and we are looking to increase the current registration levels from 20,000 – 30,000 up to 100,000, the more we will have evidence to present to the major political parties that the overseas vote is worth encouraging, including removal of this rather discouraging and arbitrary 15-year-limit on our voting rights.
Administrator