UK vote envelopes ARE valid to use

La Poste has confirmed that International Business Reply Service (IBRS) envelopes being supplied to British people in France for the return of EU referendum ballots are acceptable and do not need stamps placing on them.

Note however if your council sends you an ordinary "Business Reply Plus" envelope, then these are only free for posting in the UK and DO need a correct French stamps for the weight of the envelope and contents (check at your post office to be sure).

This comes as Connexion flagged up to La Poste reports from some readers of IBRS envelopes - marked in French "Réponse payée Grande Bretagne" - not being accepted at certain rural post offices where staff were not familiar with them.

A La Poste spokeswoman said: “I can confirm that these envelopes used by British citizens for the referendum are indeed taken into account and integrated into our postal system for postage to the UK.

“If there has been a problem in a certain post office we are making sure that the letters are sent on as quickly as possible.

“Furthermore, we are making sure that post offices and sorting offices everywhere in France are well informed so as to guarantee these envelopes being processed properly.”

The Electoral Commission said in a statement: “Royal Mail has confirmed that IBRS is accepted across all international posts. It is working closely with postal operators to ensure acceptance of postal votes. Voters are advised that once a ballot is in the postal system - i.e. if it has been posted into a post box - it will be processed.”

The commission recommends simply putting the envelopes in a post box, not taking them to a post office.

Some confusion is also reported over registration dates for voting. A date of May 16 for expats to register was widely reported, however this was a recommendation, not a final deadline, and was to give those using postal votes plenty of time to receive and return ballots.

If you will be voting by post, you should make sure you send back your ballot in good time – it must be received by the elections office in your old UK constituency by 22.00 on June 23. If you have arranged a proxy, make sure your nominee knows your wishes and is clear on where they need to go and that they take the proxy poll card that should be sent to them.

If you have been relying on still being registered for a postal or proxy vote from last year’s General Election and you have not double checked that your registration and choice of voting method are still valid – and your ballot has not come - it is advisable to contact your elections office urgently.

If you have applied for a postal ballot and it has not come, it is also advisable to contact your elections office for advice. It may be possible to cancel and change for a proxy vote if necessary.

Contact details for elections offices in UK constituencies may be found by putting in your old UK post code here: aboutmyvote.co.uk.

Any Briton living in France who wishes to take part in the referendum and has not yet registered and/or put in their application for a postal or proxy vote should note:

• If you have been a resident in France for less than 15 years and you were a registered voter in the UK before leaving, then you are eligible to vote. If this applies to your parents but you were too young to vote when the family left the UK then you may also vote if you have not been in France more than 15 years.
• There are two stages to voting as an overseas voter – you must apply to be registered as a voter and you must apply for a postal ballot or a proxy vote (meaning a voter in the UK will vote for you, either in person in your old constituency or by UK post with a ‘proxy postal vote’).
• It is technically possible to apply for a postal vote until June 8, however it is likely to be too late to receive the ballot in France and return it in time. However, you can still apply to vote by proxy. A proxy does not have to be a relative.
• The final deadline for registration to vote is by midnight tomorrow, June 7, at Register to vote.
• Applications for a proxy vote must be submitted by 17.00 on June 15 for voters who used to live in mainland Great Britain (if you are a former resident of Northern Ireland it is now too late, although you could still vote in person). It is possible to return the proxy application by email to the relevant elections office but all parts of a scanned form, including the signature, must be clearly visible. A proxy form for people living overseas can be downloaded here: Proxy form.
• If you want a ‘proxy postal’ vote, then the final date for applications for this is June 8 in mainland Great Britain (using the proxy application form).

There is more information for overseas voters at: aboutmyvote.co.uk.