Voting rights for Germans in Mallorca: local and European elections

Voting rights for Germans in Spain are constantly getting muddled up in Mallorca – and it regularly costs people their vote. Anyone who has been registered for years often automatically assumes they're entitled to vote, and anyone who has once taken part in a European election is surprised to find they have to sit out the election to the Balearic Parliament. This guide clearly separates the four elections: local elections, European elections, the Spanish Parliament and the German Bundestag election from abroad. You'll learn what requirements the Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General (LOREG) demands, why the "declaration of intent" to the electoral authority is the decisive step, and how you keep your voting rights in Germany despite moving abroad.

Do you know which of the four elections you're actually allowed to have a say in while living in Mallorca?

• Submit a personal enquiry — we'll put you in touch with experts for administrative procedures and registration processes in Mallorca
• Empadronamiento Mallorca — the basic requirement, without which no local voting right arises

The four elections at a glance — and where the confusion begins

For Germans in Mallorca, four quite different elections are at stake, and you're only actually entitled to cast a vote in two of them. The confusion usually arises because local and regional elections in Spain take place on the same day and appear to belong together visually, even though they are strictly separate in legal terms.

Note: Anyone who acquires Spanish citizenship automatically also has voting rights for the Cortes Generales and the Balearic Parliament. You can find details in our guide to Spanish citizenship.

Local elections: your right to vote in the municipality

In Spanish local elections (elecciones municipales), EU citizens have the right to vote under Art. 176.1 LOREG if they are resident in Spain, meet the voting requirements that apply to Spaniards – and have explicitly declared their intention to exercise their right to vote in Spain. This last point is regularly overlooked: without this declaration of intent, you will not appear on the electoral roll, even if you have been registered in your municipality's Empadronamiento for years. Under Art. 177 LOREG, you are also eligible to stand for election under the same conditions, meaning you could run for a seat on the town council yourself.

The register in which foreign eligible voters are recorded is called CERE (Censo Electoral de Extranjeros Residentes) and is administered by the Oficina del Censo Electoral at the Spanish National Statistics Institute, INE. The specific forms and deadlines for the declaration of intent are set anew for each local election and announced beforehand by the Oficina del Censo Electoral – rely on the current announcement rather than on information from a previous election year.

Caution: Anyone who has moved and not re-registered (empadronado) will not receive voting documents – even if everything went correctly in a previous election. Report any change of address promptly at your municipality's town hall.

European elections: Spain or Germany — but only once

For European Parliament elections too, EU citizens have the right to vote in Spain (Art. 210.1 LOREG), provided they meet the requirements that apply to Spaniards and are also eligible to vote in their home member state – that is, Germany. The crucial difference from local elections is set out in Art. 210.3 LOREG: you must have previously explicitly opted to exercise your right to vote in the European elections in Spain. If you do not do so, your voting right automatically remains with Germany.

Art. 210.2 LOREG makes clear: No one may vote more than once in the same election. If you opt for Spain, you vote exclusively for Spanish lists there; there is then no additional right to vote in Germany for this election. Under Art. 210 bis, as a Union citizen in Spain you are also eligible to stand for the European Parliament if you are likewise eligible to stand in your country of origin.

What Germans in Spain are not allowed to vote for

This is the most common disappointment, which is why it belongs clearly at the beginning rather than the end of this guide: neither the Cortes Generales (Congreso de los Diputados and Senado) nor the Parliament of the Balearic Islands nor the Consells Insulars as representative bodies are open to Germans. These three elections require Spanish nationality – no matter how long your residence, no Empadronamiento or Residencia changes this. Anyone who wants to have a political say at all levels in Mallorca cannot avoid acquiring Spanish citizenship.

Note: This restriction applies solely to the right to vote. Your other rights as an EU citizen – such as freedom of establishment, healthcare or property – remain unaffected by this.

Bundestag election from Mallorca: application instead of automatism

Anyone who emigrates to Mallorca and gives up their residence in Germany entirely does not automatically lose their German voting rights – but must actively apply to retain them. Under § 12 para. 2 of the Federal Elections Act (Bundeswahlgesetz), Germans within the meaning of Art. 116 para. 1 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) who live outside Germany on election day are entitled to vote under one of two alternative conditions:

The second variant is often overlooked: anyone who has exceeded the 25-year limit is not automatically excluded, but must set out in the application itself their political familiarity with, and being affected by, conditions in Germany. A previous place of residence in the area covered by Art. 3 of the Unification Treaty also counts towards the three-month period.

Note: Germans living abroad are not automatically entered on a German electoral register. For every Bundestag election a fresh written application for entry in the electoral register must be submitted to the responsible German municipality; voting then takes place by postal ballot. Which municipality is responsible depends on your last German place of residence or, failing that, on the fallback rules of § 12 Abs. 4 Bundeswahlgesetz.

Step by step: registration for local and European elections

1. Make sure your empadronamiento in your municipality on Mallorca is up to date – without this registration there is no entry in the electoral register.
2. Wait for the request from the Oficina del Censo Electoral (INE) or find out in advance about the procedure for declaring your intention ahead of the respective election.
3. For the European election, decide deliberately whether you want to exercise your right to vote in Spain or in Germany – voting twice is not permitted.
4. Submit your declaration of intent to the responsible office in good time, as soon as the official announcement of the respective election has been published.
5. Before every further election, check whether a move within Mallorca makes a new registration in the electoral register necessary.

Step by step: application for entry for the Bundestag election

1. Establish which German municipality is responsible for you – usually your last German place of residence.
2. Before every Bundestag election, submit a new written application for entry in the electoral register to that municipality.
3. In the application, set out which of the two variants under § 12 Abs. 2 Bundeswahlgesetz applies to you – especially if your stay in Germany lies further back in time.
4. Once you have been successfully registered, apply for the postal voting documents and send back your vote in good time.
5. Keep an eye on the current procedures and dates published by the Bundeswahlleiterin, as deadlines change from election to election.

Most common mistakes

• Assuming automatism: Neither Spanish nor German voting rights are granted to you "automatically" just because you're registered or have voted before.
• Forgetting the declaration of intent: Without an explicit declaration to the Oficina del Censo Electoral, your name won't appear on the register for local and European elections.
• Attempting to vote twice: Anyone who votes in the European elections both in Spain and in Germany violates Art. 210.2 LOREG.
• Wanting to vote in the Balearic Parliament elections: This election is tied to Spanish nationality, regardless of place of residence.
• Treating the Bundestag election application as a one-off: The application only applies to a single election and must be resubmitted afterwards.
• Not reporting a move: A new empadronamiento on Mallorca or a change of residence in Germany can change which authority is responsible.

What happens next?

Once you're entered in the Spanish electoral roll (CERE), the entry generally remains valid as long as your place of residence doesn't change – for future local elections you usually don't need to register again, but you should notify the town hall promptly of any change of address. For the European elections, the research doesn't specify how long a choice, once made, remains valid – clarify this with the Oficina del Censo Electoral in good time before each European election. For the German Bundestag election, however, the process starts afresh each time: the application for entry on the electoral roll applies solely to the upcoming election.

Checklist: voting rights as a German in Mallorca

• Empadronamiento in your municipality of residence is up to date
• Declaration of intent for the local election checked or submitted at the Oficina del Censo Electoral
• Decision made for the European elections: Spain or Germany
• Clear that the Balearic Parliament, Consells Insulars and Cortes Generales cannot be voted for without Spanish nationality
• Responsible German municipality for the Bundestag election identified
• Keep an eye on the current voting notice from the Bundeswahlleiterin once a Bundestag election is approaching
• New responsibilities checked in case of a move within Mallorca or within Germany

Conclusion

Voting rights for Germans in Spain are not an all-or-nothing matter, but a patchwork of four clearly separated elections: local elections and European elections are open to you on Mallorca, provided you're registered and have declared your intent to the electoral authority. The Balearic Parliament, Consells Insulars and Cortes Generales remain reserved for Spanish nationals. And your German voting rights for the Bundestag election continue to exist – but only if you actively claim them by application for each election. Anyone unsure whether forms or documents need to be translated from German into Spanish will find in the Industry directory: Translators & Interpreters suitable contacts.

Official sources

• Ley Orgánica 5/1985 del Régimen Electoral General (LOREG), consolidated version: https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1985-11672
• § 12 Bundeswahlgesetz (Federal Electoral Act): https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bwahlg/__12.html
• Federal Returning Officer (Bundeswahlleiterin) – Information for Germans abroad: bundeswahlleiterin.de
• Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) – Oficina del Censo Electoral: ine.es
• Federal Foreign Office – Voting from abroad: auswaertiges-amt.de