Expats who left Britain 16 years ago will get the right to vote under a shake-up - but 16-year-olds in the UK will not.
A £2.5m fund will scrap the current 15-year limit on "overseas electors" voting in UK elections after they leave the country.
Legislation is expected later this year, after the move to axe the "arbitrary" limit was originally pledged in the 2019 Tory manifesto and confirmed in the small print of the Budget.
The Sunday Times reported the change, offering former UK residents votes for life, could see a number of so-called "tax exiles" returned their ballots including Mick Jagger and Richard Branson.
Critics say the move could increase political donations from abroad and add thousands of new voters to some swing seats.
© Getty ImagesA woman exits a polling station on December 12, 2019 in Birchgrove, Cardiff
It comes despite the Conservatives repeatedly refusing pleas to extend votes to Brits aged 16 and 17 who live in the UK.
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No10 threatened to pull plans for a December 2019 snap election the last time an extension was proposed and Michael Gove said last year: "The UK Government have no intention of altering the franchise."
A No10 source said the situation has not changed.
It also comes despite the government introducing new hurdles to voting in the UK, with mandatory ID checks set to take force before the next general election despite fears they will disenfranchise older and poorer voters.
Jess Blair of the Electoral Reform Society said: "These plans to extend the franchise are an opportunity to tackle an injustice.
"16 and 17 year olds are able to vote in Wales and Scotland but are denied a say in England. This is wrong, and unfair to the many young people excluded.
"The government should take this chance to right a wrong here by equalising the voting age across the UK."
The Tories' 2019 manifesto said: "We will make it easier for British expats to vote in Parliamentary elections, and get rid of the arbitrary 15-year limit on their voting rights.
"We will maintain the voting age at 18 - the age at which one gains full citizenship rights."