{"id":11767,"date":"2023-07-03T11:00:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T11:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/?page_id=11767"},"modified":"2023-09-27T04:19:14","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T04:19:14","slug":"british-overseas-territories-citizen","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/legal\/citizenship\/british-nationality\/british-overseas-territories-citizen\/","title":{"rendered":"British Overseas Territories Citizen (BOTC) Rights Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"
BOTC refers to any individuals who migrated to the United Kingdom from a British overseas territory. The term can also apply to UK-born descendants of these citizens.<\/p>\n
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Born before 1st of January 1983<\/h2>\n
Some of the rules that determine United Kingdom nationality changed in 1983.<\/p>\n
You would have become a British overseas territories citizen if, on January 1st 1983, (both):<\/p>\n
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You were a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) on the 31st of December 1982.<\/li>\n
You had connections with a British overseas territory. It could be that you, your parents (or grandparents) were born, registered, or naturalised in a British overseas territory.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Were you a woman married to a man who became a British overseas territories citizen on the 1st of January in 1983? If so, you would also have become a British overseas territories citizen (BOTC).<\/p>\n
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Born since 1st of January 1983<\/h2>\n
Were you were born on or after the 1st of January 1983? If so, you would be a British overseas territories citizen if (both):<\/p>\n
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You were born in one of the British overseas territories (see below).<\/li>\n
One of your parents was either a British overseas territories citizen or ‘legally’ settled in a British overseas territory at the time of your birth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You would also qualify as a British overseas territories citizen if either of these apply to your situation:<\/p>\n
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A British overseas territories citizen adopted you in an overseas territory.<\/li>\n
A process known as ‘otherwise than by descent’. It means you were born outside of a overseas territory to a parent who gained British overseas territories citizenship in their own right.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Rights as a British Overseas Territories Citizen<\/h2>\n
British overseas territories citizens can:<\/p>\n
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Hold a British passport.<\/li>\n
Get consular assistance and protection from United Kingdom diplomatic posts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
But, unless you are a British citizen as well as a British overseas territories citizen:<\/p>\n
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You would still be subject to immigration controls. In this case, you would not have the ‘automatic’ right to live or work in the United Kingdom.<\/li>\n
The European Union (EU) would not consider you as a United Kingdom national.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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British Citizenship<\/h2>\n
Note<\/strong>: Some individuals became a British citizen on the 21st of May 2002 by automatic process. It applied if your British overseas territories citizenship was due to a connection with a qualifying territory.<\/p>\n
The qualifying territories for British overseas territories citizenship (BOTC) are:<\/p>\n
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Anguilla<\/li>\n
Bermuda<\/li>\n
British Antarctic Territory<\/li>\n
British Indian Ocean Territory<\/li>\n
British Virgin Islands<\/li>\n
Cayman Islands<\/li>\n
Falkland Islands<\/li>\n
Gibraltar<\/li>\n
Montserrat<\/li>\n
Pitcairn Islands<\/li>\n
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha<\/li>\n
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands<\/li>\n