The law covering naturalisation and registration is contained in the British Nationality Act 1981 and the regulations made under it.

 

Naturalisation as a British Overseas Territories Citizen (BOTC)

Applications for BOTC status from the British Virgin Islands are processed by the Civil Registry and Passport Office.   The application forms are available from the Passport Office and include detailed guidance on how to fill them in.  An appointment is required with the Head of the Passport Office to submit your application.

Civil Registry & Passport Office
Central Administration Complex
Road Town
Tortola
+1 (284) 494-3702 ext. 2128

 

Registration of a Minor as a British Overseas Territories Citizen (BOTC)

A child who does not have an automatic entitlement may be registered as a British Overseas Territories Citizen at the discretion of the Governor provided an application is received before the child's 18th birthday. It is not possible to set out all the circumstances in which he would normally agree to registration but consideration is given to:

· whether the child is of good character;
· the child's connections with the territory;
· where the child's future is likely to lie;
· the views of the parents;
· the nationality and immigration status of the parents;
· the length of time the child has lived in the territory.

The status of illegitimate children born before 1 July 2006 will depend on the status of the mother. If the father of an illegitimate child is a British Overseas Territories Citizen, and there is evidence of paternity – for example, the father’s name appears on the child’s birth certificate- it may be possible to register the child as a British Overseas Territories Citizen.  A child who was illegitimate at birth may, in some circumstances, have been legitimated by the subsequent marriage of his or her parents. Also, the child of a void marriage may, in some circumstances, be treated as legitimate.

Applications for registration from the British Virgin Islands are processed by the Civil Registry and Passport Office as above.

 

Waiting Times

To help us provide the best possible service and reduce backlogs as quickly as possible, please do not contact the Governor’s Office to check the progress of your application within the average processing times below.

The turnaround time, for straightforward applications requiring no additional information (documents or other) should be no more than three months.  This turnaround time should be measured from the date the applicant first seeks an interview to the date when he/she is told of the decision taken.

Some applications take longer than others for a variety of reasons. For example, we may find it difficult to check certain types of overseas marriage contracts or documentation is missing from the file.

If your application has taken longer than three months to process, you may wish to make further enquiries.

 

Background

The British Overseas Territories Act, 2002 extends British citizenship, together with the right of abode in the United Kingdom, to people in the Overseas Territories who qualify for it. Citizenship will be non-reciprocal; residents of the UK will not have the right of abode in the Overseas Territories, as the size of the Territories and their populations would not allow the influx of possibly large numbers of outsiders. As a result of the changes introduced by the Act, most people in the Overseas Territories now hold both British citizenship and British overseas territories citizenship concurrently. Those who do not want British citizenship can renounce it in favour of remaining British overseas territories citizens only. People who do take advantage of the new status will gain the right to travel freely throughout the European Union (EU) and, if they go to Britain to study, will be entitled to reduced study fees and to support themselves by working during that time.