British Overseas Territories The fourteen British Overseas Territories are territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom . They do not , however , form part of it . Instead , they are those parts of the former British Empire that have not acquired independence , or , unlike the Commonwealth realms , have voted to remain British territories . While each has its own internal leadership , most being self - governing , they share the British monarch ( Queen Elizabeth II ) as head of state . The name " British Overseas Territory " was introduced by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 , replacing the name British Dependent Territory introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981 . Prior to 1 January 1983 , the territories were officially referred to as Crown colonies . With the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ( which host only officials and research station staff ) and the British Indian Ocean Territory ( used as a military base ) , the Territories retain permanent civilian populations . Permanent residency for the 7 , 000 or so civilians living in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is limited to citizens of the Republic of Cyprus . Collectively , the Territories encompass a population of approximately 260 , 000 people and a land area of approximately . The vast majority of this , , constitutes the British Antarctic Territory . Britain participates in the Antarctic Treaty System and , as part of a mutual agreement , the British Antarctic Territory is recognised by four of the other sovereign nations making claims to Antarctic territory . Although the Crown Dependencies of Jersey , Guernsey and the Isle of Man are also under the sovereignty of the British Crown , they are in a different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom . The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are themselves distinct from the Commonwealth of Nations , a voluntary association of 54 countries mostly with historic links to the British Empire . The current minister responsible for the Territories is Mark Simmonds MP , of the Foreign Office . Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas , however , are the responsibility of the Minister for Europe David Lidington MP , while the Falkland Islands are the responsibility of Hugo Swire MP , also of the Foreign Office . Current overseas territories . The fourteen British overseas territories are : History . Early colonies , in the sense of English subjects residing in lands hitherto outside the control of the English government , were generally known as " Plantations " . The first , unofficial , colony was Newfoundland , where English fishermen routinely set up seasonal camps in the 16th century . English colonisation of North America began officially in 1607 with the settlement of Jamestown , the first successful permanent colony in " Virginia " ( a term that was then applied generally to North America ) . Its off - shoot , Bermuda , was settled inadvertently in 1609 , with the Virginia Company ´s charter extended to officially include the archipelago in 1612 . St . George ' s town , founded in Bermuda in that year , remains the oldest continuously inhabited English settlement in the New World ( with some historians stating that – its formation predating the 1619 conversion of " James Fort " into " Jamestown " – St . George ' s was actually the first successful town the English established in the New World ) . Bermuda and Bermudians have played important , sometimes pivotal , but generally underestimated or unacknowledged roles in the shaping of the English and British trans - Atlantic Empires . These include maritime commerce , settlement of the continent and of the West Indies , and the projection of naval power via the colony ' s privateer s , among other areas . The growth of the British Empire in the 19th century , to its territorial peak in the 1920s , saw Britain acquire over one quarter of the world ' s land mass , including territories with large indigenous populations in Asia and Africa . The late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries saw the larger settler colonies — in Canada , Australia , New Zealand and South Africa — becoming self - governing colonies and achieving independence in all matters except foreign policy , defence and trade . Separate self - governing colonies federated to become Canada ( in 1867 ) and Australia ( in 1901 ) . These and other large self - governing colonies had become known as Dominions by the 1920s . The Dominions achieved almost full independence with the Statute of Westminster ( 1931 ) . During the second half of the twentieth century most of the British colonies in Africa , Asia and the Caribbean were granted independence . Some colonies became Commonwealth Realms , retaining the British monarch as their own head of state . After the independence of Southern Rhodesia ( now Zimbabwe ) in Africa in 1980 and British Honduras ( now Belize ) in Central America in 1981 , the last major colony that remained was Hong Kong , with a population of over 5 million . With 1997 approaching , the United Kingdom and China negotiated the Sino - British Joint Declaration , which led to the whole of Hong Kong becoming a " special administrative region " of China in 1997 , subject to various conditions intended to guarantee the preservation of Hong Kong ' s capitalist economy and its way of life under British rule for at least 50 years after the handover . George Town in the Cayman Islands has consequently become the largest city in the Overseas Territories by population since . Following the return of Hong Kong , the remaining British overseas possessions are mostly small island territories with small populations – the only territories of significant area being the Falkland Islands and the uninhabited British Antarctic Territory . In 2002 , the British Parliament passed the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 . This reclassified the UK ' s dependent territories as " overseas territories " and , with the exception of those people solely connected with the Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus , restored full British citizenship to their inhabitants . Government . Head of State . The head of state in the overseas territories is the British monarch , currently Queen Elizabeth II . The Queen ' s role in the territories is in her role as Queen of the United Kingdom , and not in right of each territory . The Queen appoints a representative in each territory to exercise her executive power . In territories with a permanent population , a Governor is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the British Government , usually a retired senior military officer , or a senior civil servant . In territories without a permanent population , a Commissioner is usually appointed to represent the Queen . Exceptionally , in the overseas territory of Saint Helena , Ascension and Tristan da Cunha , an Administrator is appointed to be the Governor ' s representative in each of the two distant parts of the territory , namely Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha . The role of the Governor is to act as the " de facto " head of state , and they are usually responsible for appointing the head of government , and senior political positions in the territory . The Governor is also responsible for liaising with the UK Government , and carrying out any ceremonial duties . A Commissioner has the same powers as a Governor , but also acts as the head of government . Local government . All the overseas territories have their own system of government , and localised laws . The structure of the government appears to be closely correlated to the size and political development of the territory . Legal system . Each overseas territory has its own legal system independent of the United Kingdom . The legal system is generally based on English common law , with some distinctions for local circumstances . Each territory has its own attorney general , and court system . For the smaller territories , the UK may appoint a UK - based lawyer or judge to work on legal cases . This is particularly important for cases involving serious crimes and where it is impossible to find a jury who will not know the defendant in a small population island . The Pitcairn rape trial of 2004 is an example of how the UK may choose to provide the legal framework for particular cases where the territory cannot do so alone . Relations with the United Kingdom . The Foreign and Commonwealth Office ( FCO ) has the responsibility of looking after the interests of all overseas territories except Akrotiri & Dhekelia , which comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence . Within the FCO , the general responsibility for the territories is handled by the Overseas Territories Directorate , which is headed by the Minister for the Overseas Territories . the Minister is Mark Simmonds , a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State . In 1999 , the FCO published the " Partnership for Progress and Prosperity : Britain and the Overseas Territories " report which set out Britain ' s policy for the Overseas Territories , covering four main areas : Britain and the overseas territories do not have diplomatic representations , although the governments of the overseas territories with indigenous populations all retain a representative office in London . The United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association ( UKOTA ) also represents the interests of the territories in London . The governments in both London and territories occasionally meet to mitigate or resolve disagreements over the process of governance in the territories and levels of autonomy . Britain provides financial assistance to the overseas territories via the Department for International Development . Currently only Montserrat and Saint Helena receive budgetary aid ( i . e . financial contribution to recurrent funding ) . Several specialist funds are made available by the UK , including : The territories have no official representation in the UK Parliament , but have informal representation through the All - Party Parliamentary Group , and can petition the UK Government through the Directgov e - Petitions website . Only Gibraltar has representation in the European Parliament and it shares its Member with the region of South West England . Foreign affairs . Foreign affairs of the overseas territories are handled by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London . Some territories maintain diplomatic officers in nearby countries for trade and immigration purposes . Several of the territories in the Americas maintain membership within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , the Caribbean Community , the Caribbean Development Bank , Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency , and the Association of Caribbean States . The territories are members of the Commonwealth of Nations through the United Kingdom . The inhabited territories compete in their own right at the Commonwealth Games , and three of the territories ( Bermuda , the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands ) sent teams to the 2008 Summer Olympics . Gibraltar is the only overseas territory that is part of the European Union ( EU ) , although it is not part of the European Customs Union , the European Tax Policy , the European Statistics Zone or the Common Agriculture Policy . Gibraltar is not a member of the European Union in its own right . The Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus are not part of the European Union , but they are the only British overseas territory to use the Euro as official currency . None of the other Overseas Territories are members of the EU , the main body of EU law does not apply and , although certain slices of EU law are applied to those territories as part of the EU ' s Association of Overseas Countries and Territories ( OCT Association ) , they are not commonly enforceable in local courts . The OCT Association also provides overseas territories with structural funding for regeneration projects . Since the return of full British citizenship to most ' belongers ' of overseas territories ( mainly since the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 ) , the citizens of those territories hold concurrent European Union citizenship , giving them rights of free movement across all EU member states . Several nations dispute the UK ' s sovereignty in the following overseas territories : Currencies . The many British overseas territories use a varied assortment of currencies , including the British Pound , US dollar , or their own currencies which may be pegged to either . Citizenship . None of the overseas territories has its own nationality status , and all citizens are classed as British Overseas Territories citizen s ( BOTC ) . They do however , have legislative independence over immigration , and holding the status of a BOTC does not automatically give a person a right of abode in any of the territories , as it depends on the territory ' s immigration laws . A territory may issue Belonger status to allow a person classed as a BOTC to reside in the territory that they have close links with . Non - BOTC citizens may acquire Belonger status in order to reside in a particular territory ( and may subsequently become naturalised BOTC if they wish ) . Historically , most inhabitants of the British Empire held the status of British subject , which was usually lost upon independence . From 1949 , British subjects in the United Kingdom and the remaining colonies became citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies . However changes in British immigration and nationality law between 1962 and 1983 saw the creation of a separate British Dependent Territories citizenship ( BDTC ) with effect from January , 1983 . Citizens in most territories were stripped of full British citizenship . This was mainly to prevent a mass exodus of the citizens of Hong Kong to the UK before the agreed handover to China in 1997 . Exception was made for the Falkland Islands , which had been invaded in 1982 by Argentina . Full British citizenship was soon returned to the people of Gibraltar due to their friction with Spain . However , the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 replaced British Dependent Territory citizenship with British Overseas Territories citizen ship ( BOTC ) , and restored full British citizenship to all BOTCs except those from Akrotiri and Dhekelia . This restored to BOTCs the right to reside in the UK . British citizens however , do not have an automatic right to reside in any of the Overseas Territories . Some territories prohibit immigration , and any visitors are required to seek the permission of the territory ' s government to live in the territory . As they are used primarily as military bases , Ascension Island and the British Indian Ocean Territory do not allow visitors to the territory unless on official business . Military . Defence of the Overseas Territories is the responsibility of the UK . Many of the overseas territories are used as military bases by the UK and its allies . Symbols and insignia . Each overseas territory has been granted its own flag and coat of arms by the British monarch . Traditionally , the flags follow the Blue Ensign design , with the Union Flag in the canton , and the territory ' s coat of arms in the fly . Exceptions to this are Bermuda which uses a Red Ensign ; British Antarctic Territory which uses a White Ensign ; British Indian Ocean Territory which uses a Blue Ensign with wavy lines to symbolise the sea ; and Gibraltar which uses a banner of its coat of arms ( the flag of the city of Gibraltar ) . Akrotiri & Dhekelia is the only British overseas territory without an official flag of its own . The Union Flag is used in this territory and is also used for Ascension Island . Sporting . As a British Overseas Territory , all apart from Bermuda , the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands do not have a recognised National Olympic Committee ( NOC ) ; the British Olympic Association is recognised as the appropriate NOC for such athletes and thus athletes who hold a British passport are eligible to represent Great Britain at the Olympic Games . Shara Proctor from Anguilla , Delano Williams from the Turks and Caicos Islands , Jenaya Wade - Fray from Bermuda and Georgina Cassar from Gibraltar strived to represent Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics . Proctor , Wade - Fray and Cassar qualified for Team GB , with Williams missing the cut , however wishing to represent the UK in 2016 . Biodiversity . The British Overseas Territories have more biodiversity than the entire UK mainland . There are at least 180 endemic plant species in the overseas territories as opposed to only 12 on the UK mainland . Responsibility for protection of biodiversity and meeting obligations under international environmental conventions is shared between the UK Government and the local governments of the territories . Two areas , Henderson Island in the Pitcairn Islands as well as the Gough and Inaccessible Islands of Tristan Da Cunha are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site s , and two other territories , the Turks and Caicos Islands , and Saint Helena are on the United Kingdom ' s tentative list for future UNESCO World Heritage Site s . The three regions of biodiversity hotspots situated in the British Overseas Territories are the Caribbean Islands , the Mediterranean Basin and the Oceania ecozone in the Pacific .