Turks and Caicos Islander status is the highest immigration status accorded to persons who acquired the status and or bestowed the status upon application in accordance with the laws of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The authority to grant TCI status is provided for in section 103 of the Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2011 and detailed in the Turks and Caicos Islander Status Ordinance 2015. All persons who acquired Belonger status under previous Immigration Ordinances retained their status.

Given that Turks and Caicos Islander Status is the highest immigration status locally, only Turks and Caicos Islanders can do the following:

• Vote in an election
• apply for and be considered for the acquisition of residential crown land
• apply for and be considered for the grant of a TCI Government scholarship
• apply for and be considered for the grant of a business license to operate in the restricted business license category

No. A person is or becomes a Turks and Caicos Islander through the provisions of the Turks and Caicos Islander Status Ordinance 2015 (or Immigration Ordinance prior to that date) whereas a person becomes eligible for a Turks and Caicos Islands passport as a result of being a British Overseas Territory Citizen (of the Turks and Caicos Islands) under the provisions of the British Nationality Act. Most persons are both a Turks and Caicos Islander as well as a British Overseas Territory Citizen (BOTC). Some persons, primarily those who would have acquired their status through an application process, are either only a Turks and Caicos Islander or a British Overseas Territory Citizen.

Please click here and read the attached document entitled Do I need to Naturalise to determine if you are a BOTC.

There are two main ways through which a person acquires Turks and Caicos Islander Status.

1. As of Right (through birth or descent)
2. By Grant

No. There are other conditions that MUST be considered when assessing applications EXCEPT for when the applicant is the child, stepchild or parent of and Islander.

These conditions are, whether –

• it is in the public interest to grant Islander status;
• the applicant is of good character and conduct;
• the applicant has a clean criminal record;
• whether the applicant suffers from any communicable or mental disease that would make him a danger to the society;
• the economic situation of the islands and protection of persons already engaged in similar gainful occupations have been considered;
• the desirability of granting the right to be an Islander to applicants with different backgrounds and geographical areas so that the social and economic life of the Islands may be maintained;
• the applicant brings any exceptional skill to the Islands;
• the desirability of retaining the economic resources of the Islands in control of Islanders; and
• the applicant meets any prescribed evaluation criteria.

The National Turks and Caicos Islander Status Card was introduced on August 13, 2012 to serve as evidence that the person named thereon is a Turks and Caicos Islander.

Persons who acquire the status as of right or by way of grant (through marriage and otherwise) are eligible to apply for the card. It is important to note however that persons who are claiming the status via grant, MUST acquire the Turks and Caicos and Caicos Islander Certificate prior to doing so.

Section 11 of the Turks and Caicos Islander Status Ordinance requires the person asserting to be a Turks and Caicos Islander to prove that he or she is.

The current fees are as follows:

The applicant will be required to pay separately, the actual cost of advertising in the newspaper.

All applications except those that are submitted on the basis of marriage may be made between June 1 and September 30 each year.

Applications on the basis of marriage may be submitted at any time after the qualifying period.

• If you are applying by virtue of being a British Overseas Territories Citizen (TCI) or British Citizen - Click here
• If you are applying by virtue of being born in the Islands to parents who at the time of birth were legally resident in the Islands - Click here
• If you are applying as a dependant child of a person who acquired Islander status through marriage -Click here
• If you are applying as a person under eighteen years, and was endorsed on a PRC- Click here
• If you are applying as a person is the child of a person who is the spouse of an Islander, who has not been adopted by the spouse who is an Islander or who is not the biological child of the Islander, who was endorsed in that person’s Residence Permit- Click here

There is no fee associated with the first application. If you require a new card, the fee is $50

Applications via British Overseas Territories Citizen (TCI) or British Citizen route are to be submitted to the:

The Secretary
Turks and Caicos Islander Status Commission
Three Degrees Office Complex, Airport Road
Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands

Applications via the spouse of Turks and Caicos Islander route are to be submitted to the:

c/o Customer Service Centres on the islands of Grand Turk and Providenciales and Immigration Department on the Islands of South Caicos and North Caicos

Email : tcistatuscommission@gov.tc or citizenshipandnaturalization@gov.tc

Website : https://gov.tc/citizenship/contact