Turtle swimming in the Indian Ocean
Territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

British Indian Ocean Territory

Practical Information

Travel essentials, government safety advisories and The Out Index score for British Indian Ocean Territory.

Complete SafeTravel Warning

Do Not Travel

In light of ongoing litigation relevant to the circumstances in which the BIOT Administration may issue permits for people to enter BIOT (except for permits to enter Diego Garcia necessary for the operation of the military facility or those on official BIOTA business) we have as of 31 March 2026, paused substantive consideration of new applications for permits to enter the Territory – except in exceptional circumstances – whilst the BIOT Administration considers its position.

Please note that, with regards to ‘right of abode’ for Chagossian origin individuals, the order of the BIOT Supreme Court has been stayed, therefore s.9 of the Constitution Order remains in force; and in those circumstances, no application to enter for the purposes of settlement will be entertained pending determination of the appeal.

We will update this notice as soon as there are any developments.

Check the latest and most up to date official information here.

Official Name

  • British Indian Ocean Territory(English)

Region

  • Northern Indian Ocean

Continent

  • Asia

Capital

ISO Codes

IOISO 3166 alpha-2IOTISO 3166 alpha-3086ISO 3166 numeric

Communications

+246Dial code.ioCountry-code top-level domain

Currencies

  • United States Dollar (USD • US$)
  • Pound Sterling (GBP • £)

Driving Side

Right Side of the Road

Language

National
  • English(eng)b

Current Time & Time Zone

8:27am, 30th August 2026Indian Ocean Time(IOT • UTC+06:00)

Flags

Flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory
Flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory
Status
bDe Facto

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