Which EU territories outside Europe does an EU citizen have right of residence in?

Question

Several EU countries such as the UK, France and Netherlands have territories and dependencies outside of Europe. Examples include many islands in the Caribbean, Falkland Islands, Tahiti, and so on.

These have a complex relationship with the home country (usually a former colonial power), and with the European Union. Some are inside the EU for some purposes, some are not. Who can live and/or work in the territory is complex, even for citizens of the home country.

Given this, which territories of EU countries, outside Europe, are somewhere that any EU citizen could move to, to live and work, under the EU freedom of movement?

For example, Aruba is one of the four countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Does that make it part of the EU for residence? Are any of the French DOMs and TOMs, like French Polynesia, areas that EU citizens have the right to settle in? Are any of the overseas UK territories, such as Anguilla, part of the EU for residence?

Answer 1

Wikipedia has an excellent article about these regions. The French DOM and Saint-Martin are part of the EU (albeit outside Schengen) and EU citizens can settle there without restriction. The Azores, Madeira and the Canary islands have a similar status. Together they are called “outermost regions” and EU law, including the free movement of persons, applies there by default.

For territories falling in the “Overseas countries and territories” (OCT) category, which includes other French territories, UK dependencies, the Dutch Antilles, and Greenland, freedom of movement doesn't automatically apply. But these regions are free to opt-in so the applicable rules vary on a case-by-case basis. For example, I know that Dutch territories do impose restrictions on free movement even for Dutch citizens. By contrast, the French island of Saint-Barthélémy recently became an OCT but does not restrict free movement of persons for EU citizens (the change allows the island to set its own customs regime, distinct from that of the EU, and trade more easily with the US).

Answer 2

Canarian Islands as one example. I enjoyed the Tenerife one. They are considered a Spanish territory.

But here we need to be specific about visiting "as EU citizen" VS "as EU residence permit holder". As Example, Gibraltar one can visit being EU citizen only.