There is no contingency plan yet in place should the UK vote to pull out of the EU, Tynwald was told.
Chief Minister Allan Bell said the government was ‘very alert’ to the situation but at this stage there was very little clarity about what Westminster itself wanted.
He told Tynwald: ‘If the UK withdraws from the European Union there will certainly be implications for the Isle of Man.
‘Considerable work is ongoing to understand what these implications may be. We are also considering the implications of possible changes to the Treaty on the Isle of Man.’
The island’s link with the EU is through protocol 3 in the 1973 Treaty of Rome which permits free movement in manufacturing and agricultural goods.
Speaker Steve Rodan asked what contingencies were being prepared, should the UK vote to withdraw from the EU, to restore such an arrangement similar to protocol 3.
Mr Bell replied: ‘We will have to review our position in terms of a new relationship with Europe. At this stage there are so many options to consider. We do not have a specific alternative proposal - there are so many imponderables.
‘It’s way too early to say what alternative relationship, if any in fact, we may be able to negotiate with the EU.’
He said it would be ‘naive’ to think the island could simply negotiate a new treaty and the EU would be ‘looking for something in return’.
Michael MHK Alfred Cannan said: ‘This referendum has potentially huge implications for the people of the Isle of Man.’
He asked if it was the Chief Minister’s intention to support growing calls for the island to have a full say in any referendum vote.
Mr Bell said he didn’t understand the logic in that as we are not part of the UK or the EU and there was no possibility of our having a direct input in ‘somebody else’s referendum’.
He said his own view was that David Cameron did not want to withdraw and ‘some fudge’ would be put together at the last minute.