China and Tonga Sign Mutual Visa Exemption Agreement ^Featured

Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga and H.E. Mr. Huang Huaguang, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of Tonga jointly singed the Agreement at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade earlier this afternoon.

According to the Agreement, citizens from China and Tonga shall be exempted from visa requirement for entry into, from or transit through the territory of the other for a period of stay not exceeding 30 days. If the citizens stay longer than 30 days or engaged in study, residence or employment, it shall be approved in advance.

The agreement would enter into force after the domestic requirements have been complied with. In 2012, China and Tonga had signed similar agreement that focused on visa exemption for Diplomatic, Official or Service Passports and Passports for Public Affairs.

After the ceremony, Hon. ’Akilisi Pohiva said, “this is indeed a milestone in Tonga-China relation as it further promote our friendly association, boosts tourism and other related sectors, contributes to the growth of the economy and facilitates our people-to-people exchanges.”

H.E. Mr. Huang agreed that the Agreement would further facilitate the exchange of visits by our citizens and is a new achievements of China-Tonga cooperation. He also mentioned that China is now the largest tourism market in the world and the Agreement would further promote the tourism cooperation between two countries.

PRC Embassy, Tonga