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Passport (Amendment) Act 1989

TONGA

PASSPORT (AMENDMENT) ACT 1989

Act 7 of 1989

AN ACT TO AMEND THE PASSPORT ACT

I assent,

TAUFA'AHAU TUPOU IV,
18th October, 1989

[14th September, 1989]

BE IT ENACTED by the King and Legislative Assembly of Tonga in the Legislature of the Kingdom as follows:

1 Short Title.

This Act may be cited as the Passport (Amendment) Act 1989.

2 Definition.

Section 2 of the Passport Act is amended by inserting after "Act" the words "unless the context otherwise requires" and also by inserting the following definitions:

"Tongan National Passport" means a document issued under Part IV of this Act;

"Tongan Protected Person Passport" means a document issued under Part III of this Act."

3 Section 3 replaced.

Section 3 of the Passport Act is repealed and replaced by the following section:

"3 Passport Requirements.

(1) No person may enter the Kingdom unless:

(a) he is the holder of a passport, certificate of identity, Tongan Protected Person Passport or Tongan National Passport issued under this Act; or

(b) he is the holder of a valid passport which has been vised;[sic] either in Tonga or overseas, to allow his entry into the Kingdom,

(2) A person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment for one year or to both such fine and imprisonment."

4 Tongan National Passports.

The Passport Act is amended by inserting the following part, after Part III:

"PART IV - TONGAN NATIONAL PASSPORTS 30.

30. A Tongan National Passport may be issued to any person, of any age or race or nationality and regardless of whether that person is a citizen of any other country or the holder of a passport issued by any other country.

31. (1) A person, who holds a current Tongan National Passport shall, subject to subsection (3), be entitled to enter the Kingdom of Tonga, without the requirement of any special permission or visa, and he shall be entitled to remain in Tonga for a cumulative period of one year and he may leave and re-enter Tonga without restriction during that cumulative period of one year.

(2) A Tongan National Passport shall remain current for 10 years from the date of issue.

(3) A person shall not be entitled to enter the Kingdom of Tonga by virtue of his holding a current Tongan National Passport if:

(a) he has, during the currency of that Tongan National Passport, been present in Tonga for more than one year; or

(b) he is prohibited to enter the Kingdom by virtue of any law of the Kingdom.

(4) A person who enters the Kingdom by virtue of his holding a current Tongan National Passport may not engage in business or undertake employment within Tonga unless he obtains an appropriate permit under the Immigration Act.

32. (1) A person who wants a Tongan National Passport shall apply to the Minister of Police by forwarding directly or through any Tongan diplomatic or consular office a duly completed application form in the form prescribed by His Majesty in Council together with the application fee prescribed by His Majesty in Council.

(2) All applications shall be determined by His Majesty in Council, which shall either reject the application or approve it subject to such conditions as it may impose.

(3) His Majesty in Council, in approving any application under this section, may impose any condition it thinks fit, including:

(a) pre-conditions, which must be satisfied before the passport is issued;

(b) the production of satisfactory evidence of any fact stated by the applicant in support of his application.

(4) His Majesty in Council may prescribe, by Notice in the Gazette, a fee for the issuance of a Tongan National Passport and this fee shall be paid before any such document is issued.

(5) Upon the satisfaction of such pre-conditions as His Majesty in Council may impose and upon payment of the fee prescribed by His Majesty in Council, the Minister of Police shall issue a Tongan National Passport in the form prescribed by His Majesty in Council to every person whose application therefore has been approved by His Majesty in Council.

(6) All fees shall be paid and all pre-conditions imposed by the Privy Council shall be satisfied within a period of 3 months of the applicant being notified thereof (or such other time as the Privy Council specifies) and if not the approval shall lapse and the application fee shall be forfeited.

33. A Tongan National Passport confers no right to Tongan nationality or Tongan citizenship or to any right enjoyed solely by Tongans".

5 Consequential.

The Passport Act is further amended by renumbering the present Part IV as Part V and the present section 30 as section 34.

Passed in the Legislative Assembly this 14th day of September, 1989.

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