Tonga is one of the South Pacific’s best and most friendly cruising grounds. If you are keeping a leisurely cruising schedule, yo can easily spend a whole season exploring the island kingdom from north to south. But, until recently crew were allowed a six month visa while the boat was limited to four. That has now changed thanks to the folks at Gulf Harbour Radio in New Zealand. This story appears on the website noonsite.com.
In the past two years it has not been possible to spend a full season in Tonga. This is because crew can were able to get extensions for a 6 month stay but the yacht was not! Patricia Dallas of Gulf Harbour Radio has been working with MFAT in NZ and the Tongan authorities to clarify the situation.
Tongan Immigration have confirmed that yacht crew can get a visitor’s visa on arrival, plus they can apply for an extension of the visitor’s visa for up to 5 months. The visa extension can be applied for in Vava’u or Tongatapu. (NZ and Australian passport holders get an initial one month. EU citizens get an initial 90 days). Read more.
