Arrival Advice: Biosecurity and Customs in Tonga

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Tonga Passenger Arrival Card

During your flight or cruise to Tonga, you will be given a Kingdom of Tonga Passenger Arrival Card to complete. The form is displayed on a narrow double-sided card and must be completed for each individual passenger including children. Passenger Arrival Cards must also be completed in English.

The Tonga Passenger Arrival Card asks for your personal details, such as your name, address, passport number, occupation, flight number/name of the ship, etc. You must also tick from a multiple-selection question, what is your main reason for visiting Tonga (holiday, business, etc.). The back of the Tonga Arrival Card then asks “yes” or “no” questions about items that you have on your possession or in any of your baggage concerning Customs, Health and Quarantine. We’ll go into more detail about the “Quarantine” portion of the process in the section below.

See the guide to The Passenger Arrival Card for Tonga to see what the Arrival Card looks like, as well as tips on how to complete it.

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Passing Through Biosecurity (Quarantine) in Tonga

Once you have landed at a Tonga international airport, such as Fua’amotu International Airport, get your Passenger Arrival Card and passport ready for inspection at the Passport Control arrivals desk, otherwise known as Customs. Here, a Customs Officer is likely to ask you questions in relation to the answers you have stated or ticked on the Passenger Arrival Card.

If you have ticked “yes” to any of the Health and Quarantine questions on the back of the Arrival Card, it’s likely that you’ll be asked to explain what items you are referring to or for more details about it. After this quick process, you will go through to the Baggage Claim area.

What to Declare

After collecting your luggage from the Baggage Claim area, you will need to take your luggage to a Biosecurity Officer, also known as a Quarantine Officer. Again, you may be asked if you have anything to declare, such as the items you refer to when you ticked “yes” on the back of the Passenger Arrival Card. As a reminder, those items refer to:

• Goods that may be prohibited, such as drugs, weapons or obscene articles or printed matter
• Cigarettes or alcohol above the duty-free allowance for Tonga
• Goods for commercial purposes
• Personal goods which exceed TOP$500 (excluding personal items that would be reasonably expected in luggage)
• Currency with the combined value of TOP$10,000 or more
• Food of any kind
• Animals or any kind of animal products
• Plants or any kind of plant products
• Biological specimens
• Equipment used with animals, water or plants
• Equipment used outdoors equipment like camping gear, hiking shoes, hunting equipment, golfing equipment, etc.
• Any items used in a farm, forest or a place with farm animals, abattoirs or packing premises

If you are unsure whether to declare an item or not, declare it anyway! The more honest you are through the Biosecurity process, the quicker and easier it will be. For a complete list of declarable items, see What to Declare When Arriving in Tonga.

The final stage of Biosecurity/Quarantine is passing all your baggage, including handbags, camera bag, laptop bags, etc. through an x-ray. This is the final check for Biosecurity Officers to make sure you are not bringing any restricted or prohibited goods into the country. After that, you may be asked some further questions then you will be good to go! Note that this final stage of the process isn’t always completed to its fullest in Tonga, with some Biosecurity Officers simply asking questions rather than x-raying bags. You should be prepared for either process.

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What Happens if Risk Goods are Found in Your Baggage

When completing your Passenger Arrival Card and you realise your packed something in your bag that won’t go through Biosecurity, like fresh food, for instance, don’t worry. You have the opportunity to dispose of potential risk items in Quarantine Amnesty Bins in the arrivals area of the airport, before passing through Passport Control and Biosecurity.

If you declare an item and the item is not restricted or prohibited to be imported in Tonga, you will be allowed to pass through Customs and Quarantine without further action.

What Happens to Undeclared Risk Items?

If a risk item is found in your possession or while passing through the biosecurity x-rays, and you did not declare the item, the Tongan Government warns: “A false declaration to customs may result in you facing severe penalties or even being prosecuted!”

What if You Declare an Item and it is Prohibited/Restricted?

If you have declared an item that is deemed unsafe to enter the country or you have to pay duty tax on the item, then another procedure will take place depending on what the item is. For paying the duty, you will be required to complete Customs forms and pay the asked fee. For items that are considered a risk by Biosecurity, you may have the option of the item being destroyed immediately or re-exported to the country of origin under Quarantine supervision at your expense. Treatment of the item may also be an option, where quarantine fees will apply.