Ordinary Tongan passports are in short supply due to unexpected increase in demand, which is causing delays in issuing some passports.

One applicant said he was told by Tonga Immigration officials they are not expecting the new stock of passports until October.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 17 August, in a public statement said this was largely due to unexpected increase in demand, among other factors, which greatly affected their projection of demand for passports.

Interim measures, reported to be in place, included extending current passports, prioritizing the issuance of ordinary passports to emergency and urgent travel cases, and using alternative travel documents such as Certificates of Identity.

“The Ministry wishes to assure the public that we take this matter seriously and are pursuing every possible means to replenish the stock to normal levels."