The recognized legal identity in Tonga is the national ID card.[1] A birth certificate is required to register for a national ID card.[2] Births are to be registered within 3 weeks and late registrations may be subjected to conviction or a fine.[3] While Tonga had notably high rates of birth registration at 98% as of 2019,[4] the Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern that children subject to customary adoptions or born to unmarried parents may be at risk of not having their birth registered. [5] Children born to unmarried parents must ‘re-register’ as a ‘legitimate child’ after the marriage of the parents.[6]
Under Tonga’s Nationality Identity Card Act, revised in 2020, all residents must possess a national ID card. [7] A resident is defined as anyone over the age of 14 who either have been present in Tonga for the preceding 6 months, entered Tonga intending to remain longer than 6 months or has been in Tonga for 6 cumulative months of the last year.[8] According to this definition, it is also mandatory for stateless persons, refugees, and foreign nationals to register for national ID cards.[9] As long as a stateless person has a birth certificate, they would, in principle, have access to a national ID under Tongan legislation. [10] To receive a national ID card, a resident must apply in person at the National Identity Card Office and provide a photograph, fingerprints and other biometric information “if so required”.[11]
