WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF TONGA ?

The Kingdom of Tonga is a South Pacific island country, containing 171 separate islands (only around 40 of these are inhabited) in four separate island groups (Nuku'alofa, Vava'u, Ha'apai and the Niuas), and spread across 700,000 sq.km. of ocean. Featuring some of the most beautiful real estate left on this planet, Tonga is becoming known by yachties and ex-pats alike as a great place to relocate to.

WHERE IS THE KINGDOM OF TONGA ?

Tonga is located in the beautiful South Pacific and approximately 700 kilometers southwest of American Samoa, 700 kilometers southeast of Fiji, 1,300 kilometers northeast of New Zealand, 1,900 kilometers east of Australia, 2,500 kilometers northwest of Pitcairn Island (Scarcely inhabited island of Fletcher Christians descendents of the “Mutiny on the Bounty”), 2,800 kilometers southwest of Hawaii, 3,300 kilometers southeast of Papua New Guinea, 4,000 kilometers northwest of the mysterious Easter Island, 4,800 kilometers southwest of Mexico, 5,100 kilometers southwest of the Galapagos Islands and 5,200 kilometers southwest of Los Angeles, California in the USA.

HOW IS THE KINGDOM OF TONGA GOVERNED?

The Kingdom of Tonga is the South Pacific's last remaining Monarchy and is governed by His Majesty, King George Tupou V. King upou is the grandson of the world renowned (for her humble gesture at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II) Queen Salote, and the son of the beloved and recently deceased King Tupou IV. Freedom and peace and quiet are the rule rather then the exception in Tonga, and especially in the Vava’u, Ha’apai and Niuas island groups and many American and European expats have remarked that they have never felt more freedom then here in Tonga.

WHAT IS TONGA 'S HISTORY?

The Kingdom of Tonga was said to be colonized around 3,000 B.C. and is therefore said to be one of the first primarily Polynesian settlements in history.

The first Tu'i Tonga (the royal title of a Tongan ruler) is said to have been born around 950 A.D. The Tu'i Tonga had the responsibility to govern over both political and religious matters.
Over the following 400 years or so, Tonga extended their dynasty through warfare and were well renowned and feared for their fierce warriors. At one point, the Tu'i Tonga governed parts of not only Fiji , but Samoa , Niue and Tokelau as well.

The first supposed contact between Europeans and Tongans occurred in 1616 when Jacob Lemaire (Dutch) and Willem Schouten visited the Niuas. However, it wasn't until the years 1767-1777 when the celebrated Captain James Cook visited Tonga multiple times that it truly became an understood frontier.

In 1822, Walter Lawry, a Wesleyan minister came preaching Christianity to the natives. Soon after, Wesleyan missionaries converted the Tu'i Tonga and ruler of Ha'apai, Taufa‘ahau who was baptized in 1831 and took the Christian name, George and adopted the surname, Tupou.

Under King George's and his cousin, King ‘Ulukalala III's influence, all of Ha'apai and Vava'u became Christians. To this day, the Kingdom of Tonga is a Christian nation, with a Constitution based upon the principles of the Bible and a moral code that could be considered puritanical.

In 1918, upon her father, the King's death, the renowned Salote became Queen of Tonga. Queen Salote made friends for Tonga around the world and was greatly loved and respected by her subjects and foreigners alike. In 1953, during Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, quite a heavy down pour of rain started. However, seeing as Tongan tradition does not allow “imitation of royalty”, Queen Salote rode towards Westminster Abbey in a completely uncovered carriage.

This amazing act of humility gained her world wide respect and when she passed away in 1965, she was mourned by the world.

The well respected, dearly beloved and recently deceased King of Tonga, His Majesty King Taufa‘ahau Tupou IV, was the respected son of Queen Salote and has many amazing achievements to his credit. In 1970, His Majesty re-gained full Sovereignty for Tonga and in 1976 gained admission into the “Commonwealth of Nations ”. His Majesty also holds a B.A. and LL.B. from the University of Sydney, an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Delhi , an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Brigham Young University , an honorary Doctor of Economics degree from the University of Taiwan , and a honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from Daito Bunka University . Furthermore, His Majesty is a “Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire”, “Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George”, “Grand Cross Order of Merit” by the Federal Republic of Germany, and a holder of the “Special Award” from the Government of French Polynesia. His Majesty has even won the “International Golden Angel Award” and the “Peace Award” given by the World Peace Prize Awarding Council.

Tonga is now governed by King George Tupou V, the eldest son of the late King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV.

TONGA'S WEATHER & POLITICS

The Kingdom of Tonga , while not a typical democracy, is often said to be more “democratic” then its counterparts in the West. This is due to the peaceful atmosphere and amazing freedom that one finds in Tonga and especially in the beautiful Vava’u, relaxed Ha’apai and isolated Niuas island groups. Tonga is not a place where you need a permit for everything under the sun, nor a high priced lawyer to receive fair treatment under the law. Tonga is a free country, with free citizens and a free lifestyle. It is a country that has no dangerous enemies, and just as importantly, doesn't plan to make any either. Tonga is a peace loving country, a country where no one is allowed to import firearms of any kind, a country where even the police officers and military do not carry firearms. Therefore, in regards to “politics”, Tonga is just about as “safe” as a country can get!

In regards to weather, Tonga is also amazingly safe in comparison to other nations, be they South Pacific, European, Asian, African or American. While Tonga does have the occasional mild hurricane about every four years (severe hurricanes occur about once every 20 years; the last three occurred in approx. 1960, 1982 and 2003), the ferocity with which it has been hit in the past seems very minor in comparison with other South Pacific countries. Furthermore, because Tonga is so sheltered by it's coral reefs and other natural safety features, as well as the extreme height of many of it's islands it doesn't have to worry about such things as Tsunami's or floods the way other island countries do, nor does it have the volcanic or earthquake threat that other island nations have. Finally, one must remember that there are no entirely guaranteed “safe spots” scientifically speaking in the entire world. Even a country like America can be badly ravaged by such things as tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, etc., and a continent like Africa , while not having the same frequency of “acts of God” as America , still has the deadly and frightening killer viruses such as Ebola, Marburg , AIDS, and the like.

All of the above being said, we believe you can rest peacefully while living in Tonga, knowing that you are as safe here as you would be anywhere on this earth!

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF TONGA ?

The South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga has a very bright future indeed. Tonga, unlike other island nations is not plagued by government corruption, enormous inflation, unjust agreements with other countries, dangerous enemies and the like. Instead, Tonga has a growing economy as well as one of the most pristine environments in the entire world. Couple all of this with the fact that Tonga has a healthy relationship with such economic powers as the United States of America, the European Union, China and Russia as well as having a very strong relationship with growing powers, Australia and New Zealand, and the future of Tonga is very bright indeed!

WHAT ARE TONGA 'S PROPERTY LAWS LIKE?

Real estate property may not be owned outright (freehold) in Tonga , as the Tongan Constitution prohibits such. However, long term beneficial leases are available which function in much the same way.

While it sometimes can be difficult for a foreigner (Palangi) to understand such a concept, the truth is that it is quite simple and actually extremely beneficial. While America and other nations claim to allow their citizens to own land outright, they have a way of taking this owned land back whenever they choose, via eminent domain, exorbitant taxes and the like. In fact, there is a local American ex-pat that relocated to Tonga after this happened to him and he has often remarked that he’d rather have a good ole Tongan property lease then an American deed any day. In many instances these countries will simply raise the property taxes on the land to the point where it is either disadvantageous or entirely impossible for the land owner to pay the taxes, thereby forfeiting his supposedly owned land back to the Government or creditor.

Recently, the United States Supreme Court decided that no American truly owns their land and that their land or even homes may be seized by not only the government (eminent domain) but by private land barons and independent developers. This is a new development that has left many American's stunned and angry, as a recent CNN “Lou Dobbs” poll showed (99% of Americans disagreed with the Supreme Courts decision).

The South Pacific King of Tonga has a much different policy indeed. While the Tongan government does not allow a Palangi to own property outright in Tonga, it does allow them to lease property for up to 99 years and have all the normal rights of ownership found in Western countries, without the exorbitant land taxes. While many countries have at times been known for taking away their resident’s land, the Tongan government has always been known for giving away land freely, as every male Tongan of legal age was freely given not only a plantation to grow crops on but a separate town lot to live on.

It may be hard for Palangi's (foreigners) to fall in love with the Tongan way, however please understand this one thing … the Tongan way has already saved you over 50% on the purchase of your first Tongan property, thanks to these land laws! If Tonga were to all of the sudden become the first South Pacific nation to offer all their real estate as “freehold” land, the prices would sky rocket and eliminate the possibility many good folks have of relocating to this paradise.

WILL TONGAN REAL ESTATE APPRECIATE IN VALUE?

Fiji has long been the destination of choice for tourists, part-time owners and ex-pats alike, with enormous prices to go along with it (consider the $14 Million US Dollars that Mel Gibson recently plunged down to nab Mago Island ). However it looks as if all of that may be about to change!

Robert Keith-Reid in the article “$tormy Waters” in the June 2005 issue of “Islands Business” dropped a bomb when he reported that the Fiji Government is about to hand back land rights to the ancient tribes that used to own them. This has caused enormous problems for foreign investors and businessmen alike, and many in Fiji are selling as fast as they can and looking for other viable alternatives. Well the truth is, they do not have to look far as Tonga is just down the road, err Ocean, from Fiji and is more then a viable alternative, it’s an Edenic paradise! Tonga has seen a rise in foreign investors and also in foreigners relocating to it’s beautiful islands over the past two years and this steady rise should only increase, which of course will increase the value of land, which at present is some of the best priced island real estate on planet earth.

WHY RELOCATE TO TONGA ?

While the rest of the world is mired in seemingly never ending conflicts, wars and internal power struggles, the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga simply continues on its peaceful and glorious course.

While the rest of the world seems to be going completely overboard in regards to rules, restrictions, invasions of privacy and the like, making it nearly impossible for one of its citizens to live a free, private and self-sufficient existence, the Kingdom of Tonga is still a place where someone can truly live off the land with little to no cash savings, or government interference.

While the rest of the world seems to be widening the gap between the rich and the poor to alarming levels, whereby the poor cannot even afford a rental property, the Kingdom of Tonga has given land away freely (every male Tongan of proper age was freely given land) to its nationals and has made acquiring both residential and commercial real estate property easy for its ex-pat residents.

While the rest of the “civilized” nations are busy warring and stripping their own citizen’s rights away, the Kingdom of Tonga continues on blessing its national and ex-pat citizens with a safe place to live based on freedom and genuine concern for one another.

While the rest of the world seems bent on not only destroying its own environment through pollution and greed, but on destroying its own citizens as well through unnatural foods, dangerous water reserves and warfare, the Kingdom of Tonga has what could be considered a “pristine” environment and atmosphere, organic foods, pure rainwater and not a single enemy in the world!

Furthermore, Tonga is not only a wise and beautiful escape destination for those who live in troubled nations, but it also a wise relocation choice for those who already live in island countries plagued with governmental, health (malaria, yellow fever, etc) or dangerous animal and plant concerns like Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon islands, the Cook Islands, and Easter Island. This fact is due to Tonga being a nearly “Edenic” location, marked by the wonderful absence of stinging plants, snakes, poisonous spiders, malaria carrying mosquitoes, etc. Tonga truly is a paradise on earth!

The South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga is also one of the most beautiful, stimulating and breathtaking of the South Pacific island countries including Fiji and Tahiti, in regards to weather, marine life and of course scenery. The Vava'u island group is a world renowned “hot spot” for whale watching, bird watching, diving, snorkeling, sailing, game fishing, surfing, kayaking, rock climbing, bushwalking, backpacking, cycling and the like. It is visited regularly by tourists the world over, yet not in mass quantities, and therefore still retains its old world charm and slow pace of life, which is magnificent indeed.

Finally, Tonga is a country where one can grow old without worries. A country where one can easily save up enough money to support their children's children. A country where one can sleep peacefully at night, without fear. A country that one can be overjoyed to reside in!
All of this being said, the question is not, “why move to Tonga ?” but “why would you even think of moving anywhere else?”

For those of you who would like to know everything there is to know about relocating to Tonga, we offer the only ex-pat geared e-book on Tonga, titled, “Retiring, Working and Doing Business in Tonga”, which is a veritable compendium of tourist, real estate and immigration knowledge.

This book will give you all the information you need to not only retire, work and do business in the South Pacific’s last remaining kingdom quickly, easily and inexpensively, but will fill you in on the local property laws, real estate bargains, local culture of Tonga, language, news and the like as well. You may purchase the e-book here.

Feel free to contact us anytime about anything!