1. On March 8, 2023, China acceded to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents(hereinafter referred to as "the Convention"), which will enter into force on November 7, 2023 between China and Tonga. The Convention will continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region of China.

2. From November 7, public documents within the scope of the Convention issued by Tonga can be used in mainland of China after applying for the Tongan Apostille, without the need for consular legalisations by Tonga and Chinese Embassy in Tonga. 

Public documents within the scope of the Convention issued by China can be used in Tonga after obtaining the Chinese Apostille. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China is the competent authority to issue Apostille for public documents issued in China. The Foreign Affairs Office of the relevant regional government issues Apostille for official documents issued within its administrative region. Apostille can be verified on the website https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/. Procedures and requirements for Chinese Apostille can be found at http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/ or relevant websites of local foreign affairs offices.

3. As of November 7, the Chinese Embassy in Tonga will no longer provide consular authentication service. For documents issued by Tonga to be used in mainland of China, please apply for Apostille from relevant Tongan authorities.

4. Under the Convention, Apostille is used to certify the authenticity of the signatures on public documents, the identity of the signatory at the time of signing and the seal on public documents. Meanwhile, obtaining a Tongan Apostille does not necessarily mean that the document will be accepted by the relevant Chinese entities and it is still recommended to contact the relevant Chinese entities for the specific requirements for format, content, time limit, translation, etc. of public documents before applying for the Apostille in Tonga.