A solidarity success and a climate failure: Thousands of Tuvaluans seek new visa to Australia

More than a third of people from the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu are seeking to move to Australia through an unprecedented climate visa scheme that opened last week.

Signed by the two countries in 2023, the Falepili Union provides a pathway for Tuvaluans to live, work and study in their larger neighbour, as sea-level rise threatens to engulf their home.

A ballot for visas that opened on 16 June has already seen 1,124 primary registrations as of this morning (27 June), according to Australia’s Department of Home Affairs. That rises to a total of 4,052 people when family members of the primary applicant are included.

That’s well above the 280 limit Australia is offering each year, and represents a sizeable proportion of Tuvalu’s roughly 11,000-strong population.