Over 80% Of Citizens From This Pacific Nation Want To Move To Australia: Here's Why

Around four in five Tuvalu citizens have registered for Australia's climate migration visa, figures released on August 6 show. The Australian High Commission in Tuvalu confirmed 8,750 registrations for the first ballot, a number representing 82% of the Pacific nation's 10,643 residents, based on 2022 census data.

“We received extremely high levels of interest in the ballot with 8,750 registrations, which includes family members of primary registrants,” the commission said.

Under the arrangement, only 280 visas will be available in the current programme year, leaving many applicants disappointed. The visa will allow successful Tuvaluans to live, work and study in Australia.

A Nation Under Threat From Rising Seas

Tuvalu, an archipelago of nine coral atolls, is among the most climate-vulnerable places on Earth. Scientists warn it could be uninhabitable within the next 80 years, with two islands already mostly submerged. The visa scheme is part of the Falepili Union treaty signed in 2024, which Australian officials have called “the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world” to address climate-forced migration.

“Australia recognises the devastating impact climate change is having on the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of climate-vulnerable countries and people, particularly in the Pacific region,” Australia's foreign affairs department told AFP in July.

The Falepili Union

In 2024, Australia and Tuvalu formalised the Falepili Union, an agreement aimed partly at countering China's growing influence in the Pacific. As part of the deal, Canberra introduced a dedicated visa category for Tuvaluan citizens, with recipients chosen through a random ballot.

The treaty not only opens a permanent migration pathway for 280 Tuvaluans annually, but also strengthens bilateral ties through security commitments, disaster relief assistance and health crisis support.

“For the first time, there is a country that has committed legally to come to the aid of Tuvalu, upon request, when Tuvalu encounters a major natural disaster, a health pandemic or military aggression,” Prime Minister Feleti Teo had said.

The agreement also gives Australia a say in Tuvalu's future defence partnerships, a provision that drew criticism over potential sovereignty compromises.

Hopes, Concerns And Criticism

While the migration pathway has been hailed as a landmark response to climate threats, some Tuvaluans fear mass departures could lead to labour shortages and erosion of cultural traditions. “It was done in a secretive manner, kept away from the people, kept away from parliamentary process,” former prime minister and climate diplomat Enele Sopoaga told The Guardian, questioning how the treaty was negotiated.

In June this year, Tuvalu opened its first ballot allowing citizens to apply for relocation to Australia. All Tuvalu nationals aged over 18, including those living abroad, were eligible to enter by paying a fee of A$25 (around Rs 1,500).