Over Half Of Tuvalu Nationals Apply For Ballot Offering Australian “Climate Visa”

It’s a story that sounds vaguely dystopic. More than half of Tuvalu’s 10,000-strong population have entered a ballot offering them a chance to win a permanent visa to Australia with climate change posing an existential threat to the low-lying island nation. 

According to the public service broadcaster SBS Australia, a grand total of 5,157 applications had been made by the time the ballot closed on Friday. Indeed, roughly a third of Tuvaluans are reported to have applied for the visa in the first four days of the ballot opening. 

The scheme, which began this year, will enable up to 280 Tuvaluan nationals to apply for a visa. Those selected will obtain the right to live, study and work in Australia on a permanent basis, as well as access education, health and key income and family support upon arrival. 

“Australia recognizes 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 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is reported to have said. 

In a statement, the department describes the visa as “an important milestone” that offers “a pathway for mobility with dignity as climate impacts worsen”. 

Tuvalu is an archipelago made up of nine islands that sit halfway between Australia and Hawaii. With a land area roughly equivalent to 3 percent of New York, it is one of the smallest countries in the world. But like many islands in the Pacific, its low-lying nature makes it extremely susceptible to the effects of climate change. 

According to UNICEF, the risks facing Tuvalu are particularly severe. It is likely to become the very first country in the world made uninhabitable by rising sea levels attributed to human-induced climate change. 

The visa program is referenced in the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty signed in 2023, in which the two countries promise to “commit to work together in the face of the existential threat posed by climate change”. 

Looking at the numbers, it is clear the scheme is incredibly popular among Tuvaluans. Those unsuccessful this time round will have the opportunity to apply again next year. According to migration experts, this “climate visa” combined with existing visa programs could enable 4 percent of the population to migrate annually – or roughly 40 percent of the population within the next decade. However, the flexibility of the program will offer Tuvaluns the freedom to move back to Tuvalu, Pacific Minister Pat Conroy has said, SBS Australia reported.