As rising sea levels continue to threaten the sinking nation of Tuvalu, Australia has welcomed the first group of climate migrants. The first climate migrants to leave Tuvalu have touched down in Australia, ready to begin a new life as part of a landmark treaty.
More than one-third of Tuvalu’s 11,000 residents submitted applications for Australia’s unprecedented climate visa program. The massive response reflects growing fears about the island nation’s survival as scientists warn that much of the country could disappear beneath the Pacific Ocean within decades.
Why is Tuvalu disappearing underwater?
Tuvalu consists of nine low-lying coral atolls and islands scattered across the west-central Pacific Ocean. The nation stands as one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. Rising sea levels and severe weather events like cyclones and storms threaten the physical existence of the entire country.
NASA scientists predict that most of Tuvalu’s infrastructure will be underwater by 2050. The country’s average elevation sits at only two meters above sea level. Over the past 30 years, sea levels around Tuvalu have risen by 15 centimeters, more than one and a half times the global average.
If sea levels rise by one meter by 2050, half of Funafuti could be submerged daily by tides. Funafuti serves as the main atoll and hosts 60 percent of the country’s population. A worst-case scenario of a two-meter rise could submerge up to 90 percent of the area.
Two of Tuvalu’s coral atolls have already almost disappeared beneath the waves as human-caused climate change melts frozen parts of the world and heats the ocean, causing it to expand and rise.
What exactly is climate visa?
The Pacific Engagement Visa grants successful applicants indefinite residency in Australia. The program goes far beyond other migration programs in the Pacific, which previously established only temporary labor pathways.
The visa allows Tuvalu citizens to live, work, study and access health and education benefits in Australia on par with Australian citizens. Recipients can access public health benefits through Medicare and receive subsidized education and childcare support. They can also travel freely between Australia and Tuvalu.
Applications for the first wave of visas opened on June 16 and closed on July 18, 2025. The visa program operates through a random ballot system. Only 280 applications will be successful per year. The annual cap aims to prevent mass emigration of highly trained or qualified people whose skills remain essential in Tuvalu.
How many Tuvaluans applied for refuge?
By June 27, Tuvaluans submitted 1,124 primary applications covering 4,052 citizens. This figure represents nearly 40 percent of the entire population based on Tuvalu’s 2022 census.
Tapugao Falefou, Tuvalu’s ambassador to the United Nations, said the community was “startled by the huge number of people vying for this opportunity.” He noted that many Tuvaluans see this as a way to support families back home through remittances.
Penny Wong, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, welcomed the news. “The Pathway reflects the deep trust between our two countries, and we look forward to the contributions Tuvaluans will make to Australian society,” Wong stated.
What treaty made this possible?
The climate visa emerged from the Falepili Union, an agreement between the two nations that came into force in August 2024. The treaty includes several key commitments beyond migration.
Australia recognized Tuvalu’s continuing statehood and sovereignty, notwithstanding the impacts of sea-level rises. Australia committed to assisting Tuvalu against natural disasters, public health emergencies or military aggression.
Tuvaluan Prime Minister Feleti Teo described the treaty with Australia as a “legally binding commitment to safeguard the statehood and sovereignty of a nation affected by climate change.”
Tuvalu committed to ensuring its immigration and border controls are sufficiently robust. The nation also agreed to mutually decide with Australia any partnership, arrangement or engagement with any other state or entity on security and defense-related matters in Tuvalu.
Who are first arrivals?
The first Tuvaluan families started arriving in Australia last month, with more people scheduled to arrive in coming months. A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed the arrivals.
Dr. Masina Matolu, a dentist and dental surgeon, arrived as one of the first climate migrants. She completed her undergraduate degree in Fiji and postgraduate degree in New Zealand. She plans to move to Darwin with her husband and three children, hoping to work with Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.
“I’m really excited to go to Australia to help out the people: to serve, to alleviate suffering and pain,” Dr. Matolu said. “It’s a great opportunity. I can always bring whatever I learn from Australia back to my home country to help.”
Kitai Haulapi, who became the first female forklift driver in Tuvalu, will move to Australia to reconnect with her family in Melbourne. She works with the Falepili Mobility Pathway pre-departure support service to find a job and plans to send money back home to her family in Tuvalu.
“The wages are very good, and it would enable me to support my family and contribute positively to our nation back home,” Haulapi said.
Manipua Puafolau arrived in Australia on November 22, 2024. He trains as a pastor for Te Ekalesia Kelsiano Tuvalu, the nation’s most prominent church. Puafolau plans to settle in Naracoore, where a small community of Pacific Australia Labour Mobility workers invited him.
“For the people migrating to Australia, it’s not only for their physical and economic wellbeing, but also calls for spiritual guidance,” Puafolau said. “One of the great opportunities that must be maintained is the spiritual life of the Tuvaluan people.”
What challenges does this approach face?
The climate visa approach does not address the immense challenges of mass internal migration. As many as 216 million people are predicted to migrate internally within their home countries as a result of climate change impacts by 2050.
A key concern with any accelerated mobility program involves the impact on the source country. As the scheme continues year after year, the effects of depopulation and loss of cultural knowledge in Tuvalu may become more pronounced.
Enele Sopoaga, a former prime minister of Tuvalu, described the Falepili Union as “modern day colonialism at its worst,” despite being a prominent advocate for urgent climate action in Tuvalu.
Questions remain about the practicalities of Tuvalu’s sovereignty if its physicality is wholly lost under water and its people are dispersed. The Falepili Union makes specific reference to the maintenance of Tuvalu’s sovereignty and Australia’s recognition of it. However, this may become difficult in practice, particularly if the Tuvalu nation becomes wholly dependent on its Australian neighbor for its physical home.
The Australian government has positioned this visa as a landmark policy response to the realities of climate migration. While the world debates climate action and carbon emission cuts, Tuvalu no longer has the luxury of time. The climate visa offers those without time to spare an efficient means of securing their futures.
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