Overview
- Australia confirmed the first cohort has entered under a two‑year‑old agreement that enables Tuvaluans to resettle as sea‑level risks escalate.
- Among the initial arrivals are Tuvalu’s first forklift operator, a dentist and aspiring pastor Manipua Puafolau, and Tuvalu’s prime minister has engaged diaspora communities to sustain cultural ties.
- Canberra says the visa provides “mobility in dignity,” allowing recipients to live, study and work, with settlement support in Melbourne, Adelaide and Queensland.
- NASA scientists project that by 2050 daily tides will flood half of Funafuti, the main atoll where about 60% of Tuvalu’s population lives.
- Media reports say demand for the scheme is very high, though estimates of how many applied differ across outlets.