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Nearly a Third of Tuvaluans Apply for Australian Climate Visas Under Falepili Union Treaty

Applications for the 280 annual visas close July 18 with scientists warning sea level rise could render Tuvalu uninhabitable

Vue de l'atoll de Funafuti, où vit près de la moitié de la population de l'archipel des Tuvalu, dans le Pacifique, le 19 février 2004
Les Tuvalu pourraient être submergés par les eaux et devenir inhabitables d'ici à 80 ans. (Photo datée de 2011)
Image
Surnommées les «sinking islands», «les îles qui sombrent», les Tuvalu subissent de plein fouet l’augmentation des températures mondiales due aux émissions de gaz à effet de serre.

Overview

  • More than 3,125 Tuvalu citizens registered in the first four days after applications opened on June 16, representing nearly one-third of the archipelago’s roughly 10,643 residents.
  • The Falepili Union treaty signed in 2024 guarantees 280 climate visas each year for adult Tuvaluans facing displacement from rising ocean levels.
  • The agreement binds Australia to defend Tuvalu against natural disasters, health crises or military threats while overseeing the island’s future defense partnerships.
  • Canberra sees the pact as a strategic move to counter growing Chinese influence in the Pacific and strengthen ties with one of Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies.
  • Observers warn that sustained emigration under the visa program may worsen labor shortages and accelerate cultural erosion in Tuvalu even as its habitability declines.