Climate change

This island nation is sinking - and over a third of its residents want out

A large proportion of Tuvalu, a low-lying nation in the Pacific Ocean, has registered for a visa lottery for the right to live in Australia.

James D. Morgan

William Allen

British journalist and translator who joined Diario AS in 2013. Focuses on soccer – chiefly the Premier League, LaLiga, the Champions League, the Liga MX and MLS. On occasion, also covers American sports, general news and entertainment. Fascinated by the language of sport – particularly the under-appreciated art of translating cliché-speak.

Update: Jun 29th, 2025 12:08 EDT

Around 40% of the population of Tuvalu is reported to have applied for a ‘climate visa’ to settle in Australia, as the tiny nation in the Pacific Ocean deals with the ever-growing threat of rising sea levels.

Tuvalu set to be uninhabitable by 2100

A collection of three islands and six atolls, low-lying Tuvalu sits around 2,500 miles east of Australia, at approximately the halfway point between the country and Hawaii.

It is among the locations in the world that are most vulnerable to rising sea levels associated with climate change.

According to a UNESCO profile of the nation, no Tuvaluan territory is higher than six meters (19 feet) above sea level.

How many Tuvaluans have applied for ‘climate visa’?

With experts reportedly predicting that Tuvalu will be uninhabitable within the next eight decades, Reuters says just over 4,000 people from the country have so far registered for an Australian visa lottery, as part of a special immigration initiative announced in 2023.

Per United Nations data, Tuvalu’s current population stands at just under 10,000.

This island nation is sinking - and over a third of its residents want out — FILE PHOTO: Aerial view of Funafuti, Tuvalu’s most populous island, September 6, 2024. Picture taken through plane window. REUTERS/Kirsty Needham/File PhotoKirsty Needham

“There is no higher ground”

“Internal relocation in Tuvalu is not an option, we are totally flat,” Tuvalu’s prime minister, Feleti Teo, told a United Nations conference this month, per CNN. “There is no option to move inland or move to higher ground, because there is no higher ground.”

“A pathway for mobility with dignity”

Known as the Falepili Mobility Pathway, the immigration deal between Australia and Tuvalu’s governments will offer up to 280 visas every year to Tuvaluans, allowing them to live, work and study in Australia.

The initiative “will provide a pathway for mobility with dignity as climate impacts worsen”, Australia’s administration said in a press release earlier this month.

“Startled by the huge number”

Open since June 16, this year’s application period is due to run until July 18. The first round of Tuvaluan recipients of a ‘climate visa’, which will provide permanent residency, will then be decided by a random ballot.

Speaking to Reuters, Tuvalu’s ambassador to the United Nations, Tapugao Falefou, said this weekend that he was “startled by the huge number of people vying for this opportunity”.