The Falepili Union is a treaty between Tuvalu and Australia. It was signed on 9 November 2023 and came into force on 28 August 2024. It is widely described as the first agreement of its kind: a partnership that treats climate change as a question of security and of human mobility.
What does the treaty cover?
It has three parts.
- Mobility. A special pathway for Tuvaluans to live, work and study in Australia, with permanent residency.
- Climate cooperation. Australian support for adaptation in Tuvalu, including coastal protection on Funafuti.
- Security. An Australian commitment to help Tuvalu if it faces a major natural disaster, a health pandemic or military aggression.
How does the Falepili Mobility Pathway work?
Each year Tuvaluan citizens can register for a ballot. People drawn in the ballot are invited to apply for a visa that gives permanent residency in Australia, with access to work, education and health care, and the freedom to travel back and forth to Tuvalu.
The first ballot opened on 16 June 2025 with up to 280 places. Interest was high: nearly a third of Tuvalu’s residents registered within days. The number of places can be adjusted each year by agreement between the two governments.
Why it matters for Tuvalu
For a nation facing a rising sea, the treaty does two things at once. It gives families a safe, legal and dignified option to move if they choose, and it supports the adaptation work that lets most Tuvaluans stay. It also reflects a principle Tuvalu argues for internationally: people who move because of climate change should do so with their rights intact, not as refugees. That idea is at the heart of the Global Principles for Addressing Climate Mobility, which the Ambassador helped champion at the Berlin Climate Mobility Forum in 2026.
Related: Is Tuvalu sinking? and Tuvalu’s digital nation.