Tuvalu, a country in Oceania comprising nine coral islands and atolls, is home to about 11,000 people. With an average elevation of just six-and-a-half feet above sea level, it faces a dire threat from climate change and rising sea levels. A 2023 NASA study predicts that most of the country will be submerged below high-tide levels by 2050.

In response to this existential threat, Tuvalu and Australia signed an agreement in 2023 allowing Tuvaluans to resettle in Australia as permanent residents. Should circumstances improve, these residents will have the option to return to their homeland. The first 280 people to relocate were selected in mid-2025, with an anticipated 40 percent of the population moving within the next decade.