Tuvalu seeks confirmation its citizens will not be affected by US visa ban

The Tuvalu government said it is seeking confirmation from the United States that its citizens will not be barred from entry, after the island nation said its inclusion on the US’s list of countries facing travel bans was an “error”.

An internal diplomatic cable signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio showed the US, which had already barred entry for citizens from 12 countries, was reportedly considering expanding travel restrictions to another 36 countries, including three Pacific Island states.

Nations on the list would have 60 days to take corrective action, the cable showed.

The news had caused significant concern for the 11,000 residents on the island of Tuvalu, which scientists predict will be submerged by rising sea levels.

Tuvalu’s ambassador to the United Nations, Tapugao Falefou, said he was told by a US official that Tuvalu’s inclusion on the list was “an administrative and systemic error on the part of the US Department of State”.

In a statement, Tuvalu’s government said it had not received any formal notification that it was on the list, and was assured by the US embassy in Fiji it was “an error within the system”.

“The embassy has provided verbal assurances that there are no current restrictions on Tuvaluan nationals entering the United States, and that the matter is being reviewed with authorities in Washington,” the statement from Tuvalu’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Labour and Trade said.

It added that Tuvalu was seeking a “formal written confirmation to that effect and continues to engage the US government to ensure Tuvaluans are not unfairly affected”.

Banning Tuvalu does not ‘make sense’

The embassy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

A US official familiar with visa policy who was not authorised to speak publicly told Reuters that “no decisions have been made, and any speculation is premature”.

“Tuvalu’s public statement mischaracterises and omits some of the valid concerns the United States has with travellers from that country,” the official added.

The other Pacific Islands listed in the cable were Vanuatu and Tonga.

Henrietta McNeill, a Pacific security and geopolitics researcher at the Australian National University said it “made sense” if Tuvalu’s inclusion on the list of 36 countries facing visa bans was a mistake.

She said unlike Tonga and Vanuatu, Tuvaluans respectively, did not have a history of overstaying visas or have in place a citizenship by investment scheme, aspects which the US was clamping down on.

“If anything, the integrity of their nationals is very clear given the Falepili Union and the fact that Australia wants Tuvaluans to migrate to Australia.”

Migration as soft diplomacy

Both Australia and New Zealand have established permanent migration pathways for Tuvaluans through an annual ballot system.

Around a third of the island’s residents have already applied to migrate under the Falepili Union, which Australia entered with Tuvalu last year.

The scheme will grant 280 Tuvaluans a permanent visa to Australia each year, while New Zealand’s scheme, which began in 2001, allowed 75.

In practice, Dr McNeill said the removal of Tuvalu on the US’s list of countries with visa bans would unlikely benefit the lives of Tuvaluans much as there are no migration partnerships in place.

However, the relaxing of travel and migration restrictions could bolster US diplomacy in the Pacific, particularly against China’s influence in the region.

“The US doesn’t always know how to engage in the Pacific Island region.”

“Migration is a significant part of soft power and we’re definitely seeing that through Australia’s use of the Falepili scheme .

“I think that this [visa removal] will have an effect on diplomatic relations with the US.”

ABC with Reuters