Tuvalu could become the first country to disappear as a result of climate change. Rising sea levels are gradually inundating this Pacific archipelago, prompting many of its residents to leave their homes behind.

As part of a bilateral treaty it signed with Tuvalu in 2023, Australia welcomed the first wave of climate migrants from this sinking nation on Thursday, Reuters reports . The treaty is the world’s first to create a special visa in response to climate change.

More than 3,000 of Tuvalu’s 11,000 residents applied for the visas after they became available in June , but Australia has capped the intake at 280 per year. Upon their arrival, migrants receive immediate access to education, Medicare, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the family tax benefit, a childcar

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