Tuvaluan nationals now pay $25 to enter Australia's permanent residency ballot

Australia now charges people who want to enter the Pacific Engagement Visa ballot, the lottery that leads to permanent residency for eligible Pacific nationals. The registration fee has been set at $25, according to Australia's Department of Home Affairs and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Key facts

• Ballot registration fee: $25
• Visa: Pacific Engagement Visa, subclass 192, offering permanent residency
• Who can register: citizens of 12 Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste
• Annual allocation: up to 3,000 visas, including partners and dependent children
• Where to register: ImmiAccount, the Department of Home Affairs online platform
• Selection: random and electronic

Who is affected?

The ballot is open to citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Workers already in Australia under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme may also register for the ballot, alongside applicants from their home countries.

How does the ballot work?

Applicants register through the Department of Home Affairs via its ImmiAccount online platform during officially designated ballot windows. Selection is entirely random and electronic, so every registered participant has an equal chance of being drawn.

People selected receive an invitation to lodge a formal visa application and must then prove they meet all relevant eligibility requirements before any visa is granted. Anyone not chosen in a given round must register again for the following year's draw, provided they still qualify at that time.

How much does it cost?

The registration fee is $25. The source gives no date for when the fee takes effect and no opening or closing dates for the next ballot window.

What does the visa offer?

The programme makes up to 3,000 visas available each year through the ballot. That total covers principal applicants together with their partners and dependent children, so a single successful ballot entry can secure permanent residency for a whole family.

Why is this happening?

According to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the initiative aims to grow the Pacific and Timor-Leste diaspora in Australia while keeping meaningful connections with applicants' countries of origin. The department also says the programme is meant to deepen community ties and encourage more exchange across culture, business and education.

No start date for the fee or for the next ballot window has been announced in the information available.