A small island country that sinks into the Pacific asks the US guarantees that it will not exclude its citizens from visa

Tuvalu, a small Pacific nation that scientists predict that it will be swallowed up in the increase in seas, has said that they are requesting a written guarantee from the United States that its citizens will not be prevented from entering the American territory, after apparently included in the wrong list of 36 countries concerned, on Tuesday.

An internal diplomatic telegram, signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has shown that the United States, who already have entry prohibitions for citizens from 12 countries, consider the extension of travel restrictions to 36 countries, including three Pacific island states.

The document obtained by the press at the end of last month shows that the nations on the list would have 60 days to take correction measures required by Washington.

The news has caused significant concerns in Tuvalu, where the population of 11,000 inhabitants is exposed to risk due to the increase in seas and almost one third of the residents applied to a lottery organized by Australia for climatic refugees.

TUVALU is located in the central-western part of the Pacific Ocean and has an average altitude of less than 3 meters. Some studies quoted by the World Bank suggest that many of its islands will become uninhabitable before the end of this century due to floods, salt water infiltration, waves and erosion.

The island country speaks of a US “administrative error”

The ambassador of the Tuvall to the United Nations, Tapugao Falefou, said that an American official transmitted that the inclusion of his country was “an administrative and system error from the US State Department.”

In a statement made on Tuesday, the Government of Tuvalu said that he did not receive any official notification on the list and that the US Embassy in Fiji assured that it was “a system error”.

“The embassy has offered verbal insurance that there are currently no restrictions on the entry of citizens from Tuvalu to the United States and that the situation is being analyzed by the Washington authorities,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Labor and Trade in Tuvalu states.

The statement adds that Tuvalu requests “an official written confirmation in this regard and continues to cooperate with the US government to ensure that the citizens of Tuvalu are not unfairly affected.”

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

An American official states that things are not so simple

An American official familiar with the visa policy has declared under the condition of anonymity for Reuters that “no decision was made and any speculation is premature.”

“The public statement of the Tuval distorts and omits some of the legitimate concerns that the United States has on travel from this country,” the official added.

The other Pacific islands mentioned in the telegram were Vanatu and Tonga.

The media in Tonga reported that the government of this country has received an official warning from the US and works on an answer.

The Vanatu government did not respond to the requests for a comment.