Relationship dossier
New Zealand
Tuvalu
Relationship assessment
Development and migration cooperation underpin New Zealand–Tuvalu ties.
New Zealand toward Tuvalu
+35New Zealand provides development assistance to Tuvalu and offers Tuvaluan citizens access to seasonal work and the Pacific Access Category migration pathway.
Tuvalu toward New Zealand
+25Tuvalu participates in New Zealand seasonal-worker and Pacific Access Category arrangements, providing practical cooperation on labor mobility and migration.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship is shaped by New Zealand’s development support and established migration pathways for Tuvaluans, alongside practical cooperation on labor mobility. These provide a sustained basis for constructive ties; the scope of other bilateral arrangements is less clear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
New Zealand and Tuvalu maintain a cooperative relationship involving development assistance and migration pathways. New Zealand provides development support to Tuvalu and includes Tuvaluan citizens in seasonal-worker and Pacific Access Category arrangements. Tuvalu’s participation in these arrangements and wider bilateral cooperation reflects practical engagement, though the scope of government-to-government cooperation is not fully clear.
Key developments
New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme provides a pathway for Tuvaluan workers to take up seasonal employment.
Tuvaluan citizens are included in New Zealand’s Pacific Access Category migration pathway.
New Zealand provides development assistance to Tuvalu.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of New Zealand’s development cooperation with Tuvalu are unclear.
- Details of Tuvalu’s government role in bilateral migration and labor arrangements are limited.