What are the Implications of Australia’s New Pacific Engagement Visa for its Regional Relationships?

On the 3rd of June, Australia’s new permanent migration pathway, the Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV), opened to the first applicants from Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and Timor-Leste. This visa represents a new milestone in Australia’s Indo-Pacific relationships as it looks to counter the rising influence of China in the region.

The PEV is notably not framed in the contemporary language of targeting skilled migrants solely for economic gain. Instead, it emphasises the social capital angle of growing and developing Australia’s Pasifika and Timorese diasporas in government literature.

The new visa will see the arrival of a maximum of 3,000 persons from 10 eligible countries each year, although strict application guidelines may further limit this number. This raises questions over the Australian government’s objectives for the new visa and its potential impacts on migrants’ communities and countries of origin.