Tuvalu

Detains migrants or asylum seekers?

Unknown

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

Yes

Refugees

2

2015

International Migrants

246

2024

Population

9,646

2024

International Migrants as % of Population

2.6%

2024

Overview

Types of facilities used for migration-related detention
Administrative Ad Hoc Criminal Unknown

Tuvalu: Covid-19 and Detention

Like other Pacific-island nations that this platform has reported on (like Samoa and Tonga), Tuvalu had yet to report any COVID-19 cases as of October 2020. In March, the country instituted a State of Emergency and shut its borders to all inbound flights and vessels. Tuvalu has one hospital for its approximately 11,000-person population, with […]

Read More…

C. Farbotko and T. Kitara, “How is Tuvalu Securing Against COVID-19?,” DevPolicyBlog, 6 April 2020, https://devpolicy.org/how-is-tuvalu-securing-against-covid-19-20200406/
Last updated:

DETENTION STATISTICS

Migration Detainee Entries
Not Available
2019

DETAINEE DATA

Countries of Origin (Year)





2023
Number of Asylum Seekers Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
Not Available
2023
Number of Women Placed in Immigration Detention (year)
Not Available
2023
Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
Not Available
2017
Number of Unaccompanied Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
Not Available
2023
Number of Accompanied Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
Not Available
2023
Number of Stateless Persons Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
Not Available
2023
Number of Deaths in Immigration Custody (year)
Not Available
2023
Cases of Self-Harming and Suicide Attempts in Immigration Custody (Year)
0
2023

DETENTION CAPACITY

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

Number of People Refused Entry (Year)
Not Available
2023

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
11
2014
8
2013
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
0%
2007
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
110
2014
80
2013

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
9,646
2024
11,396
2023
11,342
2020
10,000
2015
International Migrants (Year)
246
2024
239
2020
238
2019
100
2015
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
2.6%
2024
2.03%
2020
1.4%
2015
Refugees (Year)
2
2015
Stateless Persons (Year)
0
2015

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
$ 3,826,000
2014
Remittances to the Country (in USD)
$ 4,000,000
2014
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (in Millions USD)
34.4
2014

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?

Unknown

2022
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?

Yes

2024
Do Migration Detainees Have Constitutional Guarantees?
Yes/No
Constitution and articles
Adopted in
Last amendend
Yes
2020
Legal Tradition(s)

Common law

2017

GROUNDS FOR DETENTION

LENGTH OF DETENTION

DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

COSTS & OUTSOURCING

Estimated Non-Custodial Measure/ATD Cost Per Detainee Day (in USD)

$ 20

$ Supervised release

2027

COVID-19 DATA

TRANSPARENCY

Detention Registry
Publicly available national detention registry
Includes people in administrative migration-related detention
Year
Does the country maintain a publicly available national detention registry that is intended to records all instances of deprivation liberty, including both criminal and administrative forms of detention?
Does the country maintain a publicly available national detention registry that is intended to records all instances of deprivation liberty, including both criminal and administrative forms of detention?
2023

MONITORING

Institutions that Can Make Unannounced Visits

Test

Yes

2023

NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)

GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES

Parliamentary or congressional monitoring reports on migration-related detention

test

2024

INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING

International monitoring reports on migration-related detention

test

2024

International or regional bodies that have been prevented from making visits to detention centres

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

2023

2023

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1999
2017
CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1986
2017
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2013
2017
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1995
2017
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1982
2017
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 5/19
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
0/3
2017
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on the Rights of the Child § 51. The State party consider ratifying the following core human rights instruments to which it is not yet a party: ( a) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; (b) The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; (c) The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; (d) The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; (e) The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; (f) The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. 2020
2020

> UN Special Procedures

> UN Universal Periodic Review

Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2023 4th
2023
No 2013
2017
No 2009
2017

> Global Compact for Migration (GCM)

GCM Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

> Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)

GCR Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

HEALTH CARE PROVISION

HEALTH IMPACTS

COVID-19

Country Updates
Like other Pacific-island nations that this platform has reported on (like Samoa and Tonga), Tuvalu had yet to report any COVID-19 cases as of October 2020. In March, the country instituted a State of Emergency and shut its borders to all inbound flights and vessels. Tuvalu has one hospital for its approximately 11,000-person population, with limited medical personnel and equipment, resulting in fears that a domestic outbreak would overwhelm the health system. Tuvalu has ratified the Refugee Convention, but it does not receive significant numbers of asylum seekers or refugees, and immigration measures like detention and deportation do not appear to be employed as enforcement tools.