SYDNEY: Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation Nauru enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island.

The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nau­ru, the government said in a statement.

“It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru,” it said.

“Australia will provide funding to underpin this arrangement and support Nauru’s long-term economic resilience.” Can­b­erra did not provide financial details.

The Sydney Morning Herald said, however, that Australia would pay Nauru $267 million and about Aus$70 million a year thereafter under the deal. “Anyone who doesn’t have a valid visa should leave the country,” Burke said in a statement.

“This is a fundamental element of a functioning visa system.” Australia’s gov­­ernment has been sea­r­ching for a way to deal with immigrants who have no other country to go to when their visas are cancelled. The High Co­­urt ruled in 2023 that indefinite detention was “unlawful” if deportation was not an option, leading to the release of 220 people.

The number of immigrants in that situation now numbers more than 350, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

In February, Australia paid an undisclosed sum for Nauru to accept three immigrants convicted of violent offences, though legal challenges have reportedly stalled their transfer. Last year, Aust­ralia and Nauru signed an agreement spanning maritime security, defence and policing.

Nauru, population 12,500, is one of the world’s smallest countries with a mainland measuring just 20 square kilometres.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2025