141 3,000 eligibility slots for Tuvalu immigration

Tuvalu is currently in a state where everything needs to be rebuilt. And for a nation to flourish, population is naturally the top priority.

After Burns finished his call with the Germans, they provided a list of job requirements. For the harbor and airport projects alone, the client-side staff required exceeded two hundred people. Furthermore, the Germans had already planned a residential district capable of housing the entire current population of Tuvalu; even if the construction of this district were contracted to the Chinese construction teams, it would still require a significant number of client-side personnel. Add to that other projects, such as road repairs and the power plant, and the need for client-side participation grows even further.

This is merely the construction phase. Once the infrastructure like the airport and harbor is complete, the number of staff required to operate them will be equally significant. Moreover, neither the client representatives during construction nor the staff needed afterward are roles the current Tuvaluan population is capable of filling.

Tuvalu’s education level is low, with the general public’s knowledge at best equivalent to junior high school level. People like Burns, who studied abroad and returned, are few and far between. While they can read and do basic math, they simply do not meet the requirements to serve as engineering supervisors. As for working at the airport or harbor, that is also not a viable option.

Previously, due to a lack of vegetables and clean drinking water, the entire nation suffered from obesity. These patients are "bloated"—they appear fat but lack physical strength, often falling short of the average person. Because it is an island nation in the tropics, the Tuvaluans, despite being of Caucasian descent, have darker skin. In short, the Tuvaluans are a group of dark-skinned, obese, and physically weak people.

Of course, this is not to say they cannot work; at the very least, they are excellent at growing bananas and coconuts, and they can fish. Li Daniu’s plan is for these people to stick to their old trades, focusing on agriculture, animal husbandry, and fishing in the new Tuvalu. The new Tuvalu possesses an excellent geographical environment, unlike the old Tuvalu where even vegetables would not grow, let alone livestock. Furthermore, the new Tuvalu cannot continue to rely on importing all of its vegetables; these sectors will always require people to work in them. As for other industries, they will have to rely on immigrant labor.

"According to this list, in the first phase, we need about 1,500 immigrants with relevant professional skills to satisfy the basic operation of the New Tuvalu Construction Company," Burns reported after finishing his calculations.

"That many?" Li Daniu was surprised. In his view, the two main projects currently under construction were fully contracted to the Chinese construction company. How could the New Tuvalu Construction Company, as the client, need so many people?

Burns handed the materials from the Germans to Li Daniu and explained, "The Germans believe that since we have established our own construction company, we can handle some of the projects ourselves. Therefore, most of these 1,500 people are construction workers. Moreover, having such a group of construction workers participate in the construction of New Tuvalu from scratch will allow us to possess our own construction force in the future. Compared to the entirety of New Tuvalu, this number is actually quite small."

I see. Li Daniu had indeed not considered these more detailed issues. However, since he understood the benefits, he had to support it. Besides, he was not satisfied with merely ensuring the most basic operations.

"If we want to achieve the best results, how many people do we need?"

Burns replied, "About 2,400 people. Of course, this number only covers the first phase of the project planned by the Germans. If we reach the second phase, this number will more than double."

"Then let's accept immigrants based on the 2,400-person quota. We can discuss the second phase when we get there."

The reason these job openings were not filled through standard recruitment is that, based on salary alone, it would be impossible to entice people to travel across oceans and leave their own circles to work here. Certainly, Li Daniu could attract people from other countries with high salaries, but the consequence would be a complete disruption of the future salary structure in New Tuvalu, leading to meaningless expenditures. Moreover, merely paying high salaries creates a simple employment relationship; these people would have no sense of belonging to Tuvalu and would not be considered Tuvaluan citizens, meaning they could not be factored into Tuvalu's national power. If Tuvalu's national power does not increase, how could Li Daniu receive more help from the system—such as increasing his travel time? Therefore, he had to tie this to an immigration policy, using welfare benefits to attract people to immigrate.

Once the tone was set, the rest was a matter of meetings and discussions. After Li Daniu laid out the general policy, the details were left to Burns. After a full day of meetings, Burns finally produced a plan and handed it to Li Daniu.

After Li Daniu read the plan, Burns began to introduce it.

"Regarding the requirements for immigrants, aside from having a clean criminal record, they must possess the relevant professional skills for the positions. If they immigrate here, in addition to receiving a salary for their position, they will also enjoy the welfare benefits of our Tuvaluan citizens. Of course, these benefits are tied to a probationary period."

"For the probationary period, we have set three stages: 2 years, 4 years, and 6 years. The corresponding monthly living subsidies for each stage are 500, 1,000, and 1,500 respectively. After the third probationary period ends, they can receive a monthly living subsidy of 3,000 USD. In other words, if a person immigrates to our Tuvalu and does not have their status downgraded or their probation extended due to breaking the law within twelve years, they can receive a monthly living subsidy of 3,000 USD. If they break the law while receiving the 3,000 USD subsidy, we will downgrade them and put them through another six-year probationary period before they can return to receiving the 3,000 USD monthly subsidy."

"In addition to this, I suggest applying this system to our indigenous people as well, otherwise, it will cause dissatisfaction among the immigrants."

"Do not worry about scarcity, but about inequality." Li Daniu understood this principle well. However, he did not want to earn a reputation for not keeping his word.

"It can be applied to the indigenous people, but we will treat them as if they have already passed the probationary period. In any case, in all the years they have lived in Tuvalu, no one has really broken any laws. If they commit a crime in the future, we will handle it according to the method you set, by downgrading them."

After Burns recorded this, Li Daniu added, "For salary standards, refer to the highest levels of similar positions in other countries. But one thing: when conducting skill assessments for immigrants, be strict. Select the best and the brightest."

"Aside from these two points, we must complete and perfect our national laws as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the immigrants arrive and find our laws constantly changing, it will be very inappropriate."

Tuvalu's laws are basically modeled after other countries, but the difference is that in Tuvalu, Li Daniu has the power to amend them. However, Li Daniu would not use this power lightly. In a country, the support of the people is crucial; if the monarch changes the laws capriciously—even if they are good changes—it will destabilize the public heart. Especially as the number of immigrants increases, this power cannot be used lightly. If the legal system is not sound, how can he guarantee the safety of the immigrants' lives and property after they arrive?

"No problem, I will arrange to perfect the legal and regulatory system right now," Burns immediately agreed. The difficulty of this work was undoubtedly the easiest, as he only needed to copy the laws of developed countries and adapt them to Tuvalu's needs. Of course, Burns resolved in his heart that he must ensure the interests of His Majesty the King.

After thinking for a moment, Li Daniu said, "In addition to downgrading for criminal offenses, you should raise the requirements for their conduct. For example, behaviors like spitting or littering—while not necessarily warranting an immediate downgrade, you can set a point system. If it happens too often, they can certainly be handled with a downgrade. Our New Tuvalu may not be able to achieve a state where doors are left unlocked at night or lost property is always returned, but we should ensure that the quality of our citizens is among the best in the world."

Burns very earnestly recorded what Li Daniu said, preparing to discuss it in the next meeting.

"Also, once these immigrants arrive, our current police force will be completely insufficient. Even with various requirements and regulations tied to their personal interests, we cannot guarantee that no crimes will occur. Therefore, we also need to recruit some immigrants for the police force. Moreover, we only have twenty or so guns in the entire country, and they are almost all pistols. What can that do? If some blind pirates or robbers show up, wouldn't they be able to occupy our country easily?"

Upon hearing this, Burns nodded immediately and said, "This is my oversight. Our Tuvalu is no longer the old Tuvalu; security work needs to be upgraded to a new level. Especially your safety—we must ensure it."

*My safety really doesn't need you to guarantee it, and you couldn't anyway,* Li Daniu thought, but he just said, "Add the police, prosecution, and judiciary positions to this list of immigrant requirements. Discuss the numbers yourselves, and then contact other countries—or even the black market—to purchase a batch of weapons. Even if we don't build an army now, we should at least have a semblance of one."

"An army?" Burns accurately grasped the focus of Li Daniu's statement: *not building an army now* implied that they might in the future.

After talking for a while longer, Burns went off to hold another meeting. Half a day later, the plan was finally approved by Li Daniu and announced via the official Tuvalu website.

Unfortunately, nobody really looked at the official Tuvalu website. Li Daniu had no choice but to advertise on his own social media account. Come to think of it, having a large following really does have its benefits.

"Extra! Extra! Tuvalu is opening 3,000 immigration spots. Want to receive a monthly living subsidy of 3,000 USD without doing anything? Come to Tuvalu! For specific details, please refer to the latest announcement on the official Tuvalu website."