Asia and the Pacific

Asia has a disproportionate share of the world’s young, working-age population—which represents the most mobile cohort—with resulting major immigration flows to other regions, and increasing intraregional migration as demographic transitions occur at different levels within Asia. The research here focuses on how the labor-sending countries of the region, notably the Philippines and other Colombo Process countries, manage these migration flows and the recruitment process. It also examines other conditions affecting the region, including humanitarian protection challenges, climate migration, diaspora relations, and remittances.

Three migrant men wearing masks in Thailand

Reports

Mobility Shutdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Asia and the Pacific

Some of the strictest COVID-19 pandemic-era limits on human mobility occurred in the Asia Pacific region. Border closures started in East and Southeast Asia in early 2020 and quickly spread through the entire region, in some cases remaining in place for more than two years. This report examines the approaches countries took and reflects on the immense costs and benefits of using border measures to tackle public-health risks.

A woman in Nigeria smiles while using her mobile phone

Reports

Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances

Remittances are a vital lifeline for migrants’ families around the world and an important source of revenue for many low- and middle-income countries, especially in times of crisis. As more people turn to digital financial technologies for these money transfers, this shift holds the potential to shake up the rigid remittance industry and boost development benefits. But it also brings new challenges, as this report explores.

Photo of returning Filipino migrant workers.

Articles

The Philippines’ Landmark Labor Export and Development Policy Enters the Next Generation

Fifty years after the birth of the Philippines' strategy to use emigration as a tool for development, the government is doubling down on labor migration. While deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) slumped during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the government and civil society pivoting to assist with return migration and reintegration for hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, emigration has since rebounded, as this article details.

Recent Activity

Articles September 2, 2021 Will the Taliban’s Takeover Lead to a New Refugee Crisis from Afghanistan? By Nasrat Sayed, Fahim Sadat, and Hamayun Khan	Multimedia August 24, 2021 Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan: How Could Europe Respond to Growing Displacement?
Commentaries August 2021 The International Community Must Develop a Well-Coordinated Protection Strategy for Afghan Refugees By Hanne Beirens and Camille Le Coz	Articles July 27, 2021 U.S. Government Rush to Evacuate Afghan Allies and Allocate Sufficient Special Visas Comes at Eleventh Hour By Muzaffar Chishti and Julia Gelatt
Reports July 2021 Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic By Meghan Benton	Articles July 21, 2021 As Migration and Trade Increase between China and Africa, Traders at Both Ends Often Face Precarity By Daouda Cissé
Articles July 15, 2021 Immigrants from Iran in the United States By Tianjian Lai and Jeanne Batalova	Articles June 24, 2021 Can Diaspora Bonds Supercharge Development Investment? By Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan

Pages

Policy Briefs September 2013 What We Know About Circular Migration and Enhanced Mobility By Graeme Hugo	Reports July 2013 Recognizing Foreign Qualifications: Emerging Global Trends By Lesleyanne Hawthorne
Books July 2013 How Can Talent Abroad Induce Development at Home? Towards a Pragmatic Diaspora Agenda	Policy Briefs November 2012 Engaging the Asian Diaspora By Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza and Kathleen Newland
Policy Briefs October 2012 Thailand at a Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities in Leveraging Migration for Development By Jerry Huguet, Aphichat Chamratrithirong and Claudia Natali	Policy Briefs September 2012 Strengthening Pre-Departure Orientation Programmes in Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines By Maruja M.B. Asis and Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
Policy Briefs August 2012 Regulating Private Recruitment in the Asia-Middle East Labour Migration Corridor By Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza	Policy Briefs June 2012 Asian Labour Migrants and Health: Exploring Policy Routes By Jaime Calderon, Barbara Rijks and Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza

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A woman receives remittances from a family member abroad.

Feature

June 24, 2021

Can Diaspora Bonds Supercharge Development Investment?

Countries across the globe have considered novel ways for diasporas to directly invest in national development by purchasing diaspora bonds. Israel has raised billions through its Israel Bonds over the last 70 years, and India has had some success with its diaspora bond efforts. But other countries have faced challenges, as this article explores.

Ramshackle dwellings dot a hillside in the Kutupalong refugee camp, outside Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Feature

March 18, 2021

Stateless and Persecuted: What Next for the Rohingya?

The Rohingya people have been rendered stateless and subjected to repeated abuse that has made them the world’s most persecuted minority, with hundreds of thousands pushed into neighboring Bangladesh, as well as India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and beyond. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Rohingya, including who they are, where they come from, and how they have been systematically marginalized in their native Myanmar and internationally.

Spotlight

March 10, 2021

Immigrants from Asia in the United States

Nearly one-third of all immigrants in the United States come from Asia, and Asian countries such as India, China, and the Philippines are the origin for a growing number of foreign-born U.S. residents. Compared to overall immigrants and the U.S. born, the foreign born from Asia tend to earn higher incomes, work in management jobs, and have higher levels of education, as this article explores.

Arrivals from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, depart a train in Moscow.

Feature

February 3, 2021

The Eurasian Economic Union: Repaving Central Asia’s Road to Russia?

In recent decades Russia has been increasingly reliant on Central Asian migrant workers. Those workers, in turn, have sent back remittances that have been crucial for their countries of origin. Since 2015, many of these ex-Soviet countries have come together in the Eurasian Economic Union to solidify their bonds and ease migrants' passage to Russia. This article explores the bloc and how it reflects Russia's role in the region.

Feature

December 3, 2020

Building Climate Resilience through Migration in Thailand

Migration can help build resilience against the encroaching effects of climate change. Instead of being passive victims of environmental degradation, individuals sometimes move to gain money, knowledge, and skills that can fortify their household of origin. Migrant workers from Thailand demonstrate how and under what conditions this process works.

Pages

Audio

May 14, 2012

Labour Migration from Colombo Process Countries

The launch in Bangkok of an issue brief series on labor migration in Asia undertaken by MPI and IOM with speakers H.E. Phadermchai Sasomsub, H.E. Kazi Imtiaz Hossain, H.E. Linglingay Lacanlale, Andrew Bruce, and Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias.

Video

November 30, 2010

Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy

Over the past year, MPI has partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to examine how diasporas contribute to – or detract from - development efforts in their countries of origin. MPI and USAID have published an edited volume of the research. Please join us for the release of the book where speakers will discuss new thinking on the role of diaspora engagement in U.S. foreign and development policy.

Video, Audio

June 9, 2010

Discussion on Possible Solutions for Refugees and IDPs

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees T. Alexander Aleinikoff offers remarks on durable solutions for the refugee protection system as part of MPI's Leadership Visions Series.

Video, Audio

June 3, 2010

Migration's Middlemen: Regulating Recruitment Agencies in the Philippines-UAE Corridor

This discussion examines the overseas labor deployment system created by the Philippines, one of the largest and most sophisticated of its type, providing a framework for regulating recruitment.

Recent Activity

Reports

February 2017

Reinventing Mutual Recognition Arrangements: Lessons from International Experiences and Insights for the ASEAN Region

As Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States work to facilitate the movement of professionals, the experiences of other countries hold promise for policymakers and licensing bodies in Southeast Asia as they deepen implementation of mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) that seek to establish a uniform and transparent way of recognizing the qualifications of foreign workers. This report offers key lessons.

Articles

February 3, 2017

With Millions Displaced by Climate Change or Extreme Weather, Is There a Role for Labor Migration Pathways?

Climate-related displacement is not hypothetical: An average of 21.5 million people per year have been displaced since 2008 by natural disasters, and thousands more have fled slow-onset environmental hazards. While migration can serve as a safety valve to adapt to changing conditions, few orderly, legal channels exist for climate migrants (also known as environmental migrants), as this article explores.

Articles

January 18, 2017

Labor Migration from Myanmar: Remittances, Reforms, and Challenges

Having emerged from a long era of military rule, Myanmar's leaders and many citizens are looking outward. In particular, with Burmese labor migration abroad on the rise, policymakers are examining ways in which to harness remittances as a vehicle for economic development, particularly in impoverished rural areas. This article explores Burmese labor migration flows, financial reforms, and challenges on migration and development.

Reports

January 2017

Open Windows, Closed Doors: Mutual Recognition Arrangements on Professional Services in the ASEAN Region

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States have approved Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) in the tourism sector and in six regulated occupations to ease the movement of professionals within the region. This report compares the approaches taken to facilitate mutual recognition of qualifications within the region, the factors that shaped each MRA approach, and their tradeoffs and policy implications.

Articles

December 6, 2016

On the Brink of Demographic Crisis, Governments in East Asia Turn Slowly to Immigration

With many countries in East Asia facing unfavorable demographic shifts in the form of aging populations, low fertility, and shrinking workforces, governments in 2016 continued to explore immigration as a potential policy solution. However, a tradition of cultural homogeneity and wariness among publics about increased immigration is leading policymakers to test the waters with very small steps.

Articles

December 5, 2016

While Mobility Comes under Assault in Europe, Other Regions Forge Ahead

In stark contrast to a Europe that is erecting new barriers and reinstituting border controls, other regions around the world are moving toward greater mobility for intraregional travelers and migrants. Regional blocs in South America and Southeast Asia have been working to ease intraregional movements of workers, and the African Union in 2016 launched a new biometric African passport.

Video, Audio

October 27, 2016

Taming the Seas: Safety, Protection, and Attempts to Create Order in Maritime Migration Corridors

Marking the release of All at Sea: The Policy Challenges of Rescue, Interception, and Long-Term Response to Maritime Migration, this book discussion explores the different facets of maritime migration and the challenges governments, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations face in tackling this issue together. Presenters discuss the overwhelming Mediterranean crisis and movements across the Bay of Bengal/Andaman Sea, the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, in the Caribbean, and the waters around Australia; and the particular challenges for policymakers in each of these cases.

Articles

October 20, 2016

Maid in Hong Kong: Protecting Foreign Domestic Workers

Hong Kong is home to more than 340,000 foreign domestic workers, who can be found in one of every seven households. Despite efforts by the governments of Hong Kong and top sending countries, these workers remain uniquely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. This article examines the conditions foreign domestic workers face, the policies governing their employment, and the challenges in protecting their rights.

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