Mobility Shutdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Asia and the Pacific
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Highlights
COVID-19 caused a prolonged mobility shutdown across Asia and the Pacific, devastating labor markets, tourism, and education. Migrants bore disproportionate burdens.
- Pandemic-related closures cut permanent immigration by 61 percent in Japan and 32 percent in South Korea in 2021 versus 2019; Australia's higher education sector lost AUD 1.8 billion in one year.
- Migrant workers faced discriminatory restrictions: in Hong Kong, only foreign domestic workers were mandated for COVID-19 testing; Singapore threatened to revoke work passes of workers who gathered publicly.
- Labor emigration rebounded quickly once restrictions lifted—Nepal's labor approvals for new workers far exceeded pre-pandemic levels from July 2021 to July 2022—but irregular migrants and refugees were consistently excluded from vaccinations.
Governments in Asia and the Pacific imposed some of the strictest and longest-lasting limits on human mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic, triggering a collapse in migration, stranding migrants abroad for months, and prompting mass returns that strained health and reintegration systems. But the region also kept COVID-19 cases and deaths relatively low for the first two years.
To help inform policymakers’ preparations for future crises, there is a clear need to better understand the costs and benefits of this region’s approach to managing the COVID-19 public-health crisis through strict travel measures.
This report is part of a series of studies by MPI’s Task Force on Mobility and Borders during and after COVID-19 that explores opportunities to improve international coordination regarding border management during public-health crises. Other regional case studies in this series look at Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and South America. Thematic studies consider the role of digital health credentials in facilitating movement, the use of risk analysis to shape border policies, and the rise of remote work and “digital nomads.” A final capstone issue brief reflects on lessons for future public-health emergencies.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 COVID-19 Travel Measures in Asia and the Pacific
3 Impacts on Cross-Border Movement
A. Return Migration
B. Labor Migration
C. Students and Tourists
4 Policy Trends and Innovations
A. Leveraging the Full Spectrum of Travel Measures
B. Engaging and Protecting Migrants and Diasporas
5 Recommendations
About the Global Program
The Global Program bridges policy advice, research, and candid dialogue to design effective migration policies, drawing on global evidence and anticipating the forces reshaping how people move.
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