E.g., 01/25/2021
E.g., 01/25/2021

Asia and the Pacific

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 of the world, and increasing intraregional migration as aging and demographic transitions occur at different levels within Asia. The research here focuses in particular on how the labor-sending countries of the region, notably the Philippines and other Colombo Process countries, manage these migration flows, engage in bilateral and multilateral cooperation with migrant-receiving nations, and engage their diasporas. The recruitment process and regulation of recruitment agencies also represent a strand of the work offered here.

Residents are affected by massive flooding in Thailand in 2011.
Articles

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.

Bangladeshi migrants in Egypt wait to return home
Articles

COVID-19 Pandemic Profoundly Affects Bangladeshi Workers Abroad with Consequences for Origin Communities

Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest migrant-origin countries, and money sent home by its workers abroad is crucial to an economy that has become one of the more vibrant ones in South Asia. Against this backdrop, the COVID-19 pandemic has injected turmoil into the economy as Bangladeshi migrants have lost their jobs, families are seeing reduced remittances, and would-be migrant workers have had to shelve their plans to work abroad.

Recent Activity

Books
May 2014
Migration of Health Workers: The WHO Code of Practice and the Global Economic Crisis
Marshallese watch a jepta dance competition
Articles
May 22, 2014
Marshall Islanders: Migration Patterns and Health-Care Challenges
By Michael R. Duke
Multimedia
May 8, 2014
A Discussion on the Global Forum on Migration and Development: Perspectives from Asia and the Pacific
Policy Briefs
May 2014
The Global Forum on Migration and Development: Perspectives from Asia and the Pacific
By  Imelda Nicolas and Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
Multimedia
March 20, 2014
Human Rights, Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Migration: A New Paradigm
Policy Briefs
March 2014
Human Rights, Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Migration: A New Paradigm
By  Rabab Fatima, Anita Jawadurovna Wadud and Sabira Coelho
Rickshaw driver
Articles
March 3, 2014
Internal Labor Migration in India Raises Integration Challenges for Migrants
By Rameez Abbas and Divya Varma
Reports
February 2014
'Donkey Flights:' Illegal Immigration from the Punjab to the United Kingdom
By  Nicola Smith

Pages

Top Ten
December 1, 2012
Major Immigration Countries Take a Crack at Addressing Thorny Issue of Immigrant Detention

The U.S. and Australian governments have long grappled with unwanted entries by unauthorized migrants and would-be asylum seekers. Both nations undertook efforts in 2012 to reform immigration detention policies and procedures that have generated significant scrutiny and criticism.

Feature
July 11, 2012
Australia's Boat People: Asylum Challenges and Two Decades of Policy Experimentation

For two decades, Australia has experimented with different asylum policies in response to an increase in refugees and asylum seekers entering the country. A look at the country's challenges in managing a hotly contested political and public debate.

Profile
April 3, 2012
Rapid Growth in Singapore's Immigrant Population Brings Policy Challenges

Over the past decade, Singapore's multicultural yet nationalist society has experienced substantial inflows of Asian and Western professionals, low-skilled migrants from across Southeast Asia, and new immigrants from nontraditional sending countries. This, coupled with increasingly permanent emigration of educated and skilled Singaporeans, has presented the city-state with complex challenges related to migration policymaking.

Feature
January 24, 2012
Here, There, and Back Again: A New Zealand Case Study of Chinese Circulatory Transmigration

Rarely is migration among the Chinese from Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan to the countries of the Pacific Rim as cut and dry as the labels "immigrant," "emigrant," and "returnee" suggest. In fact, Chinese migrants from each of these areas of origin share a tendency for traversing between their homeland; country of work, study, or residence; and even a third country as the needs of the family dictate. This article examines these contemporary migration patterns using Chinese migrants in New Zealand as a case study.

Profile
January 24, 2012
Tradition and Progress: Taiwan's Evolving Migration Reality

In a highly selective way, flows of internal migrants within Taiwan have responded quickly to political, economic, and social changes throughout the nation’s history, and have spurred development of the country’s industrial, services, and technological industries. In the past 20 years, however, international migration has reemerged in relevance and now includes the immigration of foreign workers and wives and the emigration of some of Taiwan’s best and brightest.

Pages

archive >

Recent Activity

Books
May, 2014

Migration of Health Workers: The WHO Code of Practice and the Global Economic Crisis

This edited volume from the World Health Organization (WHO), which includes chapters written by MPI researchers, examines country-level responses to the international movement of health-care workers, both before and after adoption of the WHO’s Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.
Articles
May 22, 2014

Marshall Islanders: Migration Patterns and Health-Care Challenges

Approximately one-third of the population of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a series of islands and atolls in the Pacific, has relocated to the United States, with Hawaii, Guam, and Arkansas key destinations. Lack of economic and employment opportunities are among the leading factors that have prompted this migration. Access to education and health care, which are critically important for a population that has reduced life expectancy and significant negative health indicators, also represent key factors.

Audio
May 8, 2014

A Discussion on the Global Forum on Migration and Development: Perspectives from Asia and the Pacific

Offering insights on migration issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region today, this event launches an issue brief that explores Asia-Pacific priorities for the 2014 Global Forum on Migration and Development and examines ways the GMFD can be a results-oriented forum.

Policy Briefs
May 2014

The Global Forum on Migration and Development: Perspectives from Asia and the Pacific

This issue brief explores the Asia-Pacific region's active engagement in the Global Forum on Migration and Development and suggests modes of collaboration between governments and other migration stakeholders on issues that are particularly relevant to the region.
Audio
March 20, 2014

Human Rights, Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Migration: A New Paradigm

This MPI event, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), discusses the critical issue of climate-related displacement in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on the vulnerability of environmental migrants and how the international legal framework can better ensure their protection.

Policy Briefs
March 2014

Human Rights, Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Migration: A New Paradigm

This issue brief addresses the rights of migrants whose movement is induced by environmental degradation or climate change, particularly in the highly vulnerable Asia-Pacific region. The brief evaluates the current international legal framework, identifies gaps in the framework and its implementation, and reviews options available to the international community.
Articles
March 3, 2014

Internal Labor Migration in India Raises Integration Challenges for Migrants

Internal migration spurred primarily by employment and marriage helps shape the economic, social, and political life of India’s sending and receiving regions. Labor migrants face myriad challenges, including restricted access to basic needs such as identity documentation and social entitlements. This article describes the barriers to integration that labor migrants face, and details the policy environment surrounding their integration challenges.

Reports
February 2014

'Donkey Flights:' Illegal Immigration from the Punjab to the United Kingdom

This report, based on an undercover exposé of Punjabi visa agencies by The Sunday Times, sketches one immigration loophole into Europe: so-called “donkey flights” by which Indian migrants obtain a tourist visa for a Schengen-zone country in order to enter the United Kingdom through the back door. Thousands of visa agencies operate in the Punjab region alone, with varying degrees of legality, some having links to criminal smuggling networks across Europe.

Pages