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

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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

Video, Audio

December 1, 2015

Investor Visa Programs: Examining their Utility, Challenges, and Successes

A discussion on the U.S. EB-5 program, the motivations underpinning recent changes to other investor visa programs in North America, Europe, and elsewhere, and the implications for the future direction of these programs.

Reports

November 2015

The Southeast Asia-Australia Regional Migration System: Some Insights into the “New Emigration”

This report dispels the perception that flows between Australia and the ASEAN region are headed in one direction: to Australia. Using unpublished administrative data, the authors sketch a complex picture of skilled Australian emigration to ASEAN, significant temporary movements of skilled workers in both directions, and close connections between the two regions even after migrants permanently return to their country of origin.

Reports

October 2015

The Educational Experiences of Refugee Children in Countries of First Asylum

The pre-resettlement experiences of refugee children can have significant ramifications on their relationships with teachers and peers and on their academic advancement once resettled. This report explores the educational histories of young refugee children in first-asylum countries and identifies elements that are relevant to postresettlement education in the United States.

Articles

October 7, 2015

Open Wallet, Closed Doors: Exploring Japan’s Low Acceptance of Asylum Seekers

Japan is one of the world's most generous contributors to humanitarian appeals, yet accepts a very small number of asylum seekers—indeed only 11 were granted refugee status in 2014. Even as Japan has witnessed a record number of asylum applications, the approval rate has declined. This feature explores Japan's low acceptance of asylum seekers, including institutional barriers and negative public perceptions.

Audio

September 24, 2015

A Discussion on the Effects of Asian Labor Migration on the Health of Left-Behind Children

This discussion, at the Bangkok launch of an MPI-International Organization for Migration issue brief, explores the social and health impacts of international labor migration on the children who remain at home when one or both their parents emigrate.

Policy Briefs

September 2015

Promoting the Health of Left-Behind Children of Asian Labour Migrants: Evidence for Policy and Action

International labor migration has become vital to economic development in Asian countries, but for children and families left behind, it can also at times create a negative influence on health, break down family and social cohesion, and increase the burden on health systems, as this MPI-IOM issue brief explores.

Policy Briefs

July 2015

Irregular Maritime Migration in the Bay of Bengal: The Challenges of Protection, Management, and Cooperation

Irregular maritime migration across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia entered a period of crisis in spring 2015 as a wave of migrants and refugees crossed, most departing from ports in Myanmar and Bangladesh, with many facing critical danger along the way. This MPI-IOM Issue in Brief puts the crisis into context and offers a consideration of what recent history has to teach about responses to maritime migration crises.

Articles

June 18, 2015

Redefining Nepal: Internal Migration in a Post-Conflict, Post-Disaster Society

Even as Nepal will lean more heavily on its international diaspora to help recover from devastating earthquakes that killed thousands and decimated parts of the country, the disasters have had effects on internal migration. Class and gender dynamics have long driven significant internal flows. This feature article explores migration trends in Nepal, including movement between ecological zones, growing urbanization, and the feminization of an increasingly mobile workforce.

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