E.g., 03/01/2021
E.g., 03/01/2021

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

Multimedia
October 28, 2014
The Global Boom in Investor Immigration: What Are the Lessons For Policymakers?
Multimedia
September 18, 2014
Integrating Migration into the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda
Policy Briefs
September 2014
Integrating Migration into the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda
By  Lars Johan Lönnback
Reports
July 2014
Giving Cities and Regions a Voice in Immigration Policy: Can National Policies Meet Local Demand?
By  Madeleine Sumption
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

Pages

Feature
February 20, 2013
The Opening of Burmese Borders: Impacts on Migration

Burma, a resources-rich yet impoverished nation also known as Myanmar, rejoined the international community in 2011 after a military junta loosened its grip. Before the Southeast Asian nation opened its borders, Burmese migrated primarily for low-paid, clandestine work in Thailand but also as a result of violence and natural disasters. This article explores how the country’s recent transition has impacted Burmese migration flows.

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.

Pages

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Recent Activity

Video
October 28, 2014

The Global Boom in Investor Immigration: What Are the Lessons For Policymakers?

A discussion on the extraordinary boom in investor immigration, including the rapidly expanding EB-5 visa in the United States, Malta’s controversial “cash for citizenship” policy and a host of programs across Europe and the Caribbean.

Audio
September 18, 2014

Integrating Migration into the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda

A discussion and release in Bangkok of an MPI-IOM issue brief examining the role of migration as a driver for development in Asia and how to integrate migration-related targets and indicators into the post-2015 development agenda. The issue brief highlights three areas that require specific attention: (1) fostering partnerships to promote development, (2) promoting and protecting migrants’ rights and well-being, and (3) reducing the costs and risks of human mobility.

Policy Briefs
September 2014

Integrating Migration into the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda

The Member States of the United Nations must negotiate a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) that will frame a new international development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that expire in 2015. This issue brief examines how migration can be integrated into the post-2015 development agenda, outlining proposed migration targets and elements for indicators within the SDGs.
Reports
July 2014

Giving Cities and Regions a Voice in Immigration Policy: Can National Policies Meet Local Demand?

Employer-sponsored immigration and subnational visa programs are the two major routes to channel new immigrant arrivals toward particular destinations where their labor is thought to be in high demand. This report assesses regional nomination programs in Australia and Canada, and the efficacy of employer-sponsored immigration in meeting the needs of cities and regions.
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.

Pages