E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
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, 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

A girl in Farah province, Afghanistan.
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?
Women and children outside of home in Sohadat, Afghanistan
Commentaries
August 2021
The International Community Must Develop a Well-Coordinated Protection Strategy for Afghan Refugees
By  Hanne Beirens and Camille Le Coz
An Afghan man speaks to an interpeter working with the U.S. Marine Corps.
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
Cover image for Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic
Reports
July 2021
Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic
By  Meghan Benton
Two officials visit the China-Uganda Agricultural Cooperation Industrial Park in Uganda.
Articles
July 21, 2021
As Migration and Trade Increase between China and Africa, Traders at Both Ends Often Face Precarity
By Daouda Cissé
A woman holding an Iranian flag at sunset.
Articles
July 15, 2021
Immigrants from Iran in the United States
By Tianjian Lai and Jeanne Batalova
A woman receives remittances from a family member abroad.
Articles
June 24, 2021
Can Diaspora Bonds Supercharge Development Investment?
By Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan

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Cover HLD Hugo
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What We Know About Circular Migration and Enhanced Mobility
By  Graeme Hugo
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Reports
July 2013
Recognizing Foreign Qualifications: Emerging Global Trends
By  Lesleyanne Hawthorne
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Books
July 2013
How Can Talent Abroad Induce Development at Home? Towards a Pragmatic Diaspora Agenda
Cover_IOM MPI IIB7
Policy Briefs
November 2012
Engaging the Asian Diaspora
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza and Kathleen Newland
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Policy Briefs
October 2012
Thailand at a Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities in Leveraging Migration for Development
By  Jerry Huguet, Aphichat Chamratrithirong and Claudia Natali
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Policy Briefs
September 2012
Strengthening Pre-Departure Orientation Programmes in Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines
By  Maruja M.B. Asis and Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
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Policy Briefs
August 2012
Regulating Private Recruitment in the Asia-Middle East Labour Migration Corridor
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
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Policy Briefs
June 2012
Asian Labour Migrants and Health: Exploring Policy Routes
By  Jaime Calderon, Barbara Rijks and Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza

Pages

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.

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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.

thailand flooding climate migration
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.

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MPI event woman speaking
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.

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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.
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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.

MI_Middelman
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.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 10, 2022

The State of Global Human Mobility More than Two Years into the Pandemic

Marking the launch of an IOM-MPI report, this webcast examines the state of mobility across world regions into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic—what travel restrictions remain, what policy adaptations have occurred, and how do systems improve for the next public-health crisis.

Reports
May 2022

COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2021

Despite high hopes that international movement would be revived in 2021 after the deep chill in 2020 with designation of a global pandemic, cross-border mobility remained limited as migrants and travelers faced complex rules, high costs, and uncertainty as new COVID-19 variants emerged. This report assesses global mobility in 2021, including changing use of travel restrictions, their impacts on mobile populations, and efforts to safely restart migration and travel.

Reports
May 2022

From Fear to Solidarity: The Difficulty in Shifting Public Narratives about Refugees

Public opinion of refugees and asylum seekers is often portrayed as a binary, reflected in stories of them as “threats” or “benefits.” Yet in reality, people can hold a variety of competing beliefs and concerns about forced migrants and their impacts on society. This report explores these different narratives, the contexts in which they flourish, and the types of initiatives that have been used to try to boost solidarity and ease tensions.

Reports
April 2022

Digital Health Credentials and COVID-19: Can Vaccine and Testing Requirements Restart Global Mobility?

Digital health credentials that verify a person’s COVID-19 vaccination, testing, or recovery status are a central part of efforts to restart international travel and migration. This report explores these credentials’ use to date and persistent challenges, including those related to international coordination and technical compatibility between systems. It also recommends strategies to more fully leverage their potential and make them more inclusive.

Articles
April 19, 2022

Persistent COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity Has Significant Implications for Refugees and Other Vulnerable Migrants

Most of the world's refugees live in low-income countries where rates of COVID-19 vaccination remain low. Although refugees have been formally included in many governments’ vaccination plans, a combination of factors has made access to jabs difficult, as this article explains.

Articles
April 14, 2022

Korean Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from the Korean peninsula are one of the ten largest foreign-born groups in the United States, but their numbers have actually shrunk in recent years. Immigrants from Korea tend to be older, better educated, and earn higher incomes than the overall immigrant and native-born populations.

Articles
April 6, 2022

Vaccine Requirements Predate the COVID-19 Pandemic by More than a Century

Requirements that international travelers and migrants prove vaccination against certain diseases are about as old as vaccines themselves. In some cases, vaccine certificates predated the existence of government-issued passports. This article explores the history of these requirements, which began with smallpox and have since been applied for diseases including cholera, polio, yellow fever, and, recently, COVID-19.

Expert Q&A, Audio
March 29, 2022

Are Climate Migrants Treated Differently than Other Migrants?

Do host communities respond differently to people migrating because of environmental impacts compared to refugees fleeing war or migrants seeking work? Research discussed on this episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration suggests the answer is yes.

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