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WORLD

Migration alleviating poverty: ADB

WB calls for reduced remittance charges

Asians protest UK’s new immigration rules

EAST ASIA

CHINA

• Factories face labor shortages; legal aid, housing, schools for migrants

• Refugee concerns

HONG KONG

• Wage hike for foreign domestic workers

• Call center training to begin in May

NORTH KOREA

• Three N. Korean refugees leave for the US

SOUTH KOREA

• 2008 Foreign Workforce Import Plan

• E-2 visa rules hampering English teacher recruitment

• Stricter visa rules for Chinese students

TAIWAN

• Foreign workforce as of February 2008

• Raw deal for women migrant workers

• Labor group hits KMT

• Over 2,000 foreign workers fail health exams

• Orientation courses offered to foreign spouses

SOUTH ASIA

BANGLADESH

• Overseas jobs for Bangladeshis

• Returnees from Malaysia face threats from lenders and middlemen

• Bangladeshis return from Jordan, Iraq; clemency sought Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia

INDIA

• Government to amend law to protect workers

• Labor agreement with Malaysia, Bahrain

• Call to investigate Indian shipyard workers’ claims in the US

• Britain denies entry to 76 Indian visa applicants

• Irregular Bangladeshi immigrants a security threat?

• Campaign vs. North Indian migrants

NEPAL

• More refugees to migrate to the US, Europe

• Nepal-Bahrain sign MoU

PAKISTAN

• Remittances up

• Unauthorized migrants deported from Turkey

SRI LANKA

• Remittances and deployment in 2007

• Earnings from registration fees

PACIFIC

AUSTRALIA

• Migration contributes to population boom, problems

• Citizenship test linked to lower citizenship applications

• New Territory proposes flexible immigration rules

• Residency for Iraqi workers in Australia

• Temporary migrant scheme to be reviewed

• New visa rules for foreign students

• Deporting irregular migrants is costly

NEW ZEALAND

• More Kiwis moving to Australia; more migrant inflows to NZ

• Asians blending into NZ

• Chinese nurses may improve NZ’s health system

• NZ First leader proposes to ban Asian immigration

• A new visa for Pacific Islanders proposed

OTHER PACIFIC

• Saipan proposes “resident foreign nationals” category

SOUTHEAST ASIA

BURMA

• 2,500 Burmese nationals held demonstrations in Singapore

CAMBODIA

• Government cancels processing of marriage documents

INDONESIA

• US deports 54 Indonesians

MALAYSIA

• Government aims to reduce reliance on foreign workers

• Human Resource Ministry to review foreign worker policy

• Unauthorized migrants nabbed

• Foreigners wallow in jails due to inefficiency

• More detention centers in Sabah

• PBS opposes IMM13 for Kuraman migrants

• Malaysia grants visas for Indian priests and artists

• Women were cautioned about overseas jobs

PHILIPPINES

• Job prospects in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Guam

• Decline in nurse migration to the US?

• Jordan, Iraq deployment ban stays

• OFWs are not part of Malaysia’s plan to reduce foreign workers

• OFWs urged to take care of health

• Death sentence for domestic workers in Kuwait

• Repatriation, deportation of OFWs

• Call to review anti-trafficking laws

• Rise in remittances; WB says remittances do not lead to growth

• Koreans are largest group of tourists to RP

• BI intercepts ‘tourist workers,’ foreigners

SINGAPORE

• Penalties for employers accepting rebates

• NGO may shut down, lacks funding

THAILAND

• Burmese migrants suffocate in truck freezer

VIETNAM

• US to deport Vietnamese immigrants

MIDDLE EAST

Foreign workers face financial woes

BAHRAIN

• Labor agreements with India, Nepal, Sri Lanka

• Debates over the abolition of the sponsorship system

• Visa changes, renewal before 1 July

• Battle for minimum wages continues

• Persisting problems of foreign domestic workers  

• Formation of migrant worker unions

IRAQ

• IDPs reach 2.77 million

KUWAIT

• Indian construction workers went on strike

OMAN

• New health insurance system launched

QATAR

• Stiffer punishment for runaway workers 

• Provisions of the draft sponsorship law  

SAUDI ARABIA

• Government agencies sign draft anti-trafficking law

• New e-visa rules to tighten security, curb overstaying

• Irregular migrants abandoned in desert

• Bangladeshis protest abuses, nonpayment of wages

UAE

• Migrant workforce reaches 3.11 million; strengthening migrant workers’ rights

• Stiffer penalties for entry/residency violations

• Irregular migrants arrested, deported

• A center for trafficked victims

• Asian workers rally for wage increase

• UAE allows three-month sponsorship transfers of domestic workers

• Drop in recruitment of Indian domestic workers

YEMEN

• Migration to Yemen up; 18 drown in Yemen coast