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Intra-Asean skilled migration and its issues

Intra-Asean migration is some 6.5 million big. About 97
percent of it are in three countries: Thailand (mostly covering

the Mekong region movements), Singapore and Malaysia. Five
migration corridors (refer to Table 3) make up 88 percent

of total stock of migrants within Asean (Asian Development
Bank, 2015). An estimated 1,070,603 Filipinos, both regular and
irregular migrants, are in Asean countries (some 16.46 percent

of the regional total).

Even before Asean integration began, it had been
observed that intra-Asean migration is characterized by the

dominance of unskilled labor movements, some visible
irregular movements and limited volumes of skilled migration

(Asian Development Bank, 2015; ______). For intra-Asean skilled
migration to prosper, three challenges must be confronted:
a) the complexity of countries’ qualifications recognition

processes; b) national-level barriers within Asean countries for
foreign workers in relation to skilled worker quotas and visas;

and c) limited interest due to perceived cultural, language and
socio-economic differences (Asian Development Bank, 2015).
Such is why the region, as observed by some, is underutilizing

the perceived gains of Asean skilled migration.

The Asian Development Bank (2015) had even

outlined the major components on how Asean skilled

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