INDIA / GERMANY

India and Germany agree on fast-track access for Indian care workers

January 2026: India and Germany have signed a new agreement aimed at accelerating the integration of Indian health and care workers into the German labour market. The deal was concluded during a visit to India by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and focuses primarily on nursing and long-term care professions.

 

At the heart of the agreement is the advanced alignment of training standards. Indian nursing qualifications will be structured to closely match German requirements, allowing recognition procedures to be completed largely before workers arrive in Germany. This is intended to avoid lengthy and bureaucratic post-arrival recognition processes, which have long been cited as a bottleneck in cross-border recruitment.

 

The agreement also provides for structured language training and adaptation phases, enabling care workers to begin employment under supervision while completing any remaining regulatory or language requirements. Dedicated coordination points will be established in both countries to streamline visa issuance, qualification recognition and job placement.

 

The initiative will begin with a pilot phase covering nursing and elderly care, with intake levels to be reviewed regularly and expanded if demand persists. Recruitment is to follow ethical standards and focus on newly trained personnel, to avoid weakening India’s domestic healthcare system.

 

Germany’s move reflects wider pressures across the European Union, where ageing populations and staff shortages are placing increasing strain on health and care services. Several EU member states are exploring similar partnerships with third countries to secure long-term workforce capacity in essential sectors.

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JAPAN

Japanese public opinion shifts sharply against foreign workers

A recent survey finds that Japanese opposition to foreign labour has increased by 15 percentage points since 2024. *

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December 2025: A national survey published in early December 2025 reveals a sharp shift in public opinion in Japan: Almost 60 per cent of respondents now oppose, or somewhat oppose, actively accepting foreign workers. This is a marked increase from the 46 per cent opposition recorded in the same survey one year ago (November–December 2024). In last year’s poll, respondents who supported active acceptance outnumbered those who opposed it.

 

The survey targeted 3,000 eligible voters across Japan, and received valid responses from 2,004 individuals (a 67 % response rate), collected between 24 September and 31 October, a period spanning the transition from the previous government to the current one.

 

Key among the questions: “Should Japan actively accept foreigners as part of the labour force?” Some 59 per cent of respondents said “oppose” or “somewhat oppose,” a jump from 46 per cent in 2024. 

 

Respondents were also asked to choose multiple perceived impacts of an increase in foreign residents. Their top concerns include: ‘public safety will deteriorate (68 %)’, followed by ‘trouble due to differences in language, culture, and customs’ (63 %). However, 61 per cent of participants also selected ‘foreign workers help alleviate labour shortages’, indicating many Japanese hold conflicting views.

 

A detailed breakdown by age group shows the reversal is notably driven by younger and working-age respondents. Among those aged 18–39, 79 per cent feared a deterioration of public safety, the highest proportion across age cohorts. Meanwhile, the view that foreign labour helps ease labour shortages was strongest among older respondents: 67 per cent among those 60 and older, compared with only 53 per cent among 18–39 year-olds.

 

The survey also gauged broader attitudes: Around 70 per cent of respondents now say that national interests should be prioritised over international cooperation, up from 65 per cent in 2024, marking the highest such figure since the question was first asked in 2017.

 

Some indicators suggest a younger cohort increasingly resonates with nationalist-style rhetoric: Though only 28 per cent of all respondents said they sympathise” with the political stance of US President Donald Trump, that share rises to 54 per cent among 18–39-year-olds.

 

Source: The survey was conducted by the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun and Waseda University’s Institute for Advanced Social Sciences.

 

Further reading: Foreign workers in Japan

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MALAYSIA

Rohingya migrant boat capsizes off Malaysia, with hundreds missing presumed dead

November 2025:  A maritime disaster has struck off the coast of western Malaysia, as a boat carrying members of the Rohingya minority from Myanmar capsized near the Malaysia–Thailand maritime border, leaving dozens confirmed dead and hundreds still missing. According to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), the vessel set off from Myanmar’s Rakhine State three days ago and was part of a group of three smaller boats carrying some 300 people in total. The capsized craft is believed to have carried about 100 people, while the fate of the other two boats remains unknown.

 

By Monday morning (10 November), authorities had rescued 13 survivors and recovered at least seven bodies.  The search-and-rescue zone has been widened to approximately 170 square nautical miles off the island of Langkawi and neighbouring waters.

 

The Rohingya are a largely stateless, Muslim-minority group who have faced severe persecution in Myanmar and live in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. Many undertake perilous sea journeys in the hope of reaching Malaysia, where, although they are not formally recognised as refugees, they sometimes find sanctuary and work.

 

Trafficking syndicates are reported to be heavily involved in organising these voyages, often charging thousands of dollars per passenger and packing large numbers into ill-equipped vessels.

 

A spokesperson for the MMEA stated that both air and sea assets from Malaysia and Thailand are coordinating in the rescue effort. In Thailand’s southern province of Satun, the navy and marine police recovered seven bodies, including two girls. The search operation will continue for up to a week. 

 

Across 2025, more than 5,100 Rohingya are estimated to have made sea journeys out of Myanmar and Bangladesh; nearly 600 are already reported dead or missing. 

 

This latest disaster underscores the urgent need for regional coordination to combat human trafficking networks and improve search-and-rescue capacity in Southeast Asian waters. For the Rohingya, the window of safe refuge is narrowing as countries clamp down on undocumented arrivals, even as violence and hunger escalate in their homelands and camps abroad.

 

Malaysia, although a destination for many Rohingya, does not officially recognise refugee status and has increasingly detained undocumented arrivals.

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RUSSIA / CENTRAL ASIA

Russia to face competition for migrant workers from Central Asia

October 2025: In its latest macroeconomic report, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) offers a sobering yet forward-looking analysis of labour migration from Central Asia to Russia, a phenomenon that has shaped the region’s socio-economic landscape for over three decades. The report suggests that while Russia remains a key destination for migrant workers from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, demographic shifts and economic convergence are poised to reshape this dynamic in the coming years.

 

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has relied heavily on young Central Asian workers to fill labour gaps, particularly in sectors like construction, agriculture, and services. Tajikistan, the poorest of the five Central Asian republics, has been especially dependent: in 2024, remittances and wages from abroad accounted for a staggering 47 per cent of its GDP.

 

But the EDB report warns that this model is nearing its limits. Birth rates in Tajikistan and neighbouring countries, once among the highest globally, are gradually declining. As these nations begin to resemble more economically developed countries demographically, the pool of young, mobile workers is shrinking. Simultaneously, wage gaps between Russia and Central Asia are narrowing, reducing the economic incentive to migrate.

 

Russia’s own demographic challenges, particularly in Siberia and other depopulated regions, mean that demand for migrant labour remains high. Yet xenophobic tensions, stricter migration controls, and economic uncertainty are making Russia a less attractive destination. The EDB forecasts that within a decade, the intensity of migration from Tajikistan could begin to decline, with a more pronounced shift expected over the next thirty years.

 

This raises critical questions: Can Russia adapt its labour market to a reduced inflow of migrants? Will Central Asian states be able to absorb returning workers or offer viable alternatives at home?

 

The report underscores the need for coordinated policy responses. For Russia, this may involve revisiting its migration frameworks to ensure legal protections and integration pathways for foreign workers. For Central Asian governments, the challenge lies in creating domestic employment opportunities and reducing reliance on remittances.

 

Moreover, the EDB hints at a broader regional rebalancing. As India and other Asian economies deepen ties with Central Asia, new migration corridors and investment flows may emerge. This could diversify labour destinations and reduce the singular dependence on Russia.

 

Further reading: Migrants from Central Asia suffer xenophobic abuse in Russia

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