ARI Working Paper Series

As a region, Asia is both a major source and destination for international students seeking higher education. Student migration, like most forms of population mobility, is a highly politicised issue, exerting economic, social and environmental effects in both source and destination countries. Student migrants are variously regarded as guests, strangers or interlopers. They are rarely perceived as future citizens in their everyday encounters with host nationals. Given this, state ideologies of multiculturalism and egalitarianism are not in themselves effective in safeguarding the human rights of student migrants, nor in promoting their inclusion in host societies. Student migration case studies from established destinations like the United States and Australia are potentially useful for revealing the opportunities and challenges facing regional education hubs in Asia. Of critical importance is the need for governments to work with research communities to develop policies with a strong evidence base to deal with the implications of human mobility and cultural diversity in the 21st century.