When Kyrgyzstan opened its first Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) in Osh in 2024, the location was a deliberate choice. The Centre was established not in the capital, but in the country’s second-largest city and the main urban centre in the south, where many prospective migrant workers begin planning their journeys abroad. It was the second MRC to open in Central Asia.
When Kyrgyzstan opened its first Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) in Osh in 2024, the location was a deliberate choice. The Centre was established not in the capital, but in the country’s second-largest city and the main urban centre in the south, where many prospective migrant workers begin planning their journeys abroad. It was the second MRC to open in Central Asia.
The choice reflected more than geography. Citizens continue to seek employment abroad, while Kyrgyzstan is also increasingly receiving foreign workers. As the country’s migration landscape evolves, access to reliable information and support remains important, while national institutions need to ensure that services respond to changing needs.
The national presence was reinforced when the second MRC opened in Bishkek in May 2026, making Kyrgyzstan the first country in Central Asia with two MRCs. While MRC Osh continues to support communities in the south and border areas, MRC Bishkek brings services closer to the northern regions and enables closer cooperation with the Centre for Employment of Citizens Abroad (CECA) and other national institutions located in the capital. CECA is the main government partner overseeing the two MRCs in Kyrgyzstan.
For Arslan Baisopuev, Deputy Director of CECA, the two centres represent more than a geographical expansion. They also demonstrate how the MRC model can be integrated into the national migration support system. CECA and the MRCs work side by side, combining the state institution’s understanding of citizens’ concerns with the MRCs’ counselling, outreach, communication and training capacities.
Recruitment fraud offers one of the clearest examples of why this cooperation matters.
More than 100 citizens approached CECA in 2024 in connection with suspected employment fraud, reporting combined losses of more than USD 70,000.Arslan says.
Fraudulent overseas job offers can now arrive as convincing digital packages, including vacancy announcements, employment contracts and requests to transfer money to personal accounts. New technologies can make false documents easier to produce, while social media allows fraudulent offers to circulate rapidly.
Migration has existed and will continue. Our role is to show people how to find employment legally if they choose to go abroad and what they need to pay attention to.Arslan says.
For many years, prospective migrants commonly relied on information passed through relatives, neighbours or acquaintances already working abroad. While these informal networks remain important, Arslan sees indications that more citizens are also checking information against official sources and seeking verified guidance through CECA and the MRCs before accepting an offer.
To reach people before fraudulent offers do, CECA has built an online audience of 150,000 followers, while its hotline, offices and other channels have provided more than 200,000 consultations in 2025 alone. Its website is also an important source of information on labour migration in Kyrgyzstan. It received more than 5.8 million views in 2024 and more than 5 million in 2025, reflecting demand for up-to-date information on safe and regular labour migration and employment opportunities abroad. Arslan says CECA’s service indicators in the south doubled following the opening of MRC Osh, with joint media appearances, information campaigns and outreach activities contributing to this increased engagement.
The same principle underpins the Safe Migration Caravan, a joint campaign organised by CECA and the MRCs during the main seasonal recruitment periods in spring and autumn each year. Teams travel beyond regional capitals to district centres and rural communities, reaching more than 10,000 people during a campaign season. The initiative provides an opportunity to bring information directly to communities where prospective migrants may have limited access to official guidance.
The cooperation does not stop at planned campaigns. CECA and the MRCs agree on joint work plans, while retaining the flexibility to respond to emerging developments. The cases CECA receives can help identify where questions are increasing, where misleading information is spreading and when particular recruitment periods may attract fraudulent offers. These observations can then inform the MRCs’ communication strategies and outreach activities.
Seasonal recruitment for the United Kingdom provides one example. When applications increase, fraudulent offers may appear at the same time. CECA and the MRCs respond with videos and practical guidance during periods when citizens are more likely to encounter such schemes.
Some risks also need to be addressed within the recruitment system itself. CECA and the MRCs therefore provide joint training for licensed private employment agencies, supporting their understanding and application of recruitment standards and strengthening the information provided to workers before departure.
For Arslan, however, this cooperation is not only about protecting people from fraud and other migration-related risks. It is also about helping citizens make informed decisions that can support longer-term employment opportunities.
Some citizens who initially travelled for entry-level seasonal work later returned to the same destination as supervisors or team leaders. Others invested in language learning or gained qualifications to operate certain equipment. I hope the coming years, our work will enable more citizens to follow similar paths: leaving with verified information and relevant skills, building experience and progressing towards more specialised and responsible roles through legal employment.says Arslan.
Kyrgyzstan joined the MRC network in 2024, eight years after the first MRC opened in Pakistan. Beginning in Osh and expanding to Bishkek during the network’s 10th anniversary year, the country has adapted the MRC model to its national institutions and changing migration context. Its experience demonstrates the value of national ownership: services are located closer to the communities that need them, government counterparts and MRC staff work together, and joint activities can be adapted as migration needs change.
For the years ahead, continued cooperation between CECA and the MRCs can help expand access to reliable information, strengthen prevention of recruitment fraud and support citizens in making safe and informed decisions about migration.