Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC)

We are sharing that Mariko Hayashi is stepping down from her role as Executive Director at the end of February, following a planned and thoughtful leadership transition. 

Happy New Year 2026!  

It is the year of the horse - symbol of strength, vitality, and ambition. It gives me additional hope to boost confidence in entering the new year.  

The UK government introduced major immigration rule changes from July 22, 2025, mainly affecting work and settlement routes. Aimed at reducing overall migration and prioritising higher-skilled, higher-paid workers, these reforms raise qualification and salary thresholds and tighten family and settlement rules — developments that could significantly impact migrants, particularly those from East and Southeast Asia.

SEEAC launches 5-Year Impact Report: A Collective Journey for Resilience, Empowering & Caring Communities during ESEA Heritage Month in September 2025.

SEEAC is delighted to have collaborated with Work Better Innovations to submit a joint Parallel Report to the UN, highlighting the situations and challenges faced by migrant workers and refugees in the UK and provides recommendations for areas of improvement for the UK Government during its 7th State Review under the (ICESCR). 

18th December is International Migrants Day. We pay tribute to the positive impacts of our migrant communities, whose strength and resilience inspire us and shape a better world. We also revisited our work with communities in 2024.