A new study looking at the migration of Vietnamese nationals shows that Vietnamese migrants are increasingly moving abroad for different reasons.

The study, “National Migration Profile: an overview of Vietnamese overseas migration” carried out by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in cooperation with academia and technical support from IOM, looks at the different types of Vietnamese migration.

It shows that more than 4 million Vietnamese people are now living in 103 countries around the world, 80 per cent of them in developed countries such as the United States or Europe.

More Vietnamese are also studying abroad today, with Australia, China, the USA, Singapore and the UK representing the top five destinations for Vietnamese students seeking higher education in other countries.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, more than 500,000 Vietnamese are currently working in more than 40 countries and territories in occupations ranging from low to highly skilled, with more than 80,000 Vietnamese leaving each year to work abroad.

New labour cooperation agreements with several Asian, Middle Eastern and also European countries such as Russia, has meant that the number of destination countries for Vietnamese labour migrants has increased in recent years. In addition to favourite destinations such as South Korea and Japan, Middle Eastern countries have become attractive new markets for Vietnamese migrant workers, in particular the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and, until early 2011, Libya.

The importance of Vietnamese international migration and the role of the Vietnamese diaspora to Viet Nam are highlighted in the study. Remittances to Viet Nam have jumped dramatically from US$ 135 million in 1991 to US$ 8 billion in 2010.

The study also highlights recent trends in Vietnamese marriage migration. Trans-national marriage is today no longer a particular phenomenon but a general migration trend affecting Asia as a whole, including Viet Nam.

According to the Ministry of Justice, 133,000 Vietnamese either married or registered for marriage with foreigners between 2005-2010. These were mostly women who married South Koreans or Taiwanese Chinese. The study notes that Vietnamese-Korean marriages have not only increased significantly, but are also expected to increase further in the coming years. Currently, around 40,000 Vietnamese women have gone to live in South Korea after marrying its nationals, accounting for approximately 30 per cent of Vietnamese marriage migration.

The report, funded by the European Union (EU), also looks at the human trafficking of Vietnamese nationals abroad, including women and children being sold to brothels in region. Several hundreds of women and children on average each year are cited in the study as being trafficked abroad from hotspots in the country such as the Viet Nam-China border provinces. As a result, human trafficking and smuggling remain important concerns for the Vietnamese authorities and international partners such as IOM, with the study stressing the need to further strengthen joint efforts in fighting these irregular and exploitative forms of migration.

In a bid to better inform potential Vietnamese migrants, migration practitioners and policy makers, a new website on migration has been launched, the first public database on Vietnamese migration abroad. It provides disaggregated data and makes available legal documents and other resources to promote safe and legal migration. The study can be found on the website in Vietnamese. English version Review Vietnamese Migration Abroad 2012.

Recommendations made at a recent policy workshop by the different government Ministries involved in the research and drafting of the report on enhancing international migration management from Viet Nam and on data collection, will be submitted to the government for consideration.

As the leading intergovernmental agency working on migration, IOM in Viet Nam works closely with the government, notably the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Public Security, and Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, and with mass organizations and civil society partners. IOM is also an active participant in the One UN Initiative in Viet Nam which aims to better coordinate the work of resident UN organizations in support of Viet Nam’s development.

For more information, please contact IOM Viet Nam’s Chief of Mission, Florian G. Forster, at Email: fforster@iom.int, Tel.+84 9 03450196