New Study on Vietnamese Migration Shows Increasingly Diverse Migration Trends
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.
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More Vietnamese are also studying abroad today, with Australia,
China, the USA, Singapore and the United Kingdom 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 USD
135 million in 1991 to USD 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 the 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.
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"_blank" title="">www.dicu.gov.vn is 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. An English version is currently being finalized.
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 further information, please contact:
Florian Forster
IOM Hanoi
Tel: +84 9 03450196
E-mail:
"mailto:fforster@iom.int">fforster@iom.int