More Than Half of Vietnamese Workers’ Overseas Employment Costs Go to Brokers

Vietnamese workers paid an average of 125.7 million dong to take jobs abroad in 2025, and more than half of that money went to recruitment organizations or individual brokers. The figure emerged at a Hanoi conference on the costs paid by Vietnamese international migrant workers.

The event, held on September 8, was organized by the Statistics Department under the Ministry of Finance together with the International Organization for Migration. Officials said the average cost had fallen significantly from 164.9 million dong in 2021. At the same time, first-month income in the destination country rose from 22.4 million dong to 28.1 million dong.

“On average, workers need about 4.5 months of income from their first job to recover the costs they paid before leaving,” said Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan, a senior statistician with the Statistics Department’s Population and Labor Statistics Division.

The survey covered 3,596 international migrant workers in six centrally governed provinces and cities in October and November 2025. Workers typically spent about six months preparing to leave. Recruitment organizations and brokers took 52.8% of total migration costs, and 53.9% of workers borrowed to cover expenses. Among those going to countries outside Asia, average borrowing reached 193 million dong.

Most workers had repaid their loans after returning home, but 8.7% still had outstanding debt. The rate was higher among workers returning from Taiwan and countries outside Asia. Although working conditions were generally stable, 18.5% reported facing at least one difficulty in their destination country. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan remained the three largest markets, receiving more than three-quarters of Vietnamese workers abroad. Those workers send home about $6.5 billion to $7 billion each year, making overseas labor an important source of jobs, income and foreign currency for Vietnam.

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On average, workers need about 4.5 months of income from their first job to recover the costs they paid before leaving.