Vietnamese workers spend over $4,800 per person to work abroad in 2025: report

The report was released by the NSO under the Ministry of Finance in coordination with the International Organization for Migration at a national seminar in Hanoi on Tuesday.

The average cost fell 23.8 percent from VND165 million (about $6,340) in 2021, the report said.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese workers' average income in their first month abroad rose from VND22.4 million (about $860) in 2021 to more than VND28 million ($1,070) in 2025, meaning the cost of going abroad for work last year was equivalent to about 4.5 months of their initial overseas income.

The costs covered paperwork and requirements for overseas employment, payments to recruitment organizations or individual brokers, travel and other expenses.

Payments to recruitment organizations and brokers were the largest expense, averaging nearly VND53 million (about $2,040) per worker, according to the report.

Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, three major destinations for Vietnamese workers, had the highest average costs.

In 2025, workers heading to Japan spent nearly VND141 million (about $5,420) on average, compared with more than VND139 million ($5,340) for South Korea and VND130 million (about $5,000) for Taiwan, while the average for other markets was nearly VND86 million ($3,310).

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan, from the NSO's Population and Labor Statistics Department, said the survey found that workers with lower levels of education generally had to pay more to work abroad, with the average cost for one group reaching VND155.6 million ($5,980).

Costs also varied by occupational skill level, with workers with medium-level skills paying about VND143 million (about $5,500) on average, compared with VND109 million ($4,190) for those with low-level skills and nearly VND68 million ( $2,610) for those with high-level skills.

On average, each Vietnamese worker spent VND125.7 million ($4,830) to work abroad last year, according to the report.

Workers typically spent about six months preparing to leave Vietnam, while around 53 percent of those surveyed had to borrow money to cover the costs, with the average amount borrowed reaching VND122 million ($4,690), according to the report.

Although overseas employment costs have fallen in recent years, Lan said the current level remained high because most Vietnamese workers going abroad came from rural areas and around 53 percent had to borrow money to cover the expenses.

Nguyen Hai Ly, deputy head of the legal affairs division at the Department of Overseas Labor Management, said recruitment and brokerage costs accounted for a large proportion of the expenses, with additional costs often arising from intermediaries and informal brokers before workers left Vietnam.

Lan said authorities needed to continue reducing costs, make payments more transparent, control unofficial charges, improve workers' skills and help them find jobs after returning to Vietnam.

An amended Law on Vietnamese Guest Workers Under Contract, passed by the National Assembly in August, further limits the total amount of charges workers can be required to pay in addition to service fees and increases penalties for violating businesses, according to the Department of Overseas Labor Management.

The department also plans to negotiate bilaterally with foreign partners and employers to share recruitment costs, airfare and training expenses, with the long-term goal of moving toward a model in which workers do not have to pay recruitment costs.

Data on returning workers will also be integrated into the employment service system to connect them with businesses, particularly foreign-invested companies from markets where they previously worked, the department said.