Social mobility of Vietnamese highly skilled returnees

Vietnam's economic growth in the past two decades has led to increased outflows of international students and inflows of highly skilled returnees seeking economic opportunities. Research highlights the role of international education in social class reproduction, but recent studies reveal challenges faced by educated returnees in the Vietnamese job market (Pham 2022, Tran et. al 2022). This paper contributes to return migration theories (King and Christou 2011) by examining the upward mobility process of first-generation educated Vietnamese migrants, which depends on remigration and labor market strategies, and local reacculturation conditions.

We draw on a multi-sited critical ethnography conducted in Canada, France and Vietnam, including observations and 86 interviews with 63 participants (international students and highly skilled migrants in Vancouver and Paris as well as returnees from Canada and France to Vietnam).  

Participants envisioned returning to Vietnam due to perceived career and financial opportunities. Yet, the timing of their return played a crucial role in how they could access these opportunities effectively. While immediate return upon graduation might not result in long-term social mobility; those who spent a few years working abroad could strategically plan their return, often securing high-paying positions matching or surpassing their foreign earnings. Leveraging their human capital acquired abroad, they aimed to enjoy a higher standard of living in Vietnam, given its lower cost of living. Their ideal scenario involved achieving a privileged cosmopolitan social class status and maintaining a distinct lifestyle from locals. This paper explores the strategies and barriers associated with their upwardly mobile return.