After working for three years in the U.S. and completing a master’s degree in Germany, 31-year-old American John Vu decided to look for work in his parents’ country of origin, Vietnam.

He says: "I wanted to find opportunities in Vietnam though many people, including my parents, questioned my decision."

He also sees Vietnamese in the U.S. and Germany looking to return home after completing their studies to work for a company or start a business.

Loc Nguyen, who lost nearly US$1 million he invested in a restaurant in HCMC in 2001, returned to Vietnam in 2021 to open a new restaurant chain as he saw big growth opportunities.

"In Vietnam you can open three or four restaurants for the cost of one in the U.S. Many people are willing to spend big on food," he says.

More and more Vietnamese are returning to Vietnam to work from overseas, attracted by the opportunities in the rapidly developing country where quality talent is greatly sought after.

A survey in July by U.K. recruitment firm Robert Walters of nearly 500 Vietnamese workers in Southeast Asian countries found that 71% were considering returning home to work within the next two years.

The ratio was higher than for the three other countries surveyed: Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore.

Though for long Vietnamese have been looking for opportunities to emigrate in search of economic opportunities, there is a recent trend of people returning to the country after living overseas as they see the enormous career opportunities here.

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