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PurposeLimited previous studies about Vietnamese returned migrant workers reviewed that a relatively high rate of migrants returned home before their contract ended. This paper aims to explore how the decisions to return were made under social lenses.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyses data obtained through in-depth interviews of contract workers who had worked in Taiwan with a focus on Phu Tho province in Vietnam.FindingsThe authors followed O’Reilly’s (2012) adaption of Practice theory in migration research to examine a group of Vietnamese labour migrants returning from Taiwan. Under this theory, external and internal structures are the two divisions of the social environment. The authors identified external structures that might enable or constraint migrant’s mobility. When negotiating internal structures, Vietnamese women might end their contract early in response to family obligations.Originality/valueThe findings provide insights into how women make their decisions when to return, which may contribute to a better understanding of how to assist women engaged in transnational labour migration.

Purpose– Adopting a view that migration is an investment, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the risk-adjusted returns that migrant domestic workers from Vietnam to Taiwan can expect to earn.Design/methodology/approach– The study analyses data obtained through interviews of a sample of migrant domestic workers, all from Phu Tho in the north of Vietnam, who had migrated to Taiwan.Findings– The study found that migrants were driven strongly by financial motivations. Analysis of the typical costs of migrating, wages in the host country, average length of stay and especially, uncertainties affecting the length of stay, found that the investment in migration is a highly risky one for migrants. In most cases, migration does not pay.Research limitations/implications– Estimates of costs and benefits can be improved with larger samples of respondents and data sources that can help validate the interviews.Practical implications– There is a need to improve financial literacy among migrants to help them better assess their investment in migration.Social implications– This paper highlights the inequity in risk allocation in the context of migration.Originality/value– To the knowledge, there is no research of the financial costs and benefits of migration as domestic workers, especially from Vietnam to Taiwan.