Effectively Integrated? A Study of the Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced By Vietnamese Working Professionals in Singapore.

For the last 40 years, Singapore has positioned itself as a migrant-friendly city-state due to its small population size and a rapidly decreasing birth rate. In order to attract younger skilled migrants, the authorities introduced the Tuition Grant Scheme to encourage talented foreign students to enrol in Singapore universities at a subsidised rate. Coupled with this scheme, the blossoming of several multi-national corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises which require workers from the region have led to more Vietnamese expatriates sinking roots in Singapore in recent years.

It is often perceived that Vietnamese migrants would find it easier to integrate into Singapore’s society because their physical features are almost indistinguishable from Singaporean Chinese, which make up the vast majority of the population in Singapore. It can also be argued that a majority of these well-educated migrants share common traits and values with Singaporeans and are able to converse in English and/or Mandarin, thus making their task of assimilating into the country easier.

This research primarily aims to uncover the lived experiences of Vietnamese professionals of working age in Singapore and whether they are willing or able to integrate into Singapore’s society. Through face-to-face interviews (garnered through convenience and snow-ball sampling methods) with 25 Vietnamese expatriates in Singapore over the course of 6 months, the study will elucidate the fundamental difficulties experienced by these migrants. These include being stigmatised along with their much-maligned blue-collar compatriots, being labelled as job-stealers by local professionals, not being accustomed to supposed liberal values of the host country and disagreeing with the work and recreational cultures embraced by most Singaporeans. The study will also showcase the coping methods utilised by these expatriates to deal with these problems.