Vietnam suspends deployment of workers to Middle East amid escalating conflict

The directive was issued in an official dispatch dated March 1 by the department under the Ministry of Home Affairs, following ongoing U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory and retaliatory attacks by Iran across multiple locations in the region.

According to official data, around 10,000 Vietnamese workers are currently employed in the Middle East, including nearly 6,000 in Saudi Arabia, about 4,000 in the United Arab Emirates, 500 in Qatar, and nearly 100 in Bahrain. Most are engaged in domestic service, hospitality, restaurant work, and construction.

A residential area in Hoora, the capital Manama of Bahrain, is struck by an airstrike on the night of Feb. 28, 2026 in this photo taken by a Vietnamese expat. Photo by Nguyen Ba Thai

At present, 14 licensed service companies send workers to the UAE, 12 to Saudi Arabia, six to Qatar, and two to Bahrain. The suspension took effect on March 1 and will remain in place until the situation returns to normal.

Recruitment agencies have been instructed to maintain regular contact with employers to monitor developments, safeguard workers' safety and rights, and coordinate closely with Vietnamese diplomatic missions and labor management offices at embassies in host countries to update the status of workers on the ground.

The Department of Overseas Labor Management, in coordination with Vietnam's representative missions abroad, said it will continue to closely monitor the situation and take necessary measures to ensure maximum safety for workers.

Vietnam has more than 600,000 citizens working in nearly 60 countries and territories, who collectively remit about US$7 billion annually.