Laos has approved a five-year migration plan aimed at protecting workers’ rights, improving access to decent jobs, and expanding social protection for people moving across its borders.
The framework, endorsed in Vientiane Capital on 10 November, covers people entering, leaving, and passing through Laos. It aims to improve migration management and ensure people moving across borders for work are protected, the state news agency reported.
The plan addresses Laos’s role as a country of origin and destination for migrant workers, as well as a transit point for people traveling elsewhere.
Developed with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), it sets out nine priority areas covering cross-sector policy issues and the responsibilities of individual government agencies.
It is based on the principle that people should be able to choose whether to migrate and, if they do, have access to decent work and social protection.
The framework also translates Laos’ commitments under the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration into national priorities.
Deputy Foreign Minister Anoupharb Vongnorkeo said migration had contributed to the country’s economy and society, adding that better management could help develop the workforce and support economic growth.
He linked the plan to the 10th National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2026–2030, as Laos prepares to graduate from the United Nations’ Least Developed Country category this month.
Anoupharb and Tanja Pacifico, IOM Chief of Mission for Laos and Thailand, jointly chaired the endorsement ceremony. More than 70 representatives from government agencies, UN bodies, international organizations, and other stakeholders attended.
A Country of Workers on the Move
Migration is a major part of the Lao economy. Thailand recorded at least 306,806 Lao workers across three main permit categories in July, while the 2025 census counted 313,766 Lao citizens living abroad, more than 40 percent of them from Savannakhet Province.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare says 350,567 Lao nationals worked abroad between 2021 and 2025. Remittances reached an estimated USD 500.7 million in the first seven months of 2026.
Low wages and rising living costs are pushing more people to seek work abroad. Ministry data show that 93 percent of registered job seekers in the first nine months of 2026 were looking for jobs overseas, even as businesses at home struggled to find workers.
Many migrants earn considerably more abroad. A World Bank study found that about 89 percent of Lao workers interviewed in Thailand had been unemployed or doing unpaid work before leaving. They earned around 2.5 times more in Thailand than they could have earned in Laos.
The actual number of Lao workers abroad is likely higher, as official figures do not capture undocumented migrants. Laos reported more than 73,000 undocumented workers overseas in early 2025.
Laos also relies on foreign workers to fill jobs at home. The 2025 census counted 79,827 foreign residents, up from 45,538 in 2015. Workers from Bangladesh, Myanmar, and India have arrived both with and without valid documents, despite labour shortages in the country.
In September, Laos suspended new work permits and labour recruitment projects for Bangladeshi nationals until the end of 2026.
The migration plan comes as Laos prepares to graduate from the UN’s list of least developed countries on 24 November 2026. Its gross national income per capita reached USD 2,503 in 2024, above the graduation threshold of USD 1,306.
