Why expats and not emigrants?

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Its-a-bro-life@reddit

People call themselves expats because it's a positive term. Expats are only supposed to be there temporarily.

Most of the time that you hear the word immigrant, it's used to describe illegal immigrants.

Immigrant is the correct term that most people should use if they've moved to another country and plan to spend a significant amount of time there. You should only be calling yourself an expat if you're there for a limited time.

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expats-ModTeam@reddit

This discussion has been done to death and new posts on this subject are just troll attempts at this point. For the purposes of this subreddit, the terms are interchangeable.

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Through_Awayy@reddit

One's white and the other isn't

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SpicyMangosteen@reddit

I thought this too, because I can totally see how one group has a reputation for having a superiority complex and it would be on brand to try and differentiate...

But really an expat is someone with operational ties to their home country who plans on returning, and an immigrant is someone who left their homeland behind entirely with the idea to establish an entirely new and permanent life someone else.

I think the digital nomad thing further complicated matters... a lot of the remote folk are on temporary visas, still earning money in their home country, and really don't know where they'll be in a few years.

I think the best we can do is use whichever terminology is deemed most respectful in whichever country were in.

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littlechefdoughnuts@reddit

IMHO, an expat is either someone who has been deployed overseas by their employer, or someone wealthy who is somewhat nomadic. They might be abroad for years, but still intend on returning their home country. Think diplomats, bankers, project managers, oil and gas workers, etc.

An emigrant is someone who has moved abroad more permanently. They have clearly left one country and moved to another.

Being an expat can lead to being an emigrant. The reverse is also true, although probably less common.

Most self-described expats are not. I'd only ever describe myself as an emigrant.

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lemonventures@reddit

Please read the rules - "no discussion of the term expat vs immigrant" is clearly listed

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pixiefloss@reddit

An expat is someone who lives abroad temporarily with the intention of going back to their country of origin in the future. An immigrant is someone who moves abroad for a longer period of time, usually permanently, with no intention to move back to their country of origin.

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FeloFela@reddit

An expat or expatriate is simply defined as a person who lives outside their native country. Similarly, an immigrant is a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country. Only one distinction is made here – immigrants intend to stay in their new country indefinitely. Whether expats do or do not is unclear

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