Why do Brits and Americans have a special term instead of just using Immigrant?
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White pipi needs to feel good
Because its a better word
Everybody is a foreigner in nearly every country on earth.
But, if you want to declare yourself as special, then you start to make up special terms.
Colloquially, expat tends to imply self funded, or at least bringing wealth with them in some respect. That’s not what the word literally means but it’s how I see it used. This is consistent even with foreign professionals coming to work in, say, London. Few people refer to them as immigrants though that’s what they are technically. (I’ve seen people be called an “ex pat from their country” or an “international worker”, these both in the city of London referring to office based professionals) The word immigrant seems to be reserved (at least in Britain) as a pejorative because it implies low skill and by further implication, a net cost on public services.
The etymology might help break down some of the nuance here
According to etymonline the etymology for expatriate (often shortened to expat) is:
“to banish, send out of one’s native country,” 1768, modeled on French expatrier “banish” (14c.), from ex- “out of” (see ex-) + patrie “native land,” from Latin patria “one’s native country,” from pater (genitive patris) “father” (see father (n.); also compare patriot). Related: Expatriated; expatriating. The noun is by 1818, “one who has been banished;” main modern sense of “one who chooses to live abroad” is by 1902.
Immigrate, is similar, but is more used to describe moving to a place:
“to pass into a place as a new inhabitant or resident,” especially “to move to a country where one is not a native, for the purpose of settling permanently there,” 1620s, from Latin immigratus, past participle of immigrare “to remove, go into, move in,” from assimilated form of in- “into, in, on, upon” (from PIE root *en “in”) + migrare “to move” (see migration). Related: Immigrated; immigrating.
The closer synonym to expatriate would probably be emigrate, the opposite of immigrate, to leave a place.
As to why one might use expatriate over emigrate; consider the sentence “I’m an American immigrant”. It’s kind of unclear if you’re trying to say that you are an American that has migrated to another country (as in “I’m an American immigrant living in Brussels”*), or someone who has migrated to America (as in “I’m an American immigrant from Slovakia”). Using expatriate removes the ambiguity: “I’m an American expatriate” and makes it clear that the speaker is trying to convey where they are from.
* technically, using emigrant here would be more clear, but English is a lawless and lazy language
Thank you for this; I was thinking expat would be closer to emigrant than immigrant. I associate expat and emigrant with describing where someone is from while immigrant describes where someone has arrived.
Because “immigrant bad” and they don’t see themselves as bad.
They see themselves on an extended holiday of multiple decades.
Or it’s a term tied to tax status that is easier to say than explaining taxation status for those living abroad 🤷
No, it’s all just a big racist conspiracy, don’t bother looking up any definitions or anything lmao
Hear me out:
Maybe everything isn’t some conspiracy to hate others.
But that means these cretins may have to reevaluate themselves and their opinions.
We can’t have that now, can we?
ah, so you have an alternative explanation?
Do you seriously need someone to explain to you why there are multiple words with similar meanings in the world?
They aren’t used interchangeably so this implies a different definition or at least distinct connotations.
well when you challenge an opinion you usually offer an alternative opinion.
Usually. But if the premise is particularly stupid I might choose to prompt the speaker to actually think about what they’ve said for a moment.
Or you could just read any of the numerous other comments here which offer other explanations.
i did think about it and it matches my experience. i will read the rest of the thread.
Edit: i have now read the rest of the thread. nobody seems to agree and i see no sources.
It was probably just used colloquially and was picked up interchangeably…? Speaking as someone looking to immigrate elsewhere, I’ve said and use both. I feel like expatriation even shows more of an intent to split in all ways from your country of origin, but that’s just my subjective opinion on the words.
Reading the rest of the thread, I guess I was incorrect in my assumption of the origin of the word ‘expat’.
It was used colloquially, for sure… by rich corporate migrants that didn’t want to self-ID as migrants. Or at least by the HR people and corpo consultants handling the international relocations and avoding the taboo word.
Which is what the previous post is saying and it certainly matches my experience as one of the “expats”. I always self-identified as a migrant myself, though.
I’ve never heard the term used for anyone with dark skin or from anywhere other than the US, Canada, or western Europe.
I’ve definitely seen it used for non-white coworkers and coworkers from other regions, but typically in the context of relocating for corporate work.
But then, I worked for a western corpo but with a ridiculously diverse group of people during that time.
I’ve seen it used in media far more than in person. Mostly for soldiers that stuck around after wars wound down or wealthy people buying fancy homes in tropical locations.
The people I’ve worked with in tech from Scotland and England who have lived in the US long term but without becoming citizens don’t even use the term. Honestly most people don’t really use labels, just refer to someone in tech being ‘from a country’ when it comes up whether they became citizens or not.
I always assumed it was simply a matter of perspective. E.g. someone leaving the USA for the UK is an expat to the USA but an immigrant to the UK.
“Expat” because the person’s country of origin is “better” than their new country.
“Immigrant” because the person’s country of origin is “worse” than their new country.
At least, that is my assumption on the reason behind different labels.
Because I assume the person labeled as an “Expat” would go back to their country of origin if there is, say, civil unrest in the new country. Whereas a person labeled as an “immigrant” probably would have to stay since their country of origin might be worse than their new country even considering any civil unrest.
As an anecdote, my country of origin is China. And I’ve immigrated to the US, and have become a US Citizen. Despite the US going through democratic backsliding with the 2016 and 2024 elections, the US still probably isnt much worse than China (at least in non-red states). Whereas a person from like Norway would probably not have taken US Citizenship in the first place and would pack their bags and leave after the 2024 election. In contrast, there is nowhere for me to go. According to Chinese law, they revoked my citizenship immediately after I obtained US citizenship. Not to mention, its not like leaving a autocracizing democracy into a full dictatorship is any better.
A quick Google search says that an expat usually only lives in a new place for a limited period of time. An immigrant moves to a new place with intent to settle.
Whether that’s how it’s used colloquially is another matter…
In theory, An expat is someone sent abroad on short/mid-term mission while working for an employer, while a migrant is someone moving abroad to find a job and sometimes to start a new life.
This means that, if let’s say if a Mining company in Ghana sends someone to New-York to be the “US sales director” that person would be an an expat While an American opening an hotel in Ghana would be an immigrant.
But indeed, in many cases : Expat = European/North-American, Immigrant = From somewhere else
Solid explanation. I’d only add that I see the word in fiction used to describe Europeans and Americans as expats if they’ve been overseas for years and not even working. Seems to be people who eventually mean to return home.
This is all ive ever seen in my career which includes lots of overseas work.
There is another point, at least for Americans. While I know a few people who have emigrated to the US and still maintain ties with their original homeland, I know others who have intentionally given up their privileges back home. While they may still be citizens of their home country, they owe them no obligations.
The US is different, they tax your income no matter where in the world you make it. if you are living in a country with a tax treaty in the US, you can fully deduct all foreign tax payments so you will likely end up owing nothing to the US. But you still have to file. And in return for that you retain the right to vote from the state you last resided in. Furthermore, it is quite hard to give up your US citizenship. It can be very costly, because we will make you pay taxes on assets as if you sold them before they let you leave, including any retirement funds.
Americans living abroad are much more likely to still consider themselves Americans first, because we remind them about it every April 15th.
Why Brits and Americans? Every major city has expats.
You go abroad for a job, usually temporarily -> expat
You give up your citizenship to move to another country -> immigrant
Migrant worker is a term
Migrant worker is the term for expats who aren’t white.
God forbid they get confused with the poor coloreds 🤡
You mean all those Poles coming over every year are not white, or migrating for work doesn’t make them migrant workers?
I’ve seen that term used for folks who go to a place seeking work in a large industry that will just accept all comers in the right season. An expat is sent on appointment, same company, different country, fixed time duration.
Perception is absolutely a thing though, I expect expats or similar wouldn’t describe themselves as migrant workers.
I hear the word expat all over the world, I don’t think it’s regional.
“immigrant” gives the impression that you are traveling to get to someplace, while expat implies that you are traveling to get away from someplace, as I’ve heard it used.
Immigration is permanent residence. You can move somewhere not permanently, like on a temporary work visa - that is an expat. US/UK/Canada have a lot of treaty agreements with other countries, so a Canadian citizenship will essentially allow you into many countries more easily than those coming from a third world country. People from third world countries have to go through a more intensive visa process for temporary residence.
Another reason expat applies generally is because generally an expat from the US does not renounce their US citizenship despite the tax implications due to the need/desire to return home. The US is one of the few countries that will tax a US citizen anywhere in the world, which I think leads to the increased use of the word expat.
I’ve always considered an expat to be different from immigrant in that it’s temporary.
I lived abroad from 2009 to 2011, simply because I could, as my employer had to fly me in to work anyway - It didn’t matter to me whether my home airport was TRD or PRG. I was chatting with someone local, and when I told them about my situation they’re actually the ones who used the word expat. Personally I considered myself a long term tourist.
