Expats, not immigrants

August 2022

By Will Glyn

Lots of foreigners living and working in other countries often ask themselves am an immigrant or an expat? In the first instance, it might seem to be superficial – a mere need to get out the dictionary and figure it out. However, for lots of people, it really isn’t that simple. Like a lot of words, the context and connotations around terminology impact the meaning. This means we need to look beyond dictionary definitions and into semantics.

What do we mean by semantics?

The word ‘semantics’ comes from the Ancient Greek meaning ‘significant.’ Essentially, it is the study of truth, meaning and reference. In linguistics, it means to study meanings. This could be on word-level, phrases or sentences or even large pieces of discourse. It combines the meanings of individual words and how these interact to form a whole interpretation alongside context.

When you look at the terms immigrant or expat in terms of semantics, it’s clear that there are convoluting arguments everywhere, even among immigrants/expats themselves.

Dictionary definitions

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an expatriate (often shortened to expat), is a person who lives in a foreign country. Conversely, an immigrant is defined as being a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence.

If we look at these two meanings and forget about semantics for a second, we could argue that expats encompass everyone who lives abroad, whether retired, working or otherwise. In this definition, there is no reference to it being a permanent move. The term ‘immigrant,’ however, does take on this permanency.

Myths about “immigrant” and “expat” terms

If you chat to people and look online in forums or on social media, there are some widely spread myths surrounding the meaning of these two terms. Let’s take a look at some of these.

There is a wide-spread myth that an expat is someone who moves to a foreign country with no intention of learning the language or understanding the culture or people. This is false. Lots of expats do integrate well and want to learn about their new place of residence.

Another myth is that the term ‘expat’ is actually racist and it discriminates against people of colour. There is a belief that white people prefer referring to themselves as expats while calling other people (people of colour) immigrants. This is largely a myth – there will always be some people who think in this way, but generally expats are open-minded enough to want to live in a country with another culture.

Some people think ‘expat’ denotes elitism and whiteness. If you look at the definition above and it’s real meaning – it doesn’t.

One final myth is that taking on a new citizenship determines whether you are an immigrant or an expat. This isn’t true. Many expats/immigrants continue to live in their new country without seeking citizenship.

Immigrants Vs Expats and race

It’s important to acknowledge that despite the definitions, there can be people who feel there is prejudice and racism between the usage of the two terms. However, this is largely a grey area. While respecting people’s rights to their own views, the more we take race out of the two terms, the less problematic they become.

After all, the meaning of the word expatriate has already changed from its original meaning in the 18th century. Back then, it meant someone who was banished or exiled from his country of origin.

Considering history

If we consider the history behind moving countries, it’s easy to see why ‘expat’ might have been taken as a ‘white’ word. For example, it used to be pretty rare for anyone to move overseas for work. The ones that did were from more-developed countries and were usually white men (not women) during the 1960s and 1970s.

During this part of history, there were still ‘colonial’ populations in places like Singapore, the Persian Gulf and Hong Kong that thought of themselves as ‘above’ the natives due to earning more money. So, while some of that does still exist in some ways, it is much rarer. And being an expat nowadays, is no longer exclusive or rare, which hopefully means the “baggage” the term once carried is slipping away too.

Final thoughts on Expats Vs Immigrants

As we’ve seen through the dictionary definitions, there are differences between immigrants and expats. To take things literally, an immigrant has moved permanently while an expat hasn’t necessarily. Add in semantics, history and common myths, the situation is about as clear as mud. Ultimately, whichever term someone prefers using doesn’t really matter as long as neither are used in a negative way.

Will is an Independent Financial Adviser with over a decade of experience helping expats make the most of their international status.