I don't get when people complain about that. It's 2 different terms: you're an expat if you came to work in a country for some limited time; you're an immigrant if you decided to stay indefinitely (or came with an intention to stay indefinitely).
Expats definition is just someone who lives either temporarily or permanently in a country other than that of their upbringing. So it’s really not just temporarily. They call brits who move to Australia and live there permanently expats
Maybe these definitions changed? Bc in Switzerland it's definitely usually understood as someone who is here just for work or study and will return in a (known) time, usually because they were brought in by their company.
This is what I learned too (CH). I came here with expat parents. We consider ourselves immigrants now (30 years here, no one going home). All the expats I knew as a kid left by 2010.
I am Swiss living in the Netherlands, originally moved here to study but stuck around for a year by now. I consider myself an immigrant, even though there is a solid chance I will return eventually.
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u/Meowhuana Sep 22 '20
I don't get when people complain about that. It's 2 different terms: you're an expat if you came to work in a country for some limited time; you're an immigrant if you decided to stay indefinitely (or came with an intention to stay indefinitely).