[Wogef]

Nonsense. Expat indicates citizenship status. An expatriate is a person temporarily residing in a country other than that of their citizenship. An immigrants on the other hand is a person in the process of changing their citizenship to their new resident country.

I've never heard a European immigrant referred to as an Expat in New York.

Here in China we are certianly not immigrants because it is made absolutely clear we are expected to eventually leave.

If anything the question is why are some people called Expats and some called Migrant Worker?

[nandemo]

> An immigrants on the other hand is a person in the process of changing their citizenship to their new resident country.

Nope. Immigrating usually implies permanent residence in the new country, not necessarily getting citizenship.

[Wogef]

>Nope. Immigrating usually implies permanent residence in the new country, not necessarily getting citizenship.

I stand corrected- but expats in the countries they are referred to as such almost never have the option of permanent residence.

[dalke]

Here are examples of people using "expat" to include people with permanent residency:

"Even international medical insurance companies admit that for expatriates permanently living in France, it makes sense to join the national state health insurance system." - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/expat-health/8251102/...

"The 3 levels of residency status are: Permanent Resident – Expats who have lived in Japan for 5 years or more out of a 10 year period, ..." http://aboutmovingtojapan.com/taxesforexpats.html

"If you are planning on moving to South Africa or are already one of the expats permanently working or on extended vacation here, it is valuable to be aware of the tax implications." - http://www.dirmeik.co.za/blog/2014/10/08/expatriate-tax-in-s...

http://juliedawnfox.com/2013/07/05/expat-artists-algarve/ - a British expat who lives full-time in Portugal

http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2014/02/27/expat-arti... - another British expat, 18 years in Spain

http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2013/11/meet-expat-writers-li... - various expat writers in Yucatan, including a Canadian who moved there in the 1970s for love

[seanmcdirmid]

I thought the term expat depended on whether you have a package or not. The slang for non package workers are half pats.