Difference between expats and immigrants

an ex pat is an immigrant they mean identical things. Just one has a positive connotation and one negative.
You can tell a persons character by seeing which one they use about whom
 
I think of immigrants as people of working age who need to work say in Spain.

I tend to think of expats as people who have an income before going to say Spain.

However I have seen the documentaries on Sky with Brits running bars and cafes for a lot of years and out of season overseas or managing properties for Brits (if they have learnt Spanish etc).

A friend of mine has taken out French Citizenship and he is 100% English and lives in London, but his wife is French and after BREXIT vote they were worried about her ability to stay in the UK long term. He had to learn French and pass verbal and written tests in French.

I can see the attraction of the climate. especially in the summer months in Spain and the south of France, but it would be not enough for me to leave the UK, second home maybe but not main home.
 
If people referred to them as emigrants instead of ex pats, maybe they would have understood a bit more when voting to leave.
 
This is a thing that's always ***ed me off. I hate the word expat and can't help feeling that it's a least a bit racist - or a lot sometimes. It only ever seems to apply to British or Americans. I live in Spain and am an immigrant - exactly like people who have moved to Britain from elsewhere for whatever reason. Plenty think differently though.
 
I was an 'Expat' in Kuwait for over 3 years.
Used to upset my colleagues when I challenged them for referring to the Indian and Philippine communities. who were also out there. as immigrants.
Indeed, most Kuwaitis made a distinction between ex pats (white business people) and immigrants (others) working there. None of whom, I assure you, had any intention of settling there.
 
I was an expat in the UAE for over 15 years.

I and thousands of others were allowed to work there but the laws of the land were applied differently to us. We were guests! It suited the Government to have us there.

As mentioned above Immigrant and Expats are essentially the same thing
 
I remember Vinny Jones having a right go a couple of years ago about how UK wasn't the same anymore due to all of the immigration and then later in the same article whinging about how he couldnt get Heinz baked beans at his home in LA.
 
junos_boots said:
I remember Vinny Jones having a right go a couple of years ago about how UK wasn't the same anymore due to all of the immigration and then later in the same article whinging about how he couldnt get Heinz baked beans at his home in LA.
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