> The difference between an expat and an immigrant? Semantics
> “Immigrants are usually defined as people who have come to a different country in order to live there permanently, whereas expats move abroad for a limited amount of time or have not yet decided upon the length of their stay,” he says.
Now that you cite the BBC, there are quite sizable communities of UK citizens living in Spain after retirement (ie permanently, without a short or medium-term intention of going back) and they consistently refer to themselves as "expats".
It's never used that way in practice. No one calls Mexican seasonal agriculture workers in the US and Canada expats. No one calls Filipino maids and nannies in Singapore expats. No one calls Indian construction workers in Saudi Arabia expats. Regardless of the dictionary definition, expat is only used to refer to people coming from rich countries (US/UK/Singapore/etc.). Terms such as "migrant worker" are used for people coming from poor countries.
People from the wealthier first-world nations enjoy more international privileges — visa-on-arrival, stress-free travel, higher rates in currency exchange, dual citizenships, better societal structures and support for assimilation into foreign cultures.
Immigrants are either fleeing persecution or leaving their countries seeking a better life, requirements for visas and security checks, usually with not enough money, little privilege, and defacto distrust from foreign societal structures.
Relatively speaking, the typical expat can move around the world as they wish. Immigrants can't. So yes, immigrants, when they move, often do so, seeking to live elsewhere permanently.
Trump 2016 got reasonable republicans into his cabinet that prevented worse, his new team (anyone seen his old VP Mike Pence?) will be unchecked and unhinged.
Expats typically aren't immigrating permanently to a country, or even trying to establish new citizenship, only residing to the medium to long term, with the option of returning to their home country where they have citizenship. If they do renounce their citizenship, then they are just immigrants.
