What is an Expatriate?
An expatriate is someone who has chosen to live in a country other than the one in which he or she legally resides. Most often, an expatriate is a citizen of a Western nation who has chosen to live in a non-Western country, such as one in South America, Asia, or Africa. Occasionally, someone who is living in a different Western country than the one in which he or she has citizenship is referred to as an expatriate, but this usage is less frequent. An expatriate is different than an immigrant in that most expatriates do not plan on residing in their new country permanently, and if they do, they plan on retaining their native citizenship for practical purposes. Immigrants, by contrast, usually plan on residing permanently in a new country and acquiring permanent citizenship there. The word expatriate comes from the Latin ex meaning “out of”, and patria meaning “country”. Expatriates are often known simply as expats, and they often form their own communities in their new host countries. I
