Expat or Immigrant

[benjaminbutton]

Yesterday someone said something which really got me thinking. He said "after nearly 18 years of living in the TRNC with residency etc., isn't it time you started to consider yourself to be a legal Immigrant rather than an Ex-pat". ? What do you think.

[ginge]

The rule seems to be white people are expats & all others are immigrants.

[benjaminbutton]

ginge, whose rule is that then?

[kerry 6138]

Surely you can be both Ex Pat (out of Home country) and a Immigrant to Cyprus.

[ginge]

ginge, whose rule is that then?

The Wall Street Journal & an african journalist editor apparently......


https://www.theguardian.com/global-deve ... -migration

I'd never given it much thought before

[waddo]

I am fortunate then - I am a Yorkshireman - lol. But as I was born in the North Riding of Yorkshire, which is now no longer as it became Cleveland, I guess I might be both. Who knows and more to the point - who cares really, lol. No doubt the FO or Lilly the Greek will leap to the defense of the Greek Cypriots on this.

Food for thought through - maybe, because I knowingly moved to and live in an "OCCUPIED" area I should really be classed as either a mercenary or terrorist??? It's not what you say - it's the way that you say it and be very careful of upsetting somebody else with either or you will end up in court!!!

[benjaminbutton]

I think his point was that as far as he was concerned if you've lived here for that length of time and have no other home elsewhere, and Brexit had kicked in then you're an Immigrant not an Expat. I've never given it any thought before and was interested in what others felt.

As a Yorkshire man waddo, I guess that makes you exempt??

[EnjoyingTheSun]

An immigrant is defined as a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.
As we are not given the opportunity to live permanently here as all we can get is temporary residency then we can’t really be classified as immigrants.

[EnjoyingTheSun]

In post penal colony days when people went to Australia from England in great numbers they were said to have emigrated. People are emigrants when they leave their country of origin and become immigrants when they arrive at their destination. So they were immigrants but as they immersed themselves and took up residency in their new country they became Australian

[Deniz1]

Who cares its only words.

[Kanonier]

We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns!

[benjaminbutton]

Deniz1. It was just a thought as a result of a comment made by a Brit who has lived here longer than me. B.T.W Some people take words very seriously.

Kanonier, I'm sure you're absolutely right (if only I knew who he was!!)

[Kanonier]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jock_Tamson%27s_bairns

[Brazen]

As I see it, we are expats as far as the UK is concerned but immigrants as far as the country we chose to live in is concerned. The Guardian trying to make it into a racist issue is beyond contempt.

[EnjoyingTheSun]

As I see it, we are expats as far as the UK is concerned but immigrants as far as the country we chose to live in is concerned. The Guardian trying to make it into a racist issue is beyond contempt.

When you are a hammer everything you see is a nail

[benjaminbutton]

Thanx Kanonier - I learn something new everyday.

[Kanonier]

Thanx Kanonier - I learn something new everyday.

My pleasure.