
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who
resides outside their native country.
The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to
retirees,
artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
s and other individuals who have chosen to live outside their native country.
The
International Organization for Migration of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
defines the term as 'a person who voluntarily renounces his or her
nationality
Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture.
In international law, n ...
'. Historically, it also referred to
exile
Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
s.
The UAE is the
country with the highest percentage of expatriates in the world after the Vatican City, with
expatriates in the United Arab Emirates representing 88% of the population.
Etymology
The word ''expatriate'' comes from the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
words and , from , .
Semantics
Dictionary definitions for the current meaning of the word include:
:Expatriate:
:* 'A person who lives outside their native country' (Oxford),
or
:* 'living in a foreign land' (Webster's).
These definitions contrast with those of other words with the same meaning, such as:
:
Migrant:
:* 'A person who moves from one place to another in order to find work or better living conditions' (Oxford), or
:* 'one that migrates: such as a person who moves regularly in order to find work especially in harvesting crops' (Webster's);
::::::or
:
Immigrant
:* 'A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country' (Oxford), or
:* 'one that immigrates: such as a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence (Webster's).
The varying use of these terms for different groups of foreigners can be seen as implying nuances about wealth, intended length of stay, perceived motives for moving, nationality, and even race. This has caused controversy, with some commentators asserting that the traditional use of the word "expat" has had
racist
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
connotations.
An older usage of the word ''expatriate'' referred to an
exile
Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
.
Alternatively, when used as a verbal noun, ''expatriation'' can mean the act of someone
renouncing allegiance to their native country, as in the preamble to the United States
Expatriation Act of 1868 which states: 'the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness'.
Some
neologism
In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...
s have been coined, including:
* ''dispatriate'', an expatriate who intentionally distances themselves from their nation of origin;
*''flexpatriate'', an employee who often travels internationally for
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
(see
"Business expatriates" below);
* ''
inpatriate'', an employee sent from a foreign subsidiary to work in the country where a company has its headquarters;
* ''rex-pat'', a repeat expatriate, often someone who has chosen to return to a foreign country after completing a work assignment;
* ''
sexpat
Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships, in exchange providing money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly ope ...
'', an expatriate with the goal of short or long term sexual relationships (expatriate +
sex tourist
Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships, in exchange providing money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly oper ...
).
The term "expatriate" is sometimes misspelled as "ex-patriot", which author
Anu Garg
Anu Garg (born April 5, 1967) is an American author and speaker. He is the founder of Wordsmith.org, an online community comprising aficionados of the English language from across 170 countries. His books explore the joy of words. He has authored ...
has characterised as an example of an
eggcorn.
In Canada someone who resides in a different province on a temporary basis while continuing to hold their home province's residency is colloquially called an "interprovincial expat" as opposed to an "interprovincial migrant" who changes their residency and usually is intending to move permanently. For example British Columbia and Alberta allow each others residents to attend post secondary in the other province while retaining their home province's residency.
History
Types of expat community
In the 19th century, travel became easier by way of
steamship or
train
A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
. People could more readily choose to live for several years in a foreign country, or be sent there by employers. The table below aims to show significant examples of expatriate communities which have developed since that time:
During the 1930s,
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
revoked the citizenship of many opponents, such as
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
,
Oskar Maria Graf,
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and concurrently served as the Chancellor ...
and
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
, often expatriating entire families.
Students who study in another country are not referred to as expatriates.
Worldwide distribution of expats
The number of expatriates in the world is difficult to determine, since there is no governmental census. Market research company Finaccord estimated the number to be 66.2 million in 2017.
In 2013, the United Nations estimated that 232 million people, or 3.2% of the world population, lived outside their home country.
As of 2019, according to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, the number of international migrants globally reached an estimated 272 million, or 3.5% of the world population.
Military
Business expatriates
Some
multinational corporations send employees to foreign countries to work in branch offices or subsidiaries. Expatriate employees allow a parent company to more closely control its foreign subsidiaries. They can also improve global coordination.
A 2007 study found the key drivers for expatriates to pursue international
career
A career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work (human activity), work and other aspects of personal life, life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways.
Definitions
The ...
s were: breadth of responsibilities, nature of the international environment (
risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environ ...
and challenge), high levels of
autonomy
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...
of international posts, and
cultural
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
differences (rethinking old ways).
However, expatriate professionals and independent expatriate hires are often more expensive than local employees. Expatriate salaries are usually augmented with allowances to compensate for a higher
cost of living
The cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living for an individual or a household. Changes in the cost of living over time can be measured in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare t ...
or hardships associated with a foreign posting. Other expenses may need to be paid, such as health care, housing, or fees at an
international school. There is also the cost of moving a family and their belongings. Another problem can be government restrictions in the foreign country.
Spouses may have trouble adjusting due to
culture shock, loss of their usual social network, interruptions to their own career, and helping children cope with a new school. These are chief reasons given for foreign assignments ending early. However, a spouse can also act as a source of support for an expatriate professional. Families with children help to bridge the language and culture aspect of the host and home country, while the spouse plays a critical role in balancing the families integration into the culture. Some corporations have begun to include spouses earlier when making decisions about a foreign posting, and offer
coaching or adjustment training before a family departs. Research suggests that tailoring pre-departure cross-cultural training and its specific relevance positively influence the fulfilment of expectations in expatriates' adjustment. According to the 2012 Global Relocation Trends Survey Report, 88 per cent of spouses resist a proposed move. The most common reasons for refusing an assignment are family concerns and the spouse's career.
''Expatriate failure'' is a term which has been coined for an employee returning prematurely to their home country, or resigning. About 7% of expatriates return early, but this figure does not include those who perform poorly while on assignment or resign entirely from a company. When asked the cost of a premature expatriate's return, a survey of 57 multinational companies reported an average cost of about US$225,000.
Reasons and motivations for expatriation
People move abroad for many different reasons. An understanding of what makes people move is the first step in the expatriation process. People could be ‘pushed’ away as a reaction to specific socio-economic or political conditions in the home country, or ‘pulled’ towards a destination country because of better work opportunities/conditions. The ‘pull’ can also include personal preferences, such as climate, a better quality of life, or the fact that family/friends are living there.
For some people, moving abroad is a conscious, thoroughly planned decision, while for others it could be a ‘spur of the moment’, spontaneous decision. This decision, of course, is influenced by the individual's geographic,
socioeconomic and political environment; as well as their personal circumstances. The motivation for moving (or staying) abroad also gets adjusted with the different life changes the person experiences – for example, if they get married, have children, etc. Also, different personalities (or
personality type
In psychology, personality type refers to the psychological classification of individuals. In contrast to personality traits, the existence of personality types remains extremely controversial. Types are sometimes said to involve ''qualitative'' ...
s) have diverse reactions to the challenges of adjusting to a host-country culture; and these reactions affect their motivations to continue (or not) living abroad.
In this era of international competition, it is important for companies, as well as for countries, to understand what is that motivates people to move to another country to work. Understanding expatriates' motivations for international mobility allows organisations to tailor work packages to match expatriates' expectations in order to attract and/or retain skilled workers from abroad.
Recent trends
Trends in recent years among business expatriates have included:
* Reluctance by employees to accept foreign assignments, due to spouses also having a career.
* Reluctance by multinational corporations to sponsor overseas assignments, due to increased sensitivity both to costs and to local cultures. It is common for an expat to cost at least three times more than a comparable local employee.
* Short-term assignments becoming more common.
These are assignments of several months to a year which rarely require the expatriate family to move. They can include specific projects, technology transfer, or problem-solving tasks.
In 2008, nearly two-thirds of international assignments consisted of long-term assignments (greater than one year, typically three years). In 2014, that number fell to just over half.
* ''Self-initiated expatriation'', where individuals themselves arrange a contract to work overseas, rather than being sent by a parent company to a subsidiary.
An 'SIE' typically does not require as big a compensation package as does a traditional business expatriate. Also, spouses of SIEs are less reluctant to interrupt their own careers, at a time when dual-career issues are arguably shrinking the pool of willing expatriates.
* Local companies in
emerging markets hiring Western managers directly.
* Commuter assignments which involve employees living in one country but travelling to another for work. This usually occurs on a weekly or biweekly rotation, with weekends spent at home.
* ''Flexpatriates'', international business travellers who take a plethora of short trips to locations around the globe for negotiations, meetings, training and conferences. These assignments are usually of several weeks duration each. Their irregular nature can cause stress within a family.
*Consulting firm
Mercer reported in 2017 that women made up only 14 per cent of the expatriate workforce globally.
The Munich-based paid expatriate networking platform
InterNations conducts a survey of expat opinions and trends on a regular basis.
Academic research
There has been an increase in scholarly research into the field in recent years. For instance,
Emerald Group Publishing in 2013 launched ''The Journal of Global Mobility: The home of expatriate management research''.
S.K Canhilal and R.G. Shemueli suggest that successful expatriation is driven by a combination of individual, organizational, and context-related factors. Of these factors, the most significant have been outlined as: cross-cultural competences, spousal support, motivational questions, time of assignment, emotional competences, previous international experience, language fluency, social relational skills, cultural differences, and organizational recruitment and selection process.
Literary and screen portrayals
Fiction
Expatriate milieus have been the setting of many novels and short stories, often written by authors who spent years living abroad. The following is a list of notable works and authors, by approximate date of publication.
18th century :
Persian Letters (French: Lettres persanes) is a literary work, published in 1721, by
Montesquieu, relating the experiences of two fictional Persian noblemen, Usbek and Rica, who spend several years in France under Louis XIV and the Regency and who correspond with their respective friends staying at home.
19th century: American author
Henry James moved to Europe as a young man and many of his novels, such as ''
The Portrait of a Lady'' (1881), ''
The Ambassadors'' (1903), and ''
The Wings of the Dove'' (1902), dealt with relationships between the New World and the Old. From the 1890s to 1920s, Polish-born
Joseph Conrad wrote a string of English-language novels drawing on his seagoing experiences in farflung colonies, including ''
Heart of Darkness'' (1899), ''
Lord Jim'' (1900) and ''
Nostromo'' (1904).
1900s/1910s: German-American writer
Herman George Scheffauer was active from 1900 to 1925. English writer
W. Somerset Maugham, a former spy, set many short stories and novels overseas, such as ''
The Moon and Sixpence'' (1919) in which an English stockbroker flees to Tahiti to become an artist, and ''
The Razor's Edge'' (1944) in which a traumatised American pilot seeks meaning in France and India.
Ford Madox Ford used spa towns in Europe as the setting for his novel ''
The Good Soldier'' (1915) about an American couple, a British couple, and their infidelities.
1920s: ''
A Passage to India'' (1924), one of the best-known books by
E.M. Forster, is set against the backdrop of the independence movement in India.
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
portrayed American men in peril abroad, beginning with his
debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...
, ''
The Sun Also Rises'' (1926).
1930s:
Graham Greene was a keen traveller and another former spy, and from the 1930s to 1980s many of his novels and short stories dealt with Englishmen struggling to cope in exotic foreign places. ''
Tender is the Night'' (1934), the last complete novel by
F. Scott Fitzgerald, was about a glamorous American couple unravelling in the South of France.
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
drew heavily on his own experiences as a colonial policeman for his novel ''
Burmese Days'' (1934).
Evelyn Waugh satirised foreign correspondents in ''
Scoop'' (1938).
1940s: From the mid-1940s to the 1990s, American-born
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...
set many short stories and novels in his adopted home of Morocco, including ''
The Sheltering Sky'' (1949).
Malcolm Lowry in ''
Under the Volcano'' (1947) told the tale of an alcoholic British consul in Mexico on the Day of the Dead.
1950s: From the 1950s to the 1990s, American author
Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character T ...
set many of her psychological thrillers abroad, including ''
The Talented Mr. Ripley'' (1955).
James Baldwin's novel''
Giovanni's Room
''Giovanni's Room'' is a 1956 novel by James Baldwin. The book concerns the events in the life of an American man living in Paris and his feelings and frustrations with his relationships with other men in his life, particularly an Italian barte ...
'' (1956) was about an American man having an affair in Paris with an Italian bartender.
Anthony Burgess worked as a teacher in Malaya and made it the setting of ''
The Malayan Trilogy'' (1956-1959). ''
The Alexandria Quartet'' (1957-1960) was the best-known work of
Lawrence Durrell, who was born in India to British parents and lived overseas for most of his life.
1960s: English writer
Paul Scott is best known for ''
The Raj Quartet'' (1965-1975) dealing with the final years of the British Empire in India.
John le Carré made use of overseas settings for ''
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' (1963) and many of his subsequent novels about British spies.
1970s: In ''
The Year of Living Dangerously'' (1978),
Christopher Koch portrayed the lead-up to a 1965 coup in Indonesia through the eyes of an Australian journalist and a British diplomat. ''A Cry in the Jungle Bar'' (1979) by
Robert Drewe portrayed an Australian out of his depth while working for the UN in South-East Asia.
1990s: In both ''
Cocaine Nights'' (1996) and ''
Super-Cannes'' (2000),
J. G. Ballard's English protagonists uncover dark secrets in luxurious gated communities in the South of France.
2000s: ''
Platform'' (2001) was French author
Michel Houellebecq's novel of European sex tourists in Thailand. ''
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
'' (2002) was a debut novel by
Arthur Phillips which dealt with Americans and Canadians in Hungary towards the end of the Cold War. ''
Shantaram'' (2003) was a bestselling novel by
Gregory David Roberts about an Australian criminal who flees to India.
2010s: American novelist
Chris Pavone has set several thrillers overseas since his debut ''
The Expats'' (2012).
Janice Y. K. Lee in ''The Expatriates'' (2016) and
the miniseries deals with Americans in Hong Kong.
Tom Rachman in his debut novel ''The Imperfectionists'' (2010) wrote of journalists working for an English-language newspaper in Rome.
Memoirs
Memoirs of expatriate life can be considered a form of
travel literature with an extended stay in the host country. Some of the more notable examples are listed here in order of their publication date, and recount experiences of roughly the same decade unless noted otherwise.
Medieval: In ''
The Travels of Marco Polo'' (),
Rustichello da Pisa recounted the tales of Italian merchant
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...
about journeying the
Silk Road
The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...
to China.
1930s-1960s: In the first half of ''
Down and Out in Paris and London'' (1933),
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
described a life of low-paid squalor while working in the kitchens of Parisian restaurants. In ''The America That I Have Seen'' (1949), Egyptian Islamist
Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Ibrahim Husayn Shadhili Qutb (9 October 190629 August 1966) was an Egyptian political theorist and revolutionary who was a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
As the author of 24 books, with around 30 books unpublished for differe ...
denounced the United States after studying there. In ''
My Family and Other Animals'' (1956) and its sequels,
Gerald Durrell
Gerald Malcolm Durrell Order of the British Empire, OBE (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservation movement, conservationist, and television presenter. He was born in Jamshedpur in British Ind ...
described growing up as the budding naturalist in an eccentric English family on the Greek island of
Corfu
Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
during the late 1930s. In ''
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning'' (1969),
Laurie Lee told of busking and tramping in his youth across 1930s Spain.
1970s-1990s: In ''
It's Me, Eddie'' (1979),
Eduard Limonov discusses his time as a Soviet expatriate living in New York City in the 1970s, including his poor work experiences, political disillusionment, and sexual experiences. In ''Letters from Hollywood'' (1986),
Michael Moorcock corresponded with a friend about the life of an English writer in Los Angeles. In ''
A Year in Provence'' (1989),
Peter Mayle and his English family adapt to life in Southern France while renovating an old farmhouse. In ''
Notes from a Small Island'' (1995), American writer
Bill Bryson described a farewell tour of Britain.
2000s: In ''
A Year in the Merde'' (2004) English bachelor
Stephen Clarke recounted comic escapades while working in Paris. In ''
Eat, Pray, Love'' (2006), divorced American
Elizabeth Gilbert searched for meaning in Italy, India and Indonesia. In the early chapters of ''
Miracles of Life'' (2008),
J. G. Ballard told of his childhood and early adolescence in Shanghai during the 1930s and 1940s.
Film
Films about expatriates often deal with issues of
culture shock. They include dramas, comedies, thrillers, action/adventure films and romances. Examples, grouped by host country, include:
Television
Reality television has dealt with overseas real estate (''
House Hunters International'' and ''
A Place in the Sun''), wealthy Russians in London (''
Meet the Russians''), British expat couples (''
No Going Back)'' and mismanaged restaurants (''
Ramsay's Costa del Nightmares'').
The final decades of the British Raj have been portrayed in dramas (''
The Jewel in the Crown'' and ''
Indian Summers''). Diplomats on a foreign posting have been the basis for drama (''
Embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...
''), documentary (''
The Embassy'') and comedy (''
Ambassadors''). British writers in Hollywood have been the subject of comedy (''
Episodes
Episodes may refer to:
* Episode, a part of a dramatic work
* Episodes (TV series), ''Episodes'' (TV series), a British/American television sitcom which premiered in 2011
* Episodes (journal), ''Episodes'' (journal), a geological science journal
...
''). Other settings include British doctors in contemporary India (''
The Good Karma Hospital'') and a series of British detectives posted to an idyllic Caribbean island (''
Death in Paradise'').
See also
References
{{Immigration
Nationality
Residency
Diaspora studies
Employment of foreign-born people