Immigrant. That’s the term. I’m also an immigrant. There’s no shame on using the term.
In English, immigrant means “a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country,” while expatriate means “a person who lives outside their native country.”
You might dislike how rich British bankers in Hong Kong are called expats, while poor Eritrean refugees in Britain are called immigrants. But technically, those usages are accurate.
Still, expatriate often carries the connotation of a higher-status person living in a lower- or similar-status country—like a British banker in Hong Kong. It doesn’t quite fit when someone of middle status moves laterally—say, an American recent graduate relocating to Europe. Migrant is denotatively correct, but the connotation doesn't quite match because in practice it used for low status or irregular immigrants.
In many such cases, it may be best to avoid using any of these terms at all. Temporary residence might be the term we’re looking for and it likely reflects the legal status as well.
He's looking to gain residency, he's looking to immigrate. Stop quibbling over terminology
Keep arguing with the dictionary.
Expat has a more specific connotation than immigrant. It is not a synonym.
Depending on the circle, the connotation can be fairly negative. It's a term I have stopped using because it tends to separate people along ethnic or economic lines, even when they're in a country for exactly the same reasons.
He's looking to gain permanent residency, that's an immigrant. Nothing different lmao
No, it is not the same. One can be an immigrant and not a expatriate.
it is lmao, you are just quibbling over technicalities. He is an immigrant because he is looking to stay in that country permanently and not temporarily.
> quibbling over technicalities
That is this entire thread, including the OP, with whom you seem to agree. Why have you not complained to tkiolp4 that they are just quibbling over technicalities? To be frank, I rather suspect it's because "quibbling over technicalities" is something that does not concern you, except as it can be a convenient excuse to dismiss an argument you don't want to engage with intellectually.