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.