What Is An Expat Here In Thailand?

[puyaidon]

I have seen the term expat many times on many forums. Is there a clear-cut definition or word of mouth description of an expat?

I used to hear that expats were those who were working for overseas companies. Now I hear it more and more almost everywhere and it seems to imply that anyone living over here in Thailand is an expat.

This may seem like a joke but I am curious as to what others may think on this matter.

[Crossy]

As you've noticed it's context sensitive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate pretty well anyone who isn't Thai and isn't a tourist is an expat.

I'm an expat in Thailand because I live here and I'm not Thai.

I'm an expat when working in India because I'm a foreign worker (I don't live there).

[wayned]

Wikipedia says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate

Crossy, you beat me by a millisecond!

Edited March 14, 2013 by wayned

[Swiss1960]

As you've noticed it's context sensitive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate pretty well anyone who isn't Thai and isn't a tourist is an expat.

I'm an expat in Thailand because I live here and I'm not Thai.

I'm an expat when working in India because I'm a foreign worker (I don't live there).

I don't fully agree with that definition. For me, a foreigner who has decided to live in another country fulltime, i.e. on a marriage or retirement Visa, is not an expat anymore. I think that he is not living "ex patria" (outside home), once he has decided to make that foreign country his new home (patria). He is still an immigrant (from the foreign country point of view) or an emigrant (from his original country point of view), but not an expat anymore.

[FunFon]

Living anywhere but your "home" country, including technically even those that never do settle in any one place.

[doggie888888]

Living anywhere but your "home" country, including technically even those that never do settle in any one place.

gee, i never considered those old Greek immigrants in Australia to be expatriates.

Edited March 15, 2013 by doggie888888

[FunFon]

Living anywhere but your "home" country, including technically even those that never do settle in any one place.

gee, i never considered those old Greek immigrants in Australia to be expatriates.

-

I believe the term there is "Xeni"

There certainly are racist, colonialist, class-ist parameters that cause the word to be applied to people from more-developed countries living in less-developed ones, and usually there is an assumption they'll eventually return "home".

I certainly hadn't thought to consider myself an "immigrant" here, but now that I do perhaps I should.

However I don't quite meet my adopted country's criteria, so visitor or privileged guest will have to do.

[doggie888888]

Used to think expats meant people who worked overseas. Defining factor being work. But I think the true dictionary meaning does not rely on work. If you lived outside your home country, I guess you are an expatriate , albeit an expat without a package. You'd be an immigrant when you get Thai citizenship or permanent residence status.

I would exclude those on student visas, nobody in Australia would consider the multitudes of foreign students there as expatriates!

When it came to foreigners, the company i worked for in China used to differentiate between expatriates and locally employed foreigners. The former was employed overseas and sent to China, the latter were foreigners already there on the ground, there was a cost difference. I don't think they relied on the dictionary!

[rene123]

It is an interesting topic because Thailand is a bit different than other countries. In Canada, if you immigrate and take out citizenship then you become a Canadian with all the rights and privileges that entails. But, if you just work in Canada, or just live there full time without becoming a citizen, then you are an expat from another country. From what I've heard it is very difficult to become a Thai citizen if you are from a foreign country. That would make you an expat if you lived in Thailand full time. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.

[Swiss1960]

It is an interesting topic because Thailand is a bit different than other countries. In Canada, if you immigrate and take out citizenship then you become a Canadian with all the rights and privileges that entails. But, if you just work in Canada, or just live there full time without becoming a citizen, then you are an expat from another country. From what I've heard it is very difficult to become a Thai citizen if you are from a foreign country. That would make you an expat if you lived in Thailand full time. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.

I think you should view it from the wording Expat - as coming from "ex patria", outside homecountry.

Now you could argue that people living in Thailand on a Retirement / Marriage Extension would be considered at home in Thailand, thus I would call them Immigrants and not expat anymore. Of course, there have been other threads where people claim that Thailand can never be your home country, since you have to go to immigration every year to reniew your permission to stay, but that is then more a personal view and feeling. Personally, once I will have made my view, I will consider Thailand to be my new home and thus, I will consider myself to be an immigrant and not an expat.

Expat in some countries is also a legal term - meaning people who live and work abroad, but based on a contract that is legally issued within their country of origin. Thus Expat in the common usage is only for these people.

I did read about all the Indians, Cambodians etc. who live and work here... work of course mainly for Thai companies with Thai contracts. In my view, these people would also have to be seen as immigrants. Very often, they don't even have the idea of going back, while a "true" expat normally has a return date in his contract.

[JurgenG]

In the corporate world, it is something that is related to your employment contract, "expat package" or "local terms".

Expat packages are rapidly disappearing and high flying locals are more and more able able to negotiate terms similar to those offered to expats for similar position.

Edited March 15, 2013 by JurgenG

[Travel2003]

It just had to be one or two members jumping on the bandwagon as soon as someone started to lead this subject into the sex trade.

The same members each time I bet.

[candypants]

As you've noticed it's context sensitive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate pretty well anyone who isn't Thai and isn't a tourist is an expat.

I'm an expat in Thailand because I live here and I'm not Thai.

I'm an expat when working in India because I'm a foreign worker (I don't live there).

I don't fully agree with that definition. For me, a foreigner who has decided to live in another country fulltime, i.e. on a marriage or retirement Visa, is not an expat anymore. I think that he is not living "ex patria" (outside home), once he has decided to make that foreign country his new home (patria). He is still an immigrant (from the foreign country point of view) or an emigrant (from his original country point of view), but not an expat anymore.

that would all be well and good, but an immigrant is seeking or has acheived citizenship

[TerryLH]

Posted by Swiss1960: "Personally, once I will have made my view, I will consider Thailand to be my new home and thus, I will consider myself to be an immigrant and not an expat."

Aren't you here on a Non Immigrant Visa?

If you are, are you calling yourself an immigrant, when legally you aren't, as a feel good thing. Or do you just like to argue?

Terry

[Neeranam]

Posted by Swiss1960: "Personally, once I will have made my view, I will consider Thailand to be my new home and thus, I will consider myself to be an immigrant and not an expat."Aren't you here on a Non Immigrant Visa?If you are, are you calling yourself an immigrant, when legally you aren't, as a feel good thing. Or do you just like to argue?Terry

I don't think it feels good to be called immigrant.

I am here on a non-imm visa but applying for residency. What do you call me? When I get citizenship, I'm not sure what I'd classify myself as. Maybe simply Thai Scottish.

Thai farang has a certain ring to it too but .....

Edited March 15, 2013 by Neeranam

[Swiss1960]

As you've noticed it's context sensitive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate pretty well anyone who isn't Thai and isn't a tourist is an expat.

I'm an expat in Thailand because I live here and I'm not Thai.

I'm an expat when working in India because I'm a foreign worker (I don't live there).

I don't fully agree with that definition. For me, a foreigner who has decided to live in another country fulltime, i.e. on a marriage or retirement Visa, is not an expat anymore. I think that he is not living "ex patria" (outside home), once he has decided to make that foreign country his new home (patria). He is still an immigrant (from the foreign country point of view) or an emigrant (from his original country point of view), but not an expat anymore.

that would all be well and good, but an immigrant is seeking or has acheived citizenship

Not really... and immigrant is (in my view) primarily somebody who seeks to permanently live in a foreign country.

Posted by Swiss1960: "Personally, once I will have made my view move, I will consider Thailand to be my new home and thus, I will consider myself to be an immigrant and not an expat."

Aren't you here on a Non Immigrant Visa?

If you are, are you calling yourself an immigrant, when legally you aren't, as a feel good thing. Or do you just like to argue?

Terry

Yes, it is called non-imm with annual extension (marriage or retirement)... however I don't consider myself to be an expat, as I will be living fulltime in Thailand with no intention to go back home and I will not be working here... but after some years, I have the chance to apply for permanent residency (would in my case have to be "elderly patronage provider for Thai spouse")

But from your point of view, what would be the right description for retired people living full time in Thailand? In Switzerland, they are called immigrants and not expat and most of them never think about achieving citizenship

[SteeleJoe]

For me there is a difference between an expat(riate) and an Expat. The latter is about a certain lifestyle, employment situation, and maybe an attitude.

I've lived here for about half my life but I'm not (in my terms) an Expat.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

[meatballs]

Lots of one or two month tourists like to consider themselves expats. They're basically wannabes. Lots around here. Real expats stick around.

[SteeleJoe]

Wannabe? Like it's something to aspire to and be proud of?

Huh...

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

[StreetCowboy]

For me there is a difference between an expat(riate) and an Expat. The latter is about a certain lifestyle, employment situation, and maybe an attitude.

I've lived here for about half my life but I'm not (in my terms) an Expat.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

We all like to think we're different...

Alternatively, we think up labels for those from whom we are different, so that we can build up our self-righteousness.

SC

[SteeleJoe]

For me there is a difference between an expat(riate) and an Expat. The latter is about a certain lifestyle, employment situation, and maybe an attitude.I've lived here for about half my life but I'm not (in my terms) an Expat.Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa apWe all like to think we're different...Alternatively, we think up labels for those from whom we are different, so that we can build up our self-righteousness.SC

We all are different.

I didn't think up the label.

My self-righteousness needs no more building up and has nothing to do with this. (In fact, I have always felt in SOME respects, inferior to "Expats".)

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

Edited March 15, 2013 by SteeleJoe

[Tywais]

One common question we come across is, "what is an expat?"

The word expat is a contraction of expatriate, which derives from the Latin word expatriatus. In medieval times, an expatriatus was someone who had left his or her home country to live somewhere else. So in today’s culture an expatriate is exactly that; someone who lives in a different location than that which they were born and brought up. In general expatriates are considered to be people who are residing in their host country temporarily, with the ultimate intention of returning home at a later date. However, in recent times, more and more expatriates have left their home country and found that they can experience a higher standard of living and a better of quality of live abroad and, for this reason, many of them never return home.

Expatinfodesk

[Tywais]

According to Merriam-Webster, expatriate means someone “living in a foreign land.” Often there is confusion over how this term fits with the terms emigration and immigration. The definition of immigrant is “a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence.” This contrasts with the definition of emigrant, which is “a person who leaves one’s place of residence or country to live elsewhere.” Immigrant has a focus on the destination a person goes to, so you immigrate to a place, while emigrant focuses on the place the person left, so you emigrate from a place. Expatriate on the other hand, rather than stressing the movement aspect, is centered on the fact of living somewhere else. The main difference between expatriate and immigrant and emigrant is that both immigrant and emigrant imply a sense of permanence, but expatriate does not have the connotation of a permanent move. While an expatriate living in a foreign land might not feel him or herself to be part of that new land and culture, an immigrant is more likely to become established in the country where he or she moved and become part of the culture and new society.

The word expatriate comes from two Latin terms: ex, meaning “out of”, and patria, meaning “country, fatherland.” Some who hear the term assume that it means unpatriotic, taking “ex” to mean “not,” and therefore think it has a negative connotation. But as the roots of the word show, it only denotes a person that is no longer in their country of birth.

diaspora

[a99az]

An expatriate (commonly abbreviated expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex ("out of") and patria ("country, fatherland").

[weegee]

"What is an Expat here in Thailand"? as your'e post questions....

They're the ones, Educated, smart, capable of tasks put before them, and have light coloured skin. Probably retired and having a ball....

Next question ??????

[transam]

One common question we come across is, "what is an expat?"

The word expat is a contraction of expatriate, which derives from the Latin word expatriatus. In medieval times, an expatriatus was someone who had left his or her home country to live somewhere else. So in today’s culture an expatriate is exactly that; someone who lives in a different location than that which they were born and brought up. In general expatriates are considered to be people who are residing in their host country temporarily, with the ultimate intention of returning home at a later date. However, in recent times, more and more expatriates have left their home country and found that they can experience a higher standard of living and a better of quality of live abroad and, for this reason, many of them never return home.

Expatinfodesk

Sure, BUT if that country (Thailand) does NOT accept you (Farang non immigrant) then how can one be an expat in LOS. Thai folk can become expats in a couple of years in the UK.

[MAJIC]

Perhaps someone should tell Thai immigration the difference between Expats and Aliens!

[transam]

Perhaps someone should tell Thai immigration the difference between Expats and Aliens!

Or the UK powers that be, that we are not expats, rarely accepted. .

[NoshowJones]

As you've noticed it's context sensitive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate pretty well anyone who isn't Thai and isn't a tourist is an expat.

I'm an expat in Thailand because I live here and I'm not Thai.

I'm an expat when working in India because I'm a foreign worker (I don't live there).

Does an ex pat mean someone living abroad who is patriotic to his country? If so, then I am not an ex pat, as I was never patriotic to the UK. There are so many reasons why, but I will name one. The UK government is stealing money from OAPs living abroad in countries like Thailand by not giving them the annual State Pension increases which they are entitled to as they have paid national insurance and taxes all their working life.

[MAJIC]

One common question we come across is, "what is an expat?"

The word expat is a contraction of expatriate, which derives from the Latin word expatriatus. In medieval times, an expatriatus was someone who had left his or her home country to live somewhere else. So in today’s culture an expatriate is exactly that; someone who lives in a different location than that which they were born and brought up. In general expatriates are considered to be people who are residing in their host country temporarily, with the ultimate intention of returning home at a later date. However, in recent times, more and more expatriates have left their home country and found that they can experience a higher standard of living and a better of quality of live abroad and, for this reason, many of them never return home.

Expatinfodesk

Sure, BUT if that country (Thailand) does NOT accept you (Farang non immigrant) then how can one be an expat in LOS. Thai folk can become expats in a couple of years in the UK.

One common question we come across is, "what is an expat?"

The word expat is a contraction of expatriate, which derives from the Latin word expatriatus. In medieval times, an expatriatus was someone who had left his or her home country to live somewhere else. So in today’s culture an expatriate is exactly that; someone who lives in a different location than that which they were born and brought up. In general expatriates are considered to be people who are residing in their host country temporarily, with the ultimate intention of returning home at a later date. However, in recent times, more and more expatriates have left their home country and found that they can experience a higher standard of living and a better of quality of live abroad and, for this reason, many of them never return home.

Expatinfodesk

Sure, BUT if that country (Thailand) does NOT accept you (Farang non immigrant) then how can one be an expat in LOS. Thai folk can become expats in a couple of years in the UK.

And become British Citizens in 3 years,and a month or two,as my Thai wife has just become!

Edited March 15, 2013 by MAJIC