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> When most people say "immigrate", they are not referring to foreign worker status that allows for long term residency, but actual naturalization. It depends
by wenc 5y ago
> When most people say "immigrate", they are not referring to foreign worker status that allows for long term residency, but actual naturalization.
It depends on how the country defines it, but to "immigrate" doesn't generally mean naturalization.
Immigration means to obtain permanent residency (in the U.S., a green card or LPR status; in Canada, Australia, NZ, landed immigrant or permanent resident status; in the UK, indefinitely leave to remain). Permanent residency generally confers most rights of citizenship, apart from a few like the right to hold a passport of that country, to vote (exceptions exist), etc.
Naturalization means to obtain full citizenship. It's the step that comes after immigration, and it is optional. Not all immigrants elect to naturalize for various reasons (e.g. wanting to keep original citizenship in cases where dual citizenship is prohibited, tax rules, military service, etc.). Some choose to remain permanent residents forever, and they can. It's their choice.
And you're right -- if someone has a temporary status like a foreign worker status (even if it's infinitely renewable), that would be considered neither immigration nor naturalization.
I'm not sure how things work in Japan, but it is possible for a country to be easy to immigrate into, but hard to naturalize in. These two things can be simultaneously true.
(in other words, easy to get permanent resident status, but hard to get citizenship)
- cedilla 5y agoImmigration doesn't imply permanency. Indeed, most migrants don't aim for permanent residency. There is a widespread idea to count permanent migrants only, but in practice, that's impossible to determine in the first place, and has no tangible consequences either. Think about undocumented migrants, who do not have the right to abode, permanent or otherwise. Think about nations that don't offer permanent residency to newly arriving immigrants, or at all. Think about people who already have the right to abode (e.g. a citizen of Ireland in the UK) - are they immigrants without setting foot in the country? Tying migration to a permanent status just doesn't make sense. Indeed, the UN Migration Agency (IOM) defines a migrant as: > any person who is moving or has moved across an international border or within a State away from his/her habitual place of residence, regardless of (1) the person’s legal status; (2) whether the movement is voluntary or involuntary; (3) what the causes for the movement are; or (4) what the length of the stay is.
- fbcpck 5y ago> Immigration doesn't imply permanency. Indeed, most migrants don't aim for permanent residency. I believe you're confusing immigration[0] and migration[1]. The former aims for permanent residency or naturalization, the latter is temporary. [0]: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/immigration https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/immigration [1]: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/migration https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/migration
- cedilla 5y agoI don't. Immigrants and emigrants are the same just seen from different perspectives, with migrants describing both. Please note that general dictionaries are always a poor source when discussing word definitions. Their aim is to clarify word usage, not to define terms. Wiktionary is also sadly of garbage quality, and I say that as a former very active wiktionary editor.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]