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Immigration & Visas vocabulary · Migration Basics

Migrant

Meaning in immigration & visas, with examples

/ˈmaɪɡrənt/nounCore term

In immigration & visas, migrant means: A person who moves from one place to another, inside a country or across borders, usually to find work or better living conditions.

In Turkish: göçmen, göç eden kişi

How it is used

A broad, general word used by international organisations, researchers and the media. It covers economic migrants, migrant workers and seasonal migrants. Refugees are a separate legal category with special protection, so careful writers do not use the two words as synonyms.

Example sentences

  1. Many migrants send part of their wages home to their families.

  2. The report looks at the working conditions of seasonal migrants in agriculture.

Common collocations

  • migrant workers
  • economic migrant
  • seasonal migrant
  • migrant community
  • immigrantA person who has come to live permanently or for a long time in a country that is not their country of birth.
  • refugeeA person who has left their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution and who needs international protection.
  • immigrationThe act of coming to live in a foreign country, and also the system of laws, offices and checks that controls who may enter and stay.
  • undocumentedDescribing a person who lives in a country without valid legal permission to be there, for example after a visa has expired.
  • expatShort for expatriate: a person who lives outside their own country, often for work and often for a limited number of years.

More terms: Migration Basics

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.