If someone asked himself who the expat was, most likely he encountered this term when trying to find a job abroad . The status of "expat" for someone who wants to find a job in a foreign country is considered more prestigious than the "expatriate" familiar to many.
Who is an expat?
The term "expat" was derived from the same English word expatriate as the "expatriate". The difference is that the expat is an individual who voluntarily left his homeland for the sake of earnings, and an expatriate is a person forced to leave his country and hiccup work in another state. Very often the term "expatriate" is used in the designation of a deported and deprived of citizenship rights.
Originally the meaning of the terms "expat" and "expatriate" was very close. But over time, the first status began to be used to refer people with higher education and a good profession, having the opportunity to find employment abroad for a high-paying position, and also to return to their homeland. For expatriates, the status of "expat" is more preferable than "expatriate". It is generally accepted that the first one is a qualified specialist whom large companies want to get, and the second is a person who can count only on low-paid jobs.
The leader of an expat is an official with skills and a special look that often can not be found among applicants for a position from local residents. However, such a person in the workplace has to face many difficulties:
- language barrier - even knowing the language at a high level, there are problems with understanding slang, special terms;
- mentality - the representative of another country can perceive as positive those qualities that the local do not like, and vice versa;
- complexity of registration of all documents - this reason often becomes the reason of refusal from favorable vacancy.
Expat Children
Almost always an expat is a young, ambitious person. And there is nothing strange in that in a foreign country he has a family and children. Expat children are a kind of cultural layer, formed from the confusion of the characteristics of the country of origin and country of residence. Very often children of the third culture (as they are called children born in families of expats) demonstrate such features:
- easier communicate with other people, make acquaintances, learn foreign languages more successfully;
- There are problems with identification, because They can not regard themselves either as residents of the ancestral homeland or as residents of the country of residence.
What is expatriation?
Expatriation is the expulsion of a person from a country that can be either temporary or permanent. Until the middle of the 20th century, the expulsion of residents was mainly abused by states with a totalitarian regime. At the present time, expatriation can be carried out at the will of the person himself. Many Western countries now grant expatriates more and more civil rights. French expatriates, for example, have the right to participate in presidential elections. In some countries, for example - in Saudi Arabia, expatriates are forced to live separately from the local population.
Expatriation and extradition
The terms "expatriation" and "extradition" are often perceived by people as similar in meaning, but this is not true. When expatriating a person, they are expelled from the country without any consequences. Extradition is the extradition by a state of a person accused of a crime or already convicted. According to the existing international rules, only individuals who have committed serious crimes are extradited from their citizens to States that are rarely extradited. It is forbidden to extradite people who asked for political asylum.
Cities for expats
Not all countries willingly accept representatives of other states, but in some, an expat or expatriate can easily find a good job without problems. Here is a list of the most friendly cities:
- Beijing . In the capital of China, foreign specialists are happy to receive, housing prices are comparable to those in Moscow, but wages are also high.
- Bangkok . The capital of Thailand provides an opportunity for any expatriate to open a business, however, at least five local companies must work for one foreigner.
- Vancouver . Canada is one of the quietest countries, where many specialists from Russia and Europe have already left. The reason for this popularity is an attractive immigration program.
- Sydney . Australia actively attracts foreign specialists, especially lawyers and doctors are in demand.
- Tokyo . In Japan, expats will open a lot of prospects, especially there are in demand IT-specialists, advertisers, managers. The only difficulty is the special mentality of the local residents.