Expatriate

An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing, as an immigrant, in a country other than that of their citizenship. The word comes from the Latin terms ex ("out of") and patria ("country, fatherland").

In common usage, the term is often used in the context of professionals or skilled workers sent abroad by their companies.

Background

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many Americans, numbering perhaps in the thousands, were drawn to European cultural centers, especially Munich and Paris. The author Henry James, for instance, adopted England as his home, while Ernest Hemingway lived in Paris.

The term "expatriate" in some countries also has a legal context used for tax purposes, meaning someone who does not have tax residence in the country they are living. An expatriate living in a country can receive a favourable tax treatment – they are still subject to taxation, but not in the same way as tax residents. For example, in Japan for the first five years of residency one is a non-permanent resident for tax purposes, and thus subject only to tax on Japan-source income, not worldwide income (such as bank interest or investment gains in one's home country). Rules and the number of years can vary per tax jurisdiction, but 5 years is the most commonly used maximum period.