In the US context, Mexicans who come to the US for work, with plans to return to Mexico after 5-10 years, are called immigrants. Thus, &quot;immigrant workers&quot; not &quot;expat worker&quot; and &quot;undocumented immigrants&quot; not &quot;undocumented expats&quot;.<p>The same is true in Europe. The places in town where North Africans, or Iraq, or Ethiopia live are often called &quot;immigrant communities&quot;, not &quot;expat communities.&quot; Even when the population has no plans to return, or are even native born.<p>While on the other hand there are many British people who retire and live the expat life overseas where it&#x27;s warm and cheap, and don&#x27;t plan to return to the UK. Or Arthur C. Clark, a British expat in Sri Lanka who had no plans to leave. The Sri Lankan government created the category of resident guest status in 1975 so he could stay.<p>This strongly suggests that 1) your understanding isn&#x27;t correct, and 2) there is a social class distinction between &quot;immigrant&quot; and &quot;expat&quot;.