Emigrate / Immigrate / Migrate

Although these three words describe movement from one location to another, each of them has a specific meaning.

Emigrate / Immigrate

 Emigrate means to leave one’s country and travel to another country. Immigrate means to enter another country to reside there permanently.

Therefore, people are emigrants when they leave their native country and immigrants when they arrive in their new country.

Here are some examples of the correct and incorrect use of these words.

Ö  Last year a number of emigrants left the country of their birth.

X  Last year a number of immigrants left the country of their birth.

Ö  In the 20^th century several immigrants arrived in Australia.

X  In the 20^th century several emigrants arrived in Australia.

Migrate

This word has a broader meaning than emigrate and immigrate. It applies not only to humans, but also to animals and birds. Migrate generally implies that a person, animal or bird has changed location for a specific reason. Unlike emigrate/immigrate, migrate does not differentiate between the original location and the new location. Furthermore, migration is not necessarily a permanent move. Examples of migration are when a person moves to another country on a temporary basis to undertake a work project or because a region or even a town has become uninhabitable because of climate change.

Birds and animals migrate, often on a seasonal basis, because they seek the availability of food and seek a climate that is more suitable for them to rear their young.

Here are some examples of the use of the word migrate:

The shortage of nurses in the country has resulted in nurses migrating from other countries.

Swallows migrate from Africa to Europe in the spring, and then migrate from Europe to Africa in the autumn.

Serious flooding has resulted in an entire town being evacuated, and its inhabitants have migrated to another region of the country.

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