Emigrate or Immigrate?

Emigrate and Immigrate

To emigrate and to immigrate are similar in meaning, but there is a difference. To emigrate focuses on the point of departure, while to immigrate focuses on the point of arrival. For example:

• I emigrated to England in the 1990s.

• ("I left my homeland in the 1990s.")

• I immigrated to England in the 1990s.

• ("I've been living in England since the 1990s.")

Emigrate

The verb to emigrate focuses on leaving your home country to move permanently to another. Example: Very few inhabitants emigrate from this province, where the birth-rate considerably exceeds the death-rate.

• Immigrate

The verb to immigrate means to move to a new country with the purpose of settling there. Immigrate focuses on entering the new country. Examples:

• New Zealanders who immigrate to Australia raise the IQ of both countries. (Robert Muldoon)

• Immigration is one of the leading contributors to population growth. (Paul Watson)