Economic migrants

An economic migrant is someone who emigrates from one region to another to seek an improvement in living standards because the living conditions or job opportunities in the migrant's own region are not sufficient. The United Nations uses the term migrant worker. The term economic migrant is often confused with the term refugee, but economic migrants leave their country due to bad economic conditions, not due to fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, or ethnicity. Economic migrants are free to apply for asylum and thus refugee status in the country they migrated to. However they will not be given refugee status, unless the economic situation in their home country has led to generalised violence or seriously disturbed public order.

People who intend to work in another country can obtain authorization to do so; some migrants may enter under false pretenses, such as tourism, or cross the border illegally (illegal immigrant). People who work legally in another country are often described as immigrants or expatriates.

Many countries have restrictions that prohibit people from entering the country to work unless they have been granted a visa which permits this. Persons who are believed to be trying to enter a country to obtain employment may be refused entry. Illegal immigrants and people who seek paid employment after entering the country without authorization to work may be subject to deportation.

The World Bank estimates that remittances totaled US$420 billion in 2009, of which $317 billion went to developing countries.

With economic migration on a large scale, we often see that the majority of migrants are working age people. This places a strain on the country that the migrants leave; as working age people exit the country, the elderly population remains - thus straining the economy. However, the advantage to this country could be a release of pressure on the current job market and resources. Looking at the nation that the migrants enter, the inflow of migrants is a source of cheap labour. In some cases, the immigrants in the country are skilled and looking for specialized jobs. The inflow of migrants could also bring about cultural diversity.

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