Immigration vs Migration

The terms immigration and migration are sometimes confused by native English speakers and language learners alike: as are the words immigration and emigration. All of these are related to the movement of peoples between countries, but they are all subtly different.

Migration is a noun that is used to describe the movement of people, or even animals, between countries. It is the umbrella term under which both immigration and emigration fall. Migration is used when you are talking about waves of movement of people between countries possibly both directions: coming into a country and leaving another country. For example: “Following World War II there was mass migration around the world.”

The difference between immigration and emigration is an easy one and once you have grasped it, it is not difficult to remember. To immigrate means that someone has moved to a new country. For example: “Thomas immigrated to Australia from his native Ireland when he was ten years old.” To emigrate is to refer to the country from which they have moved. For example: “Thomas emigrated from Ireland to Australia when he was ten years old.”

An easy way to remember the difference between immigration and emigration is to think that immigration refers to someone coming into a country and the word immigration begins with “I”.

The term immigration tends to be more commonly used than migration and emigration. This is because it tends to be a politically hot topic argued about in politics and in the street a great deal and it gets a lot of press attention.

When looking at migration as a blanket term you will encounter much discussion of legal and illegal immigration. Many countries have a problem with people entering the country illegally to search for work or as refugees without having gone through the formal governmental process. Many first world countries spend a lot of time and money protecting their borders from illegal immigration and discussing their immigration policies.

Related words to immigration and migration include: the verbs, immigrate, migrate and emigrate and the nouns that refer to the people doing the moving, immigrant, migrant and emigrant.

Summary:
1.Migration is the overall term for the movement of people between different countries
2.Immigration refers to people coming into a country
3.Emigration refers to people leaving a country for a different country
4.Immigration is a politically sensitive topic that is often discussed in the media.