emigration
Leaving one's homeland
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country to settle in another.
The word emphasizes departure rather than arrival—you emigrate *from* somewhere: Her grandparents' emigration from Poland saved them from the Holocaust.
Compare immigration, which focuses on entering a new country.
Mass emigrations often follow war, famine, or political upheaval.
Leave-taking expression
- leavingAct of going away
- goodbyeDeparting salutation
- homelandOne's native land
- passportGovernment-issued travel credential
visa · border · customs · airport · luggage · one-way · ticket · flight
Aerial journey by aircraft
- evacuationRemoval from danger
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- displacementRemoval from usual location
- expulsionForced permanent removal
escape · depopulation · uprooting · brain drain · wave · outflow · flee · persecution
Travel authorization stamp
- passportGovernment-issued travel credential
- citizenshipStatus as state member
- naturalizationLegal path to belonging
- green cardU.S. residency document
permanent resident · work permit · asylum · deportation · residency · documentation · exit permit · consulate
Decreasing number of inhabitants
- brain drainEmigration of skilled workers
- outflowFluid exiting a system
- censusOfficial population count
- birthrateNewborns per capita measure
workforce · aging population · remittances · depopulation · labor shortage · skilled workers · statistics · population loss
One's native land
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- dispersionScattering across space
- communityCollective of connected people
enclave · repatriation · assimilation · roots · descendants · ancestral · cultural identity · transnationalism
Establish residence elsewhere
- settlingReaching resolution or rest
- residencePlace one inhabits
- transplantMove tissue between bodies
- resettleMove to live elsewhere
adaptation · integration · starting over · new life · establishing · adjustment · acculturation · host country
Favorable circumstance for advancement
- escapeFlight from captivity
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- economicRelated to money systems
political · religious · war · famine · poverty · better life · aspiration · refuge
farewell
Leave-taking expression
passport · visa · border · customs · airport · luggage · one-way · ticket · flight · expatriate
flight
Aerial journey by aircraft
- evacuationRemoval from danger
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- displacementRemoval from usual location
expulsion · escape · depopulation · uprooting · brain drain · wave · outflow · flee · persecution · pogrom
visa
Travel authorization stamp
- passportGovernment-issued travel credential
- citizenshipStatus as state member
- naturalizationLegal path to belonging
green card · permanent resident · work permit · asylum · deportation · residency · documentation · exit permit · consulate · embassy
population decline
Decreasing number of inhabitants
- brain drainEmigration of skilled workers
- outflowFluid exiting a system
- censusOfficial population count
birthrate · workforce · aging population · remittances · depopulation · labor shortage · skilled workers · statistics · population loss
homeland
One's native land
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- dispersionScattering across space
community · enclave · repatriation · assimilation · roots · descendants · ancestral · cultural identity · transnationalism · motherland
relocate
Establish residence elsewhere
- settlingReaching resolution or rest
- residencePlace one inhabits
- transplantMove tissue between bodies
resettle · adaptation · integration · starting over · new life · establishing · adjustment · acculturation · host country · destination
opportunity
Favorable circumstance for advancement
- escapeFlight from captivity
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
economic · political · religious · war · famine · poverty · better life · aspiration · refuge · safety
- immigrationimmigrants, visa, refugee, citizenship, asylum
- migrationimmigrants, refugees, migrants, refugee, asylum seekers
- Irish DiasporaIrish Americans, Irish immigrants, Irish diaspora, Irish settlers, Irish heritage
- Russian JewsPale of Settlement, refuseniks, pogroms, pogrom, shtetl
- dispersal ecologyseed dispersal, colonization, pioneer species, establishment, recolonization
- population ecologypopulation density, population growth, carrying capacity, population size, birth rate
emigrationimmigration
Relocating abroad permanently
arrival · influx · advent · repatriation · arriving
emigrationstaying
Continuing in place
remaining · settlement · stay · rootedness · residence