guest worker
Temporary foreign employee
A guest worker is a foreign laborer admitted to a country on a temporary basis, typically to fill jobs locals won't take.
The term implies the arrangement is transient—guests eventually go home.
Germany's postwar economy relied heavily on guest workers from Turkey.
The concept raises questions about labor rights and paths to permanent residency.
Travel authorization stamp
- work permitOfficial employment eligibility document
- green cardU.S. residency document
- naturalizationLegal path to belonging
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
quota · border · asylum · passport · consulate · embassy · residency · entry
One living abroad permanently
- sojournerOne dwelling temporarily
- transientTemporary, soon departing
- emigrantPerson resettling in another nation
- newcomerRecent arrival somewhere
diaspora · host country · chain migration · family separation · brain drain · displacement · resettlement · destination
Funds sent elsewhere
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- wage theftEmployer withholding earned compensation
- recruitmentSeeking new personnel
- contractorHired construction professional
farm labor · domestic work · construction · meatpacking · hospitality · agriculture · harvesting · plantation
Selfish use of others
- traffickingIllegal transport for profit
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- advocacyPleading for a cause
- organizingSystematically putting in order
unionization · protection · vulnerability · precarity · legal aid · grievance · wage claim · housing conditions
Recurring at fixed intervals
- contractEnforceable written agreement
- short-termOf limited duration
- rotationTurning on an axis
- stintFixed work period
assignment · nonresident · duration · renewal · extension · expiration · fixed-term · provisional
visa
Travel authorization stamp
- work permitOfficial employment eligibility document
- green cardU.S. residency document
- naturalizationLegal path to belonging
deportation · quota · border · asylum · passport · consulate · embassy · residency · entry · sponsorship
expatriate
One living abroad permanently
- sojournerOne dwelling temporarily
- transientTemporary, soon departing
- emigrantPerson resettling in another nation
newcomer · diaspora · host country · chain migration · family separation · brain drain · displacement · resettlement · destination · crossing
remittance
Funds sent elsewhere
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- wage theftEmployer withholding earned compensation
- recruitmentSeeking new personnel
contractor · farm labor · domestic work · construction · meatpacking · hospitality · agriculture · harvesting · plantation · sweatshop
exploitation
Selfish use of others
- traffickingIllegal transport for profit
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- advocacyPleading for a cause
organizing · unionization · protection · vulnerability · precarity · legal aid · grievance · wage claim · housing conditions · safety
seasonal
Recurring at fixed intervals
- contractEnforceable written agreement
- short-termOf limited duration
- rotationTurning on an axis
stint · assignment · nonresident · duration · renewal · extension · expiration · fixed-term · provisional · return date
- occupationsdoctor, teacher, baker, lawyer, nurse
- immigrationimmigrant, immigrants, visa, refugee, citizenship
- residentsresident, residents, inhabitants, inhabitant, local
- foreign workoverseas job, work permit, work visa, foreign assignment, overseas posting
- labor migrationlabor migration, work permit, work visa, immigrant labor, labor markets
- migrant workersbracero, day laborer, labor migration, overseas employment, deployment
guest workerpermanent resident
One who stays indefinitely
citizen · naturalized citizen · settler · immigrant · landed immigrant
guest workeremployer
One who employs others
business owner · hiring manager · plantation owner · contractor
worker, guest, working, works, workers, worked, workshop, workable, workforce