Difference between Immigrant and Migrant

Key difference: The words immigrant and migrant relate to each other in a broader way. Immigrant relates to a person, who leaves his place and resettles in another place, whereas, a migrant can be any living organism who migrates from one place to another.

Immigrants are the ones who leave their hometown and permanently resettle in a new place. These are those people who get shifted due to immigration. They may relocate due to economical crises, political issues, and family re-unification.

Immigrants are the people who leave their birth place and get resettled in the new place or a country. They carry the documents which represents them as immigrants. Government laws and acts are implemented, which work for their benefit and welfare. Immigration is a part of economic migration. Nowadays, it is an issue which is developed in the countries such as the United States, UK and France.

Migrant Migration refers to the movement from one country to a region which may be inside the same country or across its border. Migrants are the ones who move from one land to another. They comprise of humans and animals, who move from the previous place, due to their personal reasons.

Here the process of migration refers to the temporary settlement of a person in order to fulfill his desire. Generally, it is observed that, people migrate in search of work or finances.

It is found that almost 200 migrant bird species fly from Northern India, Siberia, Scandinavia and Western Europe to Srilanka during the northern winter period, from August/September and until April/May.

Comparison between Immigrants and Migrants:

	Immigrants	Migrants
Who are they?	An immigrant is someone who permanently moves to another country.	A migrant is someone who moves from one region to another, often within a particular country.
Residence	Immigrants are the ones who permanently reside in the current place.	It is not compulsory for the migrants to reside permanently in the current place.
Includes	Refers to only humans.	Refers to humans and animals/birds who shift themselves annually for certain seasons.
Number of migrants	They usually are in a huge number, comprising of families.	They can be single, or in huge numbers.
Place	Here the resettlement in a place includes shifting from one country to another country.	Here the settlement does not include any boundaries; they can settle anywhere, anytime.
Reasons	Immigrants have to migrate generally due to economical crises, political issues and family-reunification.	Migrants have to migrate in search of job, changes in climatic conditions, etc.
World wide human acts	Some of the immigrant acts are: Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. Immigration Act of 1990.	Some of the migrant acts are : Migration Act 1958. Human rights issues raised by visa refusal or cancellation under section 501 of the Migration Act.