Discriminations between expats and locals

Written byMomentsingon 10 August 2021

People choose to become expats for many reasons, including better futures for themselves and their families, have interesting experiences, and travel. Many countries also benefit from immigration and expat-presence. However, expat life also has inherent challenges, including facing discrimination against locals at times. Conversely, in some places, locals may view expats as privileged.

In this article

Discriminations and challenges faced by expats
But it's not all doom and gloom
Tips for new expats adjusting to life overseas

Discriminations and challenges faced by expats

Some believe that it's fair for a country to give priority to its citizens, while others may argue that expat-presence has many benefits on countries and, therefore, expats deserve equal treatment.

Expats who face discrimination against locals might feel discouraged about their futures, and unfortunately, not everyone can give up their new lives and go back home. While each person's experiences will differ, and some may never face any discrimination, here are a few examples of challenging situations facing expats:

In some cases, expats may earn lower wages than citizens and long-term residents and be worse off than others. For instance, International Labour Organization (ILO) stated in December 2020, following its report, “The migrant pay gap: Understanding wage differences between migrants and nationals”, that “Migrants earn nearly 13 per cent on average less than national workers in high-income countries”. The ILO has analysed data from 49 countries for the report.

le News reported in July 2021 that people with a migrant background were “financially worse off” than others in Switzerland, citing the Federal Statistical Office (FSO)'s data, and that people with a migrant background paid “on average 10% more per square metre of living space” vs the others. The le News report noted that other factors, including age and education level also corresponded to such financial disparity.

More recently, expats in some destinations may have felt discriminated against over the COVID-19 vaccine distribution systems. On a related note, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic-related mobility restrictions in some countries may also make expats feel increasingly isolated due to the lack of family ties and social connections.

Some expats might not feel part of the society or be able to feel at home in the new countries. In unfortunate cases, expats may continue to feel like outsiders even after becoming citizens of their host countries.

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But it's not all doom and gloom

For example, the ILO report: “The migrant pay gap: Understanding wage differences between migrants and nationals” stated on page xiii “Key findings” that migrants in “low- and middle-income countries” “tend to earn about 17.3 per cent more than nationals on average, with notable exceptions”. The Key findings section of the report stated that a reason for migrants earning more on average was high-skilled temporary expats making a large portion of the total migrants “in some countries”.

Certain expats, including digital nomads, also find developing low-cost countries ideal to work remotely or run their businesses from. Advantages of living in low-cost remote places include a relaxed lifestyle and the ability to earn in stronger currencies than that of the host country. However, the lifestyle of expats in such locations may be viewed as privileged by nationals who earn lower local wages.

Tips for new expats adjusting to life overseas

If you are a new or aspiring expat, here are some tips to help with your life abroad.

Plan your finances

If your income is going to be lower until you upskill and get local experience, be careful with your finances. Planning and budgeting can help while you get established (and even after!).

Try to build a support network

Opportunities to make friends might be limited with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Consider joining social media expat groups and other online communities based on your interests to meet like-minded individuals until any pandemic-related restrictions ease.

Give it time and work to better your life

If you need new skills to earn more money, continue to work towards them. While it can be challenging to start over anywhere, you don't have to stay where you began.

Moving to a new country isn't easy. While there are inherent challenges in a new location, embarking with an open mind will help you adjust to your host country and enjoy it.

Everyday life

Mauritius

About the author

Momentsing

I am a financial professional turned writer with a keen interest in remote business, finance, and travel.

Comments

Guest4 years ago(Modified)
Being an expat for 18 years in 5 countries. here are my 2 cents:
-Travel single an young, it is nonsense to be expat with big family or over 40 yrs old
-Have a plan to settle somewhere from your 40s
-The whole world is unfavoured to hire foreigners so understand you are in temporary situation and you need to have long term plan
-Ignore complains from locals, they are not in your shoes, focus on your goals
-Live like student, stay away from overpriced expat areas
-Only accept expat position which pays much higher than your home country, at least 2X. if you are not saving 50% of your salary then you are wasting your time
-Select a global saving scheme to keep and grow your money such as SPY QQQ ARKK ETFs
-If you like to settle in the expat country, marry a local, open your own business or apply for retirement visa
-Expat packages are much less than what it used to be. locals might see you as cashcow, as there are very few indonesians who have been expat and can understand your situation. so be picky of who you socialize with.

BeijingBob4 years ago(Modified)
I don’t dare get started on this subject or I will end up writing a book here instead of a comment. So I will just say this: after a quarter century as an expat and adult white male in China I’ve encountered countless times when I’ve been affected by discrimination either for against me or in my favor
Out of that multitude of instances there’s only one that continues to bother me and I don’t think it’s peculiar to just China but to all of Asia and likely Africa and the Middle East. While in the US where I am originally from an Asian for instance could move there and almost immediately the locals would just assume him/her to be just another American or Asian-American.
It would be a given. While for me, no matter how long I have lived here or how well I speak the language or how well I have adopted local culture, not a day goes by when I don’t notice someone looking my way and saying or some child points at me and shouting “Wai Guo Ren or Lao Wai” in the north or refers to me with the racist phrase “Guai Lo” in Cantonese
While I may feel in my heart that this place is now my home, whenever this happens it’s like someone poured ice water over my head. The wake up call of discrimination telling me No I’m not one of them. Not a local, always a foreigner.

deafdrummer4 years ago(Modified)
What is glaringly missing from this discussion is WHY ARE YOU AN EX-PAT? It seems that for most people, it is merely that you can live in a different place, perhaps for cost of living adjustment, for work opportunities, but not once do I hear anything about a kindred bond with the locals, like whether you have a Grand Narrative or Civilizational bond or connection with the locals. I do, and it's made all the difference in my life. It's how I used to grow up among Latinos in south Texas, and naturally that's transferred here to India. Although I am an ex-pat, technically, I really consider myself a resident here, very fortunate to be allowed to be here, as I am a Hindū, even with Indian ancestry. I couldn't be this way anywhere else. I think that discrimination results because the locals see you as displacing a local out of a job, and you tend to live like you are living in your home country and want them to come to you, not the other way around. They pick up on the sense that they are not one of you, so there is a wall there.

cvco4 years ago(Modified)
Expats wont like my answer. Whether its a local or local employer, expats are seen as fully expendable because they are not critical to the survival of the country. Many locals think most or all expats should have the same status as tourists including very short visas. I know that I could never have survived on the basis of a job, I had to find my own way through self-employment and thats what ive done for 22 years. My advice, if you got a job, great, but look for other opportunities you can swing into. In my case, I design, make and sell my own products as an export from where I am. For this particular work I couldnt have done it anywhere else and thats my first reason for being an expat. Also, potential or longer term expats should look for short term projects as those are usually easier to get than a long term commitment from an employer. Also, dont start off as a broke expat. I suggest having usd10,000 in the bank as an emergency buffer for things that go wrong, like everything stopping during covid as it has for me. And during covid which is not ending soon, expats are given the least consideration for employment which means that even if hired, they can be dumped very easily. Networking is critical but during covid nobody gives a damn about you and usually simply ignore you or suggest you leave. Networking seems to work best when its good times for everyone. When the chips are down, forget getting help as locals are focused on themselves.

gmashworth4 years ago(Modified)
To some extent it is a myth. Where I am, a lot of expats are here working within the mining industry or finance, which are jobs that you expect to be paid well. But there are locals at those same companies who are also being paid well too. Other expats have been here for decades and during that time they have established businesses, worked hard and enjoy the fruits of their labour. Sadly, many locals believe most (if not all) white folk are wealthy, but I'm living proof that is not true. I haven't found being white or being an expat has in any way been an advantage. I have less now than what I arrived with.

Ale744 years ago(Modified)
It's now a myth, the differences between expats and locals can be huge. Usually in third world countries. An expat can make 10-20 times the salary of a local with the same position.