What's the difference between immigrants and refugees?

"Immigration" refers to all people who choose to immigrate according to their own wishes. They made this decision out of personal consideration, not external influence.

A person can choose to leave his motherland for many reasons: to earn more money, to live with the families of the same immigrants, and to reunite with his partner living abroad. According to the definition of the United Nations, these people are all immigrants. But when politicians talk about immigration, they almost only talk about economic immigrants: people who go to work in other countries.

"Refugees": officially recognized people who have been forced to flee. From the legal point of view, "immigrant" is a general term, while "refugee" is very specific. The Geneva Convention adopted in 195 1 is the cornerstone of the international refugee system, which defines a refugee as a person who is persecuted because of "clan, religious belief, nationality, membership of social organizations or political organizations" and has to leave his home country.

This definition applies to many people who fled their hometown because of the war, but not all of them. This definition definitely does not apply to those who emigrate to other countries because of natural disasters.

In addition, only after being granted the status of "refugee" by an official organization (whether the country or the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) can it be officially counted as a refugee.