Why does Aisa International call people expats?
There is a curious person living in the Czech Republic. That person has been here for 15 years, owns a house, pays Czech taxes, has permanent residence, speaks enough Czech to argue with the plumber, and has absolutely no intention of going back to the home country.
This is, by almost any ordinary definition, an immigrant. But put “immigration advice” into Google and the results may not be what that person was looking for. However, put “expat financial advice Czech Republic” into Google and suddenly there is the answer.
And therein lies the curious linguistic world of the expat living in the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic has thousands of foreigners living here. Some arrived for work, some for love, some for business, some because they fancied a quieter life, and some because they thought buying a house in the Czech countryside would be cheaper than buying a garage in Surrey.
They have different passports, different residence statuses and very different reasons for being here.
But collectively, particularly in English-language websites, they are often called “expats.”
There are expat lawyers.
Expat accountants.
Expat mortgage brokers.
Expat property agents.
Expat tax advisers.
Expat insurance advisers.
Expat Facebook groups.
Expat restaurants.
And, of course, expat financial advisers.
Nobody seems to mind.
Until you mention the word immigrant.
We have a strange situation. The longer someone lives here, the less “expat” they may actually be in the everyday sense of the word.
Yet the longer they live here, the more likely they may be to need the very services marketed to expats.
Nobody wants to Google “immigrant accountant”
This is where things get interesting. Legally, there is no magic Czech residence category called Expat. The Czech authorities aren’t sitting in an office in Prague thinking “Hmm. Permanent residence. Czech language examination. Proof of accommodation. Ah yes… but is he an expat?”
They care about things like citizenship, residence rights, registration and the purpose of residence. But Google cares about something rather different.
What does the customer actually type into the search box?
And that is why businesses such as lawyers, accountants, property companies and financial advisers quite sensibly use the word expat.
Because if a non-Czech person living in the Czech Republic wants help with their pension, tax, property or investments, they are far more likely to search “Pension adviser for expats in Czech Republic” than “Financial adviser for immigrants in Czech Republic.”
The great expat paradox
So, we have a strange situation. The longer someone lives here, the less “expat” they may actually be in the everyday sense of the word.
Yet the longer they live here, the more likely they may be to need the very services marketed to expats.
After 20 years, you may have:
- Czech permanent residence
- a Czech bank account
- a Czech driving licence
- Czech tax obligations
- a Czech pension
- a Czech mortgage
- a Czech wife
- Czech children
- and a remarkably strong opinion about the quality of Czech road repairs.
But you are still an expat when you search Google.
Expat versus immigrant
There is also a slightly awkward social distinction.
Traditionally, an expatriate was someone living outside their own country. An immigrant was someone who had moved to another country to live. Simple enough, except that in modern English, the two words have acquired rather different baggage.
An executive sent to Prague for three years is almost certainly an expat. A person who moves permanently to Czechia and works in a Czech factory is more likely to be described as an immigrant.
Both are foreigners. Both may have the same residence permit. Both may pay exactly the same taxes. But somehow one is an expat and the other is an immigrant.
There is a joke hiding in there somewhere- An expat is an immigrant with better marketing.
And then there is the Czech word
The Czech language offers a rather more straightforward solution.
Cizinec–Foreigner. No lifestyle branding. No implied duration. No assumptions about income. Just: you are not Czech. It is wonderfully efficient.
English, meanwhile, has managed to turn living in another country into an identity crisis involving social class, nationality, intention, Google algorithms and whether you own a linen shirt.
So why does Aisa International call people expats?
Because language isn’t just about legal accuracy. It’s about how people identify themselves and how they search for information.
At Aisa, when we talk about “expats,” we’re generally talking about people who live in the Czech Republic but have some continuing connection with another country—particularly British and other international residents who need advice that crosses borders.
They might be here for five years, they might be here for fifty. They might even eventually become Czech citizens. They can call themselves whatever they like.
Google, however, has already made its decision. And Google says they’re expats.
The final irony
Perhaps the most accurate definition is therefore:
An expat is someone who lives abroad and doesn’t mind being called an expat.
An immigrant is someone who lives abroad and doesn’t particularly care what Google calls them.
And a Czech expat adviser?
That’s someone who knows the difference—but still puts “expat” in the website title because nobody searches for “cross-border financial planning for foreigners who have established permanent lives in Czechia.”
Well, not unless they’re writing a PhD. And that is why we will continue to use the word “expat.” Not because it is legally superior. Not because everyone living here is temporarily passing through.
But because it’s the word people recognise, the word they use, and—most importantly—the word they type into Google when they need help.
After all, there is no point being linguistically correct if nobody can find you.
