Leaving one’s homeland is not an easy decision to make, yet hundreds of people around the world make this impossible decision to leave their countries in search of safety and better lives. People often believe there is no difference between immigrants and refugees, but for economic, social and legal reasons, understanding the difference is crucial.

There are many reasons why people around the world are trying to reconstruct their lives in a foreign country. Some do it to get a job or an education. Others are forced to escape persecution or abuses of human rights, such as torture.

Who is a refugee?

Refugees are people forced to flee their home countries owing to war, environmental disasters, political repression and/or religious or ethnic intolerance. They are unable to return home until conditions in their motherlands are safe for them again. According to the UNHCRR, there were 19.5 million of them worldwide by the end of 2014. Refugees have the right to be protected internationally.

Who is an Immigrant?

An immigrant is someone who makes a voluntary decision to leave his or her home and move to a foreign country with the intent of living there.

Some migrants leave their country because they want to work, study or be with family. Others migrate because of poverty, political instability, natural disasters or other severe conditions.

"In order to improve the future prospects of themselves and their families, migrants choose to move," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "Whereas refugees move to save their lives or protect their freedom”.

The distinction between the two is vital, since certain legal protections for refugees were outlined by an international convention in 1951, while migrants have no such rights. Refugees are shielded from deportation or returning to conditions that could endanger their lives. They are to be provided access to social services and introduced into the culture of their new country. Migrants are subject to the immigration laws and procedures of a country and may be turned away or deported back to their country of citizenship.