immigante

Immigante is a term used in Italian to refer to a person who migrates into a country from abroad. It denotes individuals who move to another nation with the intention of settling, whether for work, study, family reunification, or refuge. The corresponding counterpart for a person who leaves their country is emigrante. In Italian, the word is used without implying any particular legal status, and gender is typically indicated by the surrounding article or adjective, resulting in forms such as un immigrante (masculine) or un'immigrante (feminine).

The word derives from the Latin immigrare, meaning to move into a new place. The prefix im- conveys direction toward, while migrare means to move or depart. Over time, many Romance languages built cognate terms for migration into a country, such as immigante in Italian, inmigrante in Spanish, and imigrante in Portuguese, each adapted to its own phonology and grammar.

In sociopolitical discourse, immigrante is used in discussions of immigration policy, demographics, and integration. Legal status, rights, and obligations of immigrants vary by country and can include temporary visas, permanent residency, asylum procedures, and pathways to citizenship. Sociocultural considerations—such as language acquisition, employment, education, and access to services—are commonly analyzed in debates about immigration and its impact on both the receiving society and migrant individuals.

See also: emigrante, inmigración/imigração, immigration.