To leave your own country in order to live in another one. It focuses on the leaving side of the move.
From Latin 'emigrare' meaning 'to move away,' from 'e-' (out) + 'migrare' (to move, migrate). English developed 'emigrate' (to leave) and 'immigrate' (to enter) as paired opposites. The difference depends on the direction you’re thinking from.
The 'e-' in 'emigrate' means 'out,' while the 'im-' in 'immigrate' means 'in'—they’re the same journey seen from opposite shores. To your old country, you’re an emigrant; to your new one, you’re an immigrant. The language itself changes its label depending on who’s telling the story.
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