immigration

immigration — noun

1. the process of entering and settling in a country that is not your own, usually

1.名詞B2
釋義

the process of entering and settling in a country that is not your own, usually in order to live there permanently.

例句

After years of paperwork, Tuan's family finally received their immigration visa to join relatives in Melbourne.

immigration + visa / paperwork

Kemi read several books about the history of immigration to the United States in the early twentieth century.

同義詞
  • resettlement

    more formal; often used by governments and aid agencies for relocating refugees

  • relocation

    broader meaning; can be within the same country, not necessarily across borders

  • influx

    focuses on the large number of people arriving over a short time, not the process

反義詞
  • emigration

    leaving your own country to live elsewhere — the opposite direction of movement

文法句型

immigration + to / from (country)

用法筆記

Uncountable noun: not 'an immigration' or 'many immigrations'. Use quantifiers such as 'a wave of immigration', 'levels of immigration', or 'the rate of immigration'. Frequently appears as a noun modifier: 'immigration policy', 'immigration law', 'immigration history'.

常見錯誤

❌The immigration to Canada is popular among Hong Kongers.
✅Immigration to Canada is popular among Hong Kongers.
💡'immigration' is uncountable; do not use an article.
❌There are many immigrations from India every year.
✅There is a lot of immigration from India every year.
💡use 'a lot of / a high level of' instead of a plural form.

2. the place at an airport, seaport, or land border where officials check your pass

2.名詞B1
釋義

the place at an airport, seaport, or land border where officials check your passport and travel documents to decide whether you can enter the country.

例句

The queue at immigration stretched all the way back to the departure gates, so we nearly missed our connecting flight.

queue / line at immigration

The immigration officer asked Defne how long she planned to stay and where she would be living.

immigration officer + questions about stay

同義詞
  • border control

    broader term that may include both people and goods checks

  • passport control

    specifically the desk where passports are checked; more common in British airports

  • customs

    often confused with 'immigration'; 'customs' checks what you bring into the country, not your identity

文法句型

go / get through immigration

at immigration

用法筆記

Frequently used without an article in phrases such as 'go through immigration', 'at immigration', or 'pass through immigration'. In this sense 'immigration' refers to a physical place and process at a border, not to the broader social phenomenon described in sense 1. Can be further distinguished from 'customs', which checks goods rather than people.

常見錯誤

❌I waited in the immigration for two hours.
✅I waited at immigration for two hours.
💡use 'at' not 'in' when referring to the checkpoint.
❌We passed through the immigrations quickly.
✅We passed through immigration quickly.
💡no plural form in this sense.