who said expats needed to be white

This is somewhere else on the forum, can't remember where.

I'm an expat, or a foreigner, or an immigrant.
It depends who wants to label me, and why they wish to do so.

i really should be working but this is interesting, so...

i always assumed people were called what they were, regardless of race. i'm asian and when we moved to the states, we were immigrants. same for a few european people i met who had actually moved there with the intention of permanently becoming part of the local workforce and staying indefinitely. we also knew a few asian families who'd lived in the states for years but were "sent there" by korean or japanese companies. they were referred to as expats.

now in bali (and jakarta), it just seems that everyone who is a foreigner is an expat - from what i can see, no one seems to differentiate on why you're here (local employment vs foreign employment) or how long you intend to stay.

overall, from my personal observations, the titles seem to depend less on ethnicity and more on the place in question. there are countries that tend to draw more immigration, as in people intending to work in local jobs and settle down permanently (US, canada, australia, UK, germany, etc) and countries that tend to draw more "expats," as in people who want to live there 'cause the weather's lovely but don't necessarily intend to work in local jobs or settle down permanently

Race, color or creed has nothing to do about whether you are an expat. If you are working in another country then you are an expat.
However there are labels such as TCN, third country national, OFW, overseas foreign worker. Regardless of these you are an expat.

Hi,
I have been living in Bali for almost 13 years now, working for 8 years and since then retired. I was a working Expat and now I am a retired expat. Race, background doesn't matter, if you live full time you are an expat. I'm "lovin" it.
This is my first post so still working my way around the site.
You gracesiously answered my enquiry about tickets to baseball in South Korea. This will be the first trip there so Alas no friends there as yet that may be able to purchase tickets for. Still trying every avenue that I can think of. Thanks for your help.

I suspect that Milt will appreciate this…he being a seasoned Baliophile. 

As far as the Balinese are concerned, what they consider you to be very often depends on exactly where you are from.  And that of course has far more significance than what some journalist might assign to you as a label. 

Have fun on the forum Milt! 

Cheers!