I thought the "joke" was that expats are white, immigrants are not?

Definitely true on the whole, but perhaps identity is not the most productive lens to look through.

As a white expat/immigrant to the UK, I think it's more about whether you've committed to never returning. It's a very different mindset I find, between those who've moved and are staying put, vs those with the idea of leaving in the back of their minds. The privilege of the expat is being able to hedge for a very long time.

Still "immigrants" get accused of hedging their bets while still not afforded the "expat" moniker.

"Immigrants won't commit to their new country"

"They move their wealth abroad" etc.

I think that's fair. With respect to Westerners living in Asia there is also definitely a language/culture thing with stereotypical expats mostly hanging out with other expats and going to expat bars, restaurants, etc.

I make a distinction between a highly educated Japanese person working at a university and a boat refugee from Sudan.

Got nothing to do with race. We are a civilised people we judge on economics.

And you never let race be a shorthand for economics either.

Naah, they use method of conveyance for that.

Expats are yacht refugees, not boat.