Flüchtling und migrant sind irgendwie nicht so ganz das Gleiche - oder?!

OALD:
economic migrant
noun
a person who moves from their own country to a new country in order to find work or have a better standard of living
They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants.

CALD:
economic migrant noun
a person who leaves their home country to live in another country with better work or living conditions

Macmillan:
economic migrant
noun [countable]
someone who goes to a new country because living conditions or opportunities for jobs are not good in their own country. This word is used by governments to show that a person is not considered a refugee (=someone who has been forced to leave their country for political reasons).

Duden:
Wirt|schafts|flücht|ling, der (auch abwertend): Flüchtling, der nicht aus politischen, sondern aus wirtschaftlichen Gründen sein Land ...

@Ralf: You have a point that the term Wirtschaftsflüchtling is an inherent contradiction if you interpret Flüchtling as a political refugee. However, the term is in use and means economic migrant.

Supported, except for the tags:
* This is a political term rather than an [econ.] one.
* I don't think the term is restricted to BE.

@Callunus: Please quote several reliable references in both languages for your proposals as required by the submission form.

Es gibt den Terminus Wirtschaftsmigrant

http://www.google.de/search?as_q=wirtschaftsm...

Wirtschaftsflüchtling ist einer dieser sachlich inkorrekten Bezeichnungen (so wie Lauschangriff oder DNA), die entweder aus Gedankenlosigkeit entstanden sind oder weil sich bei vielen, die als politische Flüchtlinge um Asyl ansuchen, herausstellt, dass sie Wirtschaftsmigranten sind.

oreg wrote: "You have a point that the term Wirtschaftsflüchtling is an inherent contradiction if you interpret Flüchtling as a political refugee. However, the term is in use and means economic migrant."

See above my suggestions: AFAIK, yes the terms are in use - but they have a different meaning.

Ralf, can you define what exactly you think is the difference?

I think it is the same in both languages:

With migrant (Migrant) there is no negative connotation. A migrant is going from one country to another voluntarily. There is no emphasis whether one is going from a country or going to a country.

With refugee there is a negative connotation. The refugee is fleeing/escaping from one country.

Both (all four) terms can relate to a variety of reasons, e.g. political, economical...

From the Refugee Council of Australia's FAQ:
Another term that one sometimes hears is "economic refugee". Again, this term is not correct. The accurate description of people who leave their country or place of residence because they want to seek a better life is "economic migrant".
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/arp/faqs.html

From the BBC's migration glossary:
Economic migrant
Someone who leaves behind their country of origin in order to improve their quality of life. The term is often used to refer to those attempting to enter a country without legal permission and/or those who asylum procedures without bona fide cause.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/3527123.s...

Economic Migrant or Hyphenated British by John Eade, Roehampton University
"The category of economic migrant suggests that people are arriving primarily to make as much money as possible before returning."
http://books.google.de/books?id=nr2724-bOfMC..."economic+migrant"

Ralf, you are explaining the difference between 'migrant' and 'refugee' rather than between "Wirtschaftsflüchtling" and 'economic migrant'. A "Wirtschaftsflüchtling", however, is not really a refugee. He is simply searching for a better standard of living. That's exactly what an 'economic migrant' is.

You're right that the term "Wirtschaftsflüchtling" has a negative connotation--but so does 'economic migrant' to some degree as the references above show.

(It is not clear if "Wirtschaftsmigrant" is really an established term. I don't think I've ever seen it before and it gets a mere 141 Google hits compared with 25,000 for "Wirtschaftsflüchtling".)

in # 07 Oreg wrote: 'A "Wirtschaftsflüchtling", however, is not really a refugee. He is simply searching for a better standard of living.'
There I a just do not agree with you. People leaving one country for another to evade income taxes e.g. are economic migrants not refugees. People who leave one country where the economical situation is catastrophic (unemployed, no governmental support, (nearly) starving to death) are economic refugees not migrants. Of course there is a political component to their situation but the economical outweighs the political by far.

Ralf, I provided several references for my argument. Could you quote some for yours?

Unfortunately I don't have anything at hand.

My attitude towards this topic is based on personal experience - expressed in verbal discussions.

I discussed it back then Germany with migrants and refugees from different regions. Now being a migrant myself I have discussions on this with other migrants from different regions again.

The overall comments lead to my conclusion .

Ich finde die Wortpaarung ist nach Beweislage so weit deckungsgleich, dass man es ins Wörterbuch aufnehmen kann. Die Diskussion bzw. die Übersetzungsaufgabe, die jetzt und hier geführt wird, ist eigentlich Aufgabe desjenigen, der in die eine oder andere Richtung übersetzen (muss) möchte.

Deswegen sind die Ansätze richtig und durch die Verlinkung werden künftig alle Interessierten daran teilhaben können.

Ich unterstütze Ralf-NZ. Ich lebe im Ausland, weil ich hier besser verdiene, könnte mich daher wohl als Wirtschaftsmigrant bezeichnen. Als Wirtschaftsflüchtling würde ich mich nie und nimmer bezeichnen (lassen)!