Only in recent years have immigrant workers, assigned expatriates, and self-initiated expatriates been distinguished from each other. This study contributes by offering empirically based comparative results based on interviews with 50 Portuguese citizens who moved to the United Kingdom, as self-initiated expatriates, assigned expatriates, and immigrant workers. The findings indicate that Portuguese self-initiated expatriates and assigned expatriates explored their opportunities before leaving Portugal, while immigrant workers explored them after arriving in the United Kingdom. Self-initiated expatriates and immigrant workers were driven by poor labor market situation in Portugal (e.g., unemployment, unchallenging tasks), but pull factors (e.g., professional international experience) were also identified as dominant motivators for both types of expatriates. Participants generally felt that their adaptation was easy in terms of the general (e.g., climate, food) and working (e.g., knowing one’s role and job related activities) environments. Some self-initiated expatriates and immigrant workers noted that their adaptation to interactions with locals and to accommodation was difficult. Patterns emerged linking the three types of migrant workers with motivational drivers for moving abroad and perceptions of cross-cultural adaptation. We discuss these patterns in the light of previous findings and identify future research areas. © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017.

Immigrant worker Cross-cultural adaptation motivation Migrant worker self-initiated expatriate immigration/migration assigned expatriate Qualitative study

male United Kingdom perception female human immigrant market unemployment driver migrant worker climate Portugal qualitative research interview motivation immigration Portuguese (citizen) human experiment