In the 19th century, Americans, numbering perhaps in the thousands, were drawn to Europe—especially to Munich and Paris—to study the art of painting. Henry James, for instance, was a famous expatriate American writer from the 1870s, who adopted England as his home.
The term 'expatriate' in some countries also has a legal context used for tax purposes. An expatriate living in a country can receive a favourable tax treatment. In this context a person can only be an expatriate if they move to a country other than their own to work with the intent of returning to their home country within a certain period. The number of years can vary per tax jurisdiction, but 5 years is the most commonly used maximum period. If you are not affected by taxes 3 years is normally the maximum time spent in one country.[clarification needed]
During the Nazi era, the German government deprived many left-wing and intellectual opponents of citizenship through expatriation, such as Albert Einstein, Oskar Maria Graf, Willy Brandt and Thomas Mann, often