Categorization

• An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country. This is a very broad category which includes tourists, guest workers, legal permanent residents and student visa resident aliens.
• An alien who has temporary or permanent residence in a country (which is foreign to him/her) may be called a resident alien of that country. This is a subset of the aforementioned legal alien category.
• An alien who is visiting a country (which is foreign to him/her) may be called a nonresident alien of that country. This is a subset of the aforementioned legal alien category.
• An alien who is present in a country (which is foreign to him/her) unlawfully or without the country's authorization is known as an illegal alien of that country. An illegal alien commonly refers to a foreign national who resides in another country unlawfully, either by entering that country at a place other than a designated port-of-entry or as result of the expiration of a non-immigrant visa.
• An enemy alien
  Enemy alien
  In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
  
  is an alien who is a national of an enemy country.

Specific jurisdictions

• In U.S. law, an alien is "any person not a citizen or national of the United States." The U.S. Government's use of alien dates back to 1798, when it was used in the Alien and Sedition Acts
  Alien and Sedition Acts
  The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress in the aftermath of the French Revolution's reign of terror and during an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War. They were signed into law by President John Adams...
  
  . U.S. law makes a clear distinction between aliens and immigrants by defining immigrants as a subset of aliens. Although U.S. law provides no overarching explicit definition of the term "illegal alien," the term is used in many statutes and elsewhere (e.g., court cases, executive orders). U.S. law also uses the term "unauthorized alien." U.S. immigration laws do not refer to illegal immigrants, but in common parlance the term "illegal immigrant" is often used to refer to any illegal alien. Because at law, a corporation is a person, the term alien is not limited to natural humans because what are colloquially called foreign corporations are technically called alien corporations. Because corporations are creations of local state law, a foreign corporation is an out of state corporation.

• In Latvian passport
  Latvian passport
  Latvian passports are issued to citizens of Latvia for identity and international travel purposes. Receiving a valid passport is mandatory from the age of 15, but passports can be requested for younger children if needed for travel purposes...
  
  s, alien is used for non-citizens
  Non-citizens (Latvia)
  Non-citizens in Latvian law are individuals who are not citizens of Latvia or any other country but, who, in accordance with the Latvian law "Regarding the status of citizens of the former USSR who possess neither Latvian nor other citizenship", have the right to a non-citizen passport issued by...
  
   (nepilsoņi): former citizens of USSR
  Soviet Union
  The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
  
   who don have voting rights for parliament of Latvia but have specific rights and privileges under Latvian law and international bilateral treaties like they are simultaneosly allowed to travel without visas both to EU and Russia, that is not possible for citizens.

• In the United Kingdom, alien means a person who is not:
  • a British citizen
  • a citizen of Ireland,
  • a Commonwealth citizen
    Commonwealth citizen
    A Commonwealth citizen, which replaces the former category of British subject, is generally a person who is a national of any country within the Commonwealth of Nations....
    
    , or
  • a British protected person
    British protected person
    A British protected person is a member of class of certain persons under the British Nationality Act 1981 associated with former protected states, protectorates, mandated and trust territories under British control...
    
    .

See also

• Dual citizen
• Enemy alien
  Enemy alien
  In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
  
  
• Immigration
• Naturalization
  Naturalization
  Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
  
  
• Gaikokujin
• California Alien Land Law of 1913
  California Alien Land Law of 1913
  The California Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited "aliens ineligible for citizenship" from owning land or property, but permitted three-year leases. It affected the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Korean immigrant farmers in California. It passed thirty-five to two in the Senate and seventy-two to...
  
  
• Alien and Sedition Acts
  Alien and Sedition Acts
  The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress in the aftermath of the French Revolution's reign of terror and during an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War. They were signed into law by President John Adams...
  
  
• Non-citizens (Latvia)
  Non-citizens (Latvia)
  Non-citizens in Latvian law are individuals who are not citizens of Latvia or any other country but, who, in accordance with the Latvian law "Regarding the status of citizens of the former USSR who possess neither Latvian nor other citizenship", have the right to a non-citizen passport issued by...
  
  
• Illegal immigration
  Illegal immigration
  Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
  
  

External links

• Resident Alien Information
• Aliens (Encyclopedic Entry)
• D. C. Earnest Noncitizen Voting Rights: A Survey of an Emerging Democratic Norm, 2003
• University of Minnesota
  University of Minnesota
  The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
  
   Human Rights Center: Study Guide: The Rights of Non-Citizens, 2003
• UK Aliens' registration cards on The National Archives' website.
• Council of Europe
  Council of Europe
  The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
  
  Commission for Democracy through Law Report on noncitizens and minority rights, 2007
• The rights of non-citizens, UN OHCHR, 2006
• http://www.illegalaliennewsupdate.com