law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, an alien is generally any

person A person (: people or persons, depending on context) is a being who has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations suc ...

(including an

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences) is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

) who is not a

citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

or a national of a specific

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, although definitions and terminology differ across

legal systems The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four major legal traditions: civil law (legal system), civil law, common law, customary law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country i ...

Lexicology

The term "alien" is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

'. The Latin later came to mean a stranger, a foreigner, or someone not related by blood. Similar terms to "alien" in this context include ''foreigner'' and ''lander''.

Common law jurisdictions

An "alien" in

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

denoted any person born outside of the monarch's dominions and who did not owe allegiance to the monarch. Aliens were not allowed to own

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

and were subject to different taxes to subjects. This idea was passed on in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

to other common law jurisdictions.

Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, citizenship is defined in the

Australian nationality law The primary law governing nationality of Australia is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is applicable in all states and territories of Australia. All persons born in Australia before 20 August 198 ...

. Non-citizens in Australia are permanent residents, temporary residents, or illegal residents (technically called "unlawful non-citizens"). Most non-citizens (including those who lack citizenship documents) traveling to Australia must obtain a visa prior to travel. The only exceptions to the rule are holders of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

passports and citizenship, who may apply for a visa on arrival according to the

Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement (TTTA) is an arrangement between Australia and New Zealand which allows for the free movement of citizens of one of these countries to the other. The arrangement came into effect in 1973, and allows citizens of ...

. In 2020, in ''

Love v Commonwealth ''Love v Commonwealth; Thoms v Commonwealth'' is a decision of the High Court of Australia. It is an important case in Australian constitutional law, deciding that Aboriginal Australians are not " aliens" for the purposes of section 51(xix) of ...

'', the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

ruled that

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

(as defined in '' Mabo v Queensland (No 2)'') cannot be considered aliens under the

Constitution of Australia The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a Federation of Australia, ...

, regardless of whether they were born in Australia or hold Australian citizenship.

Canada

In Canada, the term "alien" is not used in federal statutes. Instead, the term "

" serves as its equivalent and is found in legal documents. The ''

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act The ''Immigration and Refugee Protection Act'' (IRPA) (, LIPR) is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, administered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), that replaced the '' Immigration A ...

'' defines "foreign national" as "a person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, and includes a stateless person."

United Kingdom

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the British Nationality Act of 1981 defines an alien as a person who is not a

British citizen The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...

, a citizen of Ireland, a

Commonwealth citizen A Commonwealth citizen is a citizen of a Commonwealth of Nations member state. Most member countries generally do not treat citizens of other Commonwealth states any differently from foreign nationals, but may grant limited citizenship rights ...

, or a

British protected person A British protected person (BPP) is a member of a class of British nationality associated with former protectorates, protected states, and territorial mandates and trusts under British control. Individuals with this nationality are British ...

. The Aliens Act of 1905, the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act of 1914 and the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act of 1919 were all products of the turbulence in the early part of the 20th century.

United States

In the United States, the term "alien" is as synonymous with

. (explaining that "the term 'foreign national' means.... (2) an individual who is not a citizen of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 1101(a)(22) of title 8) and who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined by section 1101(a)(20) of title 8."). Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States, " e term 'alien' means any person not a

or national of the United States." ("The term 'person' means an individual or an organization.") People born in

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

or on Swains Island are statutorily "non-citizen nationals." Others, such as natives of

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

and the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

, are legal immigrants and aliens for INA purposes. Every

that is admitted to the United States under automatically becomes an "immigrant" and then a "special immigrant" after receiving a

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

Naturalization ceremony at Kennedy Space Center

The usage of the term "alien" dates back to 1790, when it was used in the Naturalization Act and then 1798 when it was used in the

Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were a set of four United States statutes that sought, on national security grounds, to restrict immigration and limit 1st Amendment protections for freedom of speech. They were endorsed by the Federalist Par ...

. Although the INA provides no overarching explicit definition of the term "illegal alien", it is mentioned in a number of provisions under title 8 of the US code.See, e.g., ; ; ; ("An illegal alien ... is any alien ... who is in the United States unlawfully...."); Several provisions even mention the term "unauthorized alien". According to

PolitiFact PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times ...

, the term "illegal alien" occurs in federal law, but does so scarcely, writing that, "where the term does appear, it's undefined or part of an introductory title or limited to apply to certain individuals convicted of felonies.” Since the U.S. law says that 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. There are a multitude of unique and highly complex U.S. domestic tax laws and regulations affecting the U.S. tax residency of foreign nationals, both nonresident aliens and resident aliens, in addition to income tax and social security tax treaties and totalization agreements. "Alienage", i.e., citizenship status, has been prohibited since 1989 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from being considered for employment, under that town's Human Rights legislation.

Other jurisdictions

Arab states

In the

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ), is a Regional integration, regional, intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Ba ...

(United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar), many non-natives have lived in the region since birth. However, these Arab states do not easily grant citizenship to non-natives. Most stateless Bedoon in Kuwait belong to indigenous northern tribes.

Notes and references

External links

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentBiden seeks to replace 'alien' with less 'dehumanizing term' in immigration laws
(''NBC News'', Jan. 22, 2021)
Aliens - International Law - Oxford Bibliographies
(24 July 2013)
The rights of non-citizens

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

, 2006 *

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Commission for Democracy through La
report on noncitizens and minority rights
2007 *D. C. Earnes
Noncitizen Voting Rights: A Survey of an Emerging Democratic Norm
2003 *

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Human Rights Center
Study Guide: The Rights of Non-Citizens
2003
UK Aliens' registration cards on The National Archives' website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alien American legal terminology Expatriates Human migration Immigration law Nationality People by legal status Strangers United States immigration law Concepts in political philosophy