Week 6 Aliens in International Law

The term ‘Alien’ is generally associated with extraterrestrial beings on spaceships in outer space. In the legal aspect though, it refers to a foreign-born resident who is not a citizen by virtue of parentage or naturalization and who is still a citizen or subject of another country. It essentially means those who live in a state other than those of which they are nationals. The presence of such people in other states is legally termed as ‘aliens’. There are several variations to the term ‘alien’ that are as follows –

  1. Illegal Alien – It refers to a person who is residing in a country without any legal right to be there or without proper documentation. They may have entered a country through an illegal migration process.
  2. Legal Alien – It refers to a wide gamut of persons who are allowed to reside in a country either on a temporary or non-temporary basis such as tourists, permanent residents, student visa holders, etc.
  3. Enemy Alien – An enemy alien is a citizen or national of a country which is currently involved in any conflict or warfare with the country he currently resides in.

When a person enters a foreign country, he becomes conditional to the municipal laws of said country, unless he is a diplomatic agent or a recognized official of that foreign government. An alien will not have the same rights and duties as that of the nationals. The main disadvantage is that aliens posses no right of entitlement to enter or live in a foreign country. They are subject to several strict rules and procedures such as the obtainment of a visa, or national identity card which includes details of how long they may stay and where they may work and so on. The laws of the state in which the alien resides are applicable to him. Some laws of his origin country may alsoa be applicable but not enforceable. Aliens generally are not allowed to vote nor are they allowed to become government officials. Although, he will be liable to pay tax for his local residence. All basic human rights treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights apply to aliens. The treatment of enemy aliens may differ from the treatment of other legal aliens residing in the country due to the hostile nature of relations between the countries.

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