Legal Definitions - immigrant

Definition: An immigrant is a person who comes to a new country to live there permanently. They are also known as someone who immigrates. This is different from an emigrant, who leaves their home country to live in a new one. An alien immigrant is someone who has not yet become a citizen of their new country.

Examples:

• A family from Mexico moves to the United States to start a new life. They are immigrants.
• An individual from China moves to Canada to work and live there permanently. They are also an immigrant.
• An alien immigrant from Russia is living in the United States but has not yet become a citizen.

These examples illustrate the definition of an immigrant as someone who moves to a new country to live there permanently. The first two examples show families and individuals who have made the decision to leave their home country and start a new life in a new place. The third example shows someone who is still in the process of becoming a citizen of their new country.