The word immigration is used to define the movement of the people between different countries and continents. The histories of the ancient times have shown that people have shifted from all the different kinds of places and moved there are various levels also. The immigration today implies a long term shift of the people to different countries. The procedures have also changed today as compared to the older times like the shifting of the people through the various kinds of the legal options like the permanent residence. The people who are visiting these places for a shorter duration or time span are generally referred to as the tourists or the non immigrants. The immigration across to the other countries and places without the legal permission of the authorities is also known as the illegal immigration. In these cases the illegal immigrant is the foreigner who had infringed in to the borders of another country. These borders can be borders like political borders defined by the international standards which include the nation’s boundaries by water, land and air. The foreigner who intrudes in to the other countries through the initial legal procedure like the visa but then extends the stay or misuses the visa for tourists for working there is also a punishable offence. There are various kinds of temporary labour immigrants in many parts of the world but they are again seasonal. The nature of the stay here is non permanent and the stay period is less than a year.
The concept of the modern immigration today is vastly related to the developments of the nation or states and the concern for the nationality laws. The people who get the citizenship of the nation-state are liable to the inalienable right of residence in the same state. But the people who are unable to get the citizenship are set to the various conditions that the immigration laws imply. The emergence of what is also known as the nation states has led to the immigration procedure becoming a legal issue. The definition of the nation states is dependent upon the home land of the nation because of the ethnicity and the culture shared by the same. But with the world becoming a global village and the constant shifting of people from different countries for work, studies and other reasons has made all this a lot easier for the immigrants.