Article 3 of the Mexican Immigration Law

For the purposes of this Law, the following definitions shall apply:

I. Immigration authority, the public servant who exercises the legal authority expressly conferred to perform certain functions and acts of authority in immigration matters;

II. Readmission Agreement: the act by which the Secretariat determines to authorize the entry into the country of a foreigner previously deported;

III. Asylee: any foreigner who is recognized as such under the terms of the Law on Refugees, Complementary Protection and Political Asylum;

IV. Stateless person: any person who is not considered as a national by any State, according to its legislation. The law shall grant equal treatment to persons who have a nationality but whose nationality is not effective.

V. Social Assistance Center: The establishment, place or space for alternative care or residential foster care for children and adolescents without parental or family care provided by public and private institutions and associations;

VI. Evaluation Center: The Evaluation and Confidence Control Center of the National Immigration Institute;

VII. Condition of stay: the regular situation in which a foreigner is placed according to his/her intention of residence and, in some cases, according to the activity he/she will develop in the country, or according to humanitarian or international solidarity criteria.

VIII. Constitution: the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States;

IX. Quota: the maximum number of foreigners to enter the country to work either in general by economic activity or by zone of residence.

X. Human rights defender: any person or civil society organization that individually or collectively promotes or seeks the protection or realization of human rights, fundamental freedoms and individual guarantees at the national or international level.

XI. Migratory Station: the physical facility established by the Institute to temporarily house foreigners who cannot prove their regular migratory status, while their migratory status is being resolved;

XII. Foreigner: a person who does not have the status of Mexican, in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Constitution;

XIII. Migratory review filter: the space located in the place destined for the international transit of persons, where the Institute authorizes or rejects the regular internment of persons into the territory of the United Mexican States;

XIV. Institute: The National Institute of Migration;

XV. Law: the present Law;

XVI. Place for the international transit of persons: the physical space established by the Secretariat for the passage of persons from one country to another;

XVII. Mexican: a person who possesses the qualities determined in Article 30 of the Constitution;

XVIII. Migrant: an individual who leaves, transits or arrives in the territory of a State other than that of his/her residence for any type of motivation.

XIX. Migrant child or adolescent: any migrant person, national or foreign, under eighteen years of age. Children are those under twelve years of age, and adolescents are those between twelve years of age and less than eighteen years of age.

When there is doubt as to whether a person is over eighteen years of age, it shall be presumed that he/she is an adolescent. When there is doubt as to whether it is a person over or under twelve years of age, it shall be presumed to be a child;

XX. Unaccompanied migrant child or adolescent: any migrant person under eighteen years of age who is not accompanied by the adult person exercising parental authority, who has custody of him/her, by his/her guardian or adult person under whose care he/she is habitually by custom;

XXI. Accompanied migrant child or adolescent: any migrant person under eighteen years of age who is accompanied by the adult person who exercises parental authority, has custody or guardianship over him or her or by his or her guardian;

XXII. Separated migrant child or adolescent: any migrant person under eighteen years of age who is accompanied by an adult person under whose care he/she is usually found by custom and not by virtue of law;

XXIII. Consular office: representations of the Mexican State before the government of another country in which the following functions are performed on a permanent basis: to protect Mexicans located in its circumscription, to promote commercial, economic, cultural and scientific relations between both countries and to issue documentation to Mexicans and foreigners in terms of the Mexican Foreign Service Law and its Regulations;

XXIV. Presentation: the measure issued by the Institute through which the temporary housing of a foreigner who does not prove his immigration status is agreed upon for the regularization of his stay or assistance for his return.

XXV. Offices of the Attorney General for the Protection of Children and Adolescents: the Federal Office of the Attorney General for the Protection of Children and Adolescents and the offices of the Attorney General for the Protection of Children and Adolescents of each federal entity;

XXVI. Complementary protection: the protection granted by the Secretariat to a foreigner who has not been recognized as a refugee, consisting of not returning him to the territory of another country where his life would be threatened or he would be in danger of being subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

XXVII. Refugee: any foreigner who is in national territory and who is recognized as a refugee by the competent authorities, in accordance with the international treaties and conventions to which the Mexican State is a party and the legislation in force;

XXVIII. Regulations: the Regulations of this Law;

XXIX. Assisted return is the procedure by which the National Immigration Institute makes a foreigner leave the national territory, sending him/her back to his/her country of origin or habitual residence;

XXX. Remuneration: the payments received by persons in the territory of the United Mexican States for the rendering of a subordinated personal service or for the rendering of an independent professional service;

XXXI. Secretariat: The Secretariat of the Interior;

XXXII. Professional Migratory Career Service: the mechanism that guarantees equal opportunities for the entry, permanence and development of the Institute’s public servants in positions of trust.

XXXIII. Immigration status: the legal hypothesis in which a foreigner is placed according to the compliance or noncompliance with the immigration provisions for his entry and stay in the country. It is considered that the foreigner has a regular migratory situation when he/she has complied with such provisions and that he/she has an irregular migratory situation when he/she has not complied with such provisions;

XXXIV. Residence card: the document issued by the Institute with which foreigners accredit their regular migratory situation of temporary or permanent residence;

XXXV. Immigration proceedings: Any request or delivery of information made by individuals and legal entities before the immigration authority, in order to comply with an obligation, obtain a benefit or service of an immigration nature so that a resolution may be issued, as well as any other document that such persons are obliged to keep, not including those documents or information that only have to be submitted in case of a requirement of the Institute, and

XXXVI. Visa: the authorization granted in a consular office that evidences the accreditation of the requirements to obtain a condition of stay in the country and that is expressed by means of a document that is printed, adhered or attached to a passport or other document. The visa may also be granted through electronic means and records and may be called electronic or virtual visa. The visa authorizes the foreigner to go to a place for the international transit of persons and request, depending on the type of visa, his/her stay, provided that the other requirements for entry are met.