Third Country National Third Country National ( TCN ) is a term often used in the context of migration , referring to individuals who are in transit and / or applying for visas in countries that are not their country of origin ( i . e . country of transit ) , in order to go to destination countries that is likewise not their country of origin . In the European Union , the term is often used , together with " foreign national " and " non - EU foreign national " , to refer to individuals who are neither from the EU country in which they are currently living or staying , nor from other member states of the European Union . In terms of employment , the term is often used to designate " an employee working temporarily in an assignment country , who is neither a national of the assignment country nor of the country in which the corporate headquarters is located . " In the US , it is often used to describe individuals of other nationalities hired by a government or government sanctioned contractor who represent neither the contracting government nor the host country or area of operations . This is most often those performing on government contracts in the role of a private military contractor . The term can also be used to describe foreign worker s employed by private industry and citizens in a country such as Kuwait in which it is common to outsource work to non - citizens . Use of the term in the US . Generally speaking , the US government classifies contract personnel under one of three headings : Examples of this hierarchy are as follows : Contract personnel being used by the US government to fight the global war on terror in Iraq consist of Expats , namely those personnel of US citizenship that represent a private military contractor being contracted by the US Government , Indigenous Iraqi and Kurdish personnel and TCNs such as are currently being employed by many of the Private Military Contracting Firms currently under contract . TCNs such as have been employed by the United States military ( through contractors ) for operations in the Middle East for many years . The accommodations , security , and treatment of TCNs can vary greatly from the way that U . S . and multinational coalition personnel are treated . Their contracts often require them to work for four years continuously without a break to return to their home countries . Many TCN contractors have also been lured by preemployment deals that have guaranteed them the job as long as they give a percentage of their pay to an ' employment agent ' or ' representative ' . TCN housing compounds are generally in less secure areas outside of the main base . As a result many TCNs in such high - risk areas have been injured or killed , however most military installations will provide life - saving medical care as required . Since April 2006 , the Pentagon now demands that contractors fight labor trafficking and low quality working conditions in Iraq endured by tens of thousands of low - paid south Asians working under US - funded contracts in Iraq . In an April 19 memorandum to all Pentagon contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan , the Joint Contracting Command demands that the widespread practice of taking away workers passports come to end . Contractors engaging in the practice , states the memo , must immediately " cease and desist . " " All passports will be returned to employees by 1 May 06 . This requirement will be flowed down to each of your subcontractors performing work in this theater . " Despite the Pentagon crackdown , civilian contractors still report problems of poor working conditions .