Third-country nationals often abbreviated as TCNs, refer to individuals who are not citizens of the country where they are seeking employment. In the field of human resources, this term is commonly used to describe foreign workers who come from a country other than the one in which they are working.

Example
An American corporation hires an Indian software developer to work at their headquarters in the United States. In this scenario, the Indian software developer is considered a third-country national because they are not a U.S. citizen and are working in the U.S. as a foreign national. Human resources professionals may need to navigate visa regulations and work permits for third-country nationals in such cases.