§ 17.041.Definition

The definition that sets the reach of the Texas long-arm statute.

In this subchapter, "nonresident" includes: an individual who is not a resident of this state; and a foreign corporation, joint-stock company, association, or partnership.

"Includes" rather than "means" is the first thing to notice. Under the Code Construction Act that is a term of enlargement, not limitation — the list is illustrative, so an entity form not named is not thereby excluded.

That matters, because the list dates from an era before the limited liability company. An out-of-state LLC appears nowhere in it, and the enlarging construction is what keeps the statute working.

"Foreign" here means out-of-state, not overseas. In Texas entity law a foreign corporation is one organised under the law of another jurisdiction — which includes another state as readily as another country.

The definition covers both natural persons and entities, which the operative provisions then treat identically. The acts constituting business in this state apply whoever performs them.

The section defines status, not conduct. Being a nonresident is what makes the long-arm subchapter available; whether Texas may exercise jurisdiction depends on the acts described in the section that follows, and ultimately on federal due process.

Note the parallel definitions provision in the nonresident motorist subchapter, which defines its own terms for that narrower regime rather than borrowing these.