How is the crime of organizing illegal border crossing handled?

Reply:

- Illegal border crossing is the act of crossing a national border without completing exit and entry procedures according to legal regulations.

- The crime of smuggling people across the border illegally is the act of illegally smuggling people into and out of the country (without completing immigration procedures according to the law).

The crime of illegally smuggling people across the border is regulated in Article 349 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017 as follows:

1. Anyone who organizes or brokers for others to flee abroad or stay abroad illegally, if not falling under the cases specified in Article 120 of this Code, shall be subject to imprisonment from 01 year to 05 years.

2. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 05 years to 10 years:

a) Abusing position and power;

b) Committing the crime 02 times or more;

c) For 05 to 10 people;

d) Professional in nature;

d) Illegal profits from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000;

e) Dangerous recidivism.

3. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 07 to 15 years:

a) For 11 or more people;

b) Illegal profits of VND 500,000,000 or more;

c) Causing death.

4. The offender may also be fined from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 or banned from holding positions, practicing a profession or doing certain jobs from 01 to 05 years.

In addition, if illegal border crossing during the epidemic season causes an outbreak, one can also be prosecuted for the crime of spreading dangerous infectious diseases to people as prescribed in Article 240 of the 2015 Penal Code, specifically:

1. Anyone who commits one of the following acts, causing the spread of a dangerous infectious disease to people, shall be subject to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 or imprisonment from 01 year to 05 years:

a) Taking out or allowing the taking out of an epidemic area of ​​animals, plants, animal or plant products or other items that are capable of transmitting dangerous epidemics to humans, except in cases where the law provides otherwise;

b) Bringing into or allowing to be brought into the territory of Vietnam animals, plants or animal or plant products that are infected with diseases or carry dangerous pathogens that can be transmitted to humans;

c) Other acts that spread dangerous diseases to people.

2. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 05 years to 10 years:

a) Leading to the declaration of an epidemic under the authority of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee or the Minister of Health;

b) Causing death.

3. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 10 to 12 years:

a) Leading to the declaration of an epidemic under the authority of the Prime Minister;

b) Causing the death of two or more people.

4. The offender may also be fined from VND 20,000,000 to VND 100,000,000, banned from holding positions, practicing a profession or doing certain jobs from 01 to 05 years.