Responsibilities of the border guards at land border gates from July 31, 2023 in Vietnam

Responsibilities of the border guards at land border gates from July 31, 2023 in Vietnam (Internet image)

The Government of Vietnam issued Decree 34/2023/ND-CP dated June 16, 2023 amending Decree 112/2014/ND-CP on border gate management.

Responsibilities of the border guards at land border gates from July 31, 2023 in Vietnam

Specifically, Decree 34/2023/ND-CP amends Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 112/2014/ND-CP on the responsibilities of border guards at land border gates as follows:

- Advise the Ministry of National Defense on the implementation of state management of border gates under the responsibility of the Ministry of National Defense;

- Manage and protect national borders, the system of national landmarks, border markers, and signs, border works in border-gate areas, and border-gate works; assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with agencies and organizations in, maintaining security, social order, and safety, and protecting the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations, and individuals in border-gate areas in accordance with law;

- Control entry and exit at border gates managed by the Ministry of National Defense; carry out border-guard procedures, grant, amend, supplement, and cancel visas; and grant temporary residence certificates in accordance with the law on entry and exit;

Inspect and handle violations of the law on entry and exit at border gates under the management of the Ministry of National Defense; inspect and control vehicles when there are signs of law violations; handle law-breaking vehicles in border areas or border gates according to law provisions;

- Coordinate the inspection and supervision of goods and articles exported and imported through border gates, ensuring the security of exported and imported goods; preventing and combating smuggling and commercial fraud;

- Assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with specialized state management agencies at the border gate in, formulating regulations on the coordination of activities in performing tasks at the border gate.

** Land border gate means a place where exit, entry, transit, import, export and movements across the national land border take place. Border gates include land border gates, railway border gates and inland waterway border gates.(Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 112/2014/ND-CP)

Acts prohibited in land border gate areas in Vietnam

According to Article 7 of Decree 112/2014/ND-CP, the acts prohibited in land border gate areas include:

- Using counterfeit passports and papers or passports and papers contrary to the provisions of Vietnamese law; organizing illegal exit and entry, sending, receiving, guiding and transporting people on illegal exit or entry.

- Propagating for, inciting or committing acts of undermining security, causing troubles or public disorder, causing hindrances to lawful circulation activities at border gates; declining to abide by or obstructing the inspection and control by specialized state management agencies at border gates; illegally using, trading in and transporting documents and objects containing information on military secrets and state secrets, and harmful books, papers and cultural products.

- Seeing off or receiving people, transporting, loading and unloading cargo not at designed places, entering restricted areas.

- Badly affecting public sanitation, causing environmental pollution and other acts adversely affecting the landscapes of border gates.

- Other activities in contravention of Vietnamese laws and treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

More details can be found in Decree 34/2023/ND-CP, effective from July 31, 2023.

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