The Offense: Illegal Transfer of a Migrant across the Border
Under the Criminal Code of Georgia, it is a crime to transfer a migrant illegally across the state border of Georgia and to create appropriate conditions for a migrant’s illegal stay in Georgia, in other words to facilitate it, in violation of the rules established by Georgian legislation. The offense is two-pronged: it covers both the unlawful crossing of the border by assisting the migrant and the arrangement of conditions for an unlawful stay. What is punished under this article is the person who helps the migrant cross the border outside the statutory procedure, not the migrant himself.
For the basic offense, the law prescribes punishment in two forms: expulsion of the foreigner from Georgia with a ban on entry into Georgia for a term of two to ten years, or imprisonment for a term of two to five years. The first variant of the penalty is aimed at removing the offending foreigner from the country, while the second entails actual custody. For the defense, it is decisive that both penalties are alternative: the prosecution cannot claim as a matter of course which model the court must choose.
Aggravating Circumstances
The same act is punished more severely when committed: more than once; against two or more persons; by creating danger to the migrant’s life or health; by inhuman or degrading treatment of the migrant, including exploitation; or with the use of forged documents. In these cases the punishment is expulsion of the foreigner from Georgia with a ban on entry for a term of five to twenty years or indefinitely, or imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.
Particularly grave is the composition where the act provided for by the first or second part is committed by an organized group, or where it caused the death of a migrant or another grave consequence. Here the punishment is expulsion of the foreigner from Georgia with a ban on entry for a term of five to twenty years or indefinitely, or imprisonment for a term of eight to fifteen years. It is also noteworthy that a legal person is punished for an act provided for by this article by deprivation of the right to carry on activity or by liquidation and a fine.
Lines of Defense in Cases of This Category
Defense in such cases is multilayered. The first question is the illegality of the transfer: the lawful rules for crossing the border are established by separate regulation, and the prosecution must prove the specific fact of violation. The second layer is the subjective side — the person’s intent and knowledge that the person was a migrant and that his transfer or stay was unlawful. The third layer is the classification of the aggravating features: repetition, action against two or more persons, danger to life and health, inhuman treatment, and forged documents — each of these must be proven by the prosecution separately. The rules of procedure, the assessment of evidence, and the individualization of punishment are governed by other norms of criminal procedure, and the exact boundaries of each aggravating feature frequently become the battlefield of the trial.
The Nature of the Penalty and Legal Person Liability
The two forms of punishment under this article are interchangeable: expulsion combined with an entry ban is a specific form of responsibility tied to the foreigner’s presence in the country, while imprisonment means classic custody. The term of the ban ranges from two to ten years for the basic offense, and in aggravated cases it is applied for five to twenty years or indefinitely — the latter meaning that the ban has no predetermined time limit fixed in advance.
Particular attention is devoted to the liability of legal persons: for an act provided for by this article, a legal person is punished by deprivation of the right to carry on activity or by liquidation and a fine. This means that for an involved company the risk reaches the suspension of business or its outright dissolution, which compels organizations operating transport and migration services to maintain serious internal control systems. The measure of the fine is determined under a separate procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions about Liability under This Article
What punishment applies to the basic offense?
Expulsion of the foreigner and an entry ban for two to ten years, or imprisonment for two to five years.
Which circumstances aggravate the act?
Commission more than once, against two or more persons, with danger to the migrant’s life or health, with inhuman or degrading treatment including exploitation, and with the use of forged documents.
What happens in the case of an organized group or a death?
The penalty rises: an entry ban for five to twenty years or indefinitely, or imprisonment for eight to fifteen years.
Is a legal person punishable?
Yes — by deprivation of the right to carry on activity or by liquidation and a fine.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The advocates working on Legal.ge defend charges under this article from the very first stage: we analyze the qualification of the accusation, study the case file, identify the points where aggravating features remain unproven, take part in interrogations and expert examinations, and prepare appeals. If you or a relative has faced an accusation connected with a migrant, contact us through the Legal.ge website without delay — timely reaction changes the outcome in these cases to the greatest extent.