November 7, 2022, the Government promulgated Decree on controlling and maintaining security and order in air border gate.
This Decree prescribes control and maintenance of national security, social order and safety in air border gates; responsibilities of ministries, central departments, and People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities where air border gates are located; responsibilities of field-specific authorities in air border gates.
Air border gate areas include areas where exit, entry, transit of people and vehicles, export, import, transit of commodities take place, area clearly defined, and are notified using signs as per the law, including:
a) Passenger terminal: areas where exit, entry, transit procedures for people and transport vehicles are completed; areas where customs procedures are completed; baggage carousel; storage of luggage, checked luggage, and lost luggage;
b) Cargo terminal for export, import, transit; export storage; import storage;
c) Aircraft aprons: sections for entry, exit, transit aircrafts; sections for unloading, transshipment, storage of import, export, and transshipped goods;
d) Other sections relating to entry, exit, transit, of people; export, import, and transit of goods and transport in case international flights are granted access to locations that are other than airports.
Immigration sterile areas within air border gates start from check-in desks to aircraft doors and vice versa. If aircrafts park in aprons, the space inside passenger transport from departure gate to doors of aircrafts and from doors of aircrafts to entrances to areas for entry procedures is considered an immigration sterile area.
Passenger flow:
- For inbound passengers, passengers upon disembarking from aircrafts must adopt health inspection, animal and plant health inspection (if any), entry procedures, and customs procedures;
- For outbound passengers, passengers shall adopt air travel procedures, exit procedures, customs procedures, and security screening;
- For passengers in transit, passengers disembarking aircrafts shall adopt health inspection and security screening procedures;
- At times of epidemic, passenger flow can be adjusted depending on regulations on prevention and control of infectious diseases of the Ministry of Health.
Cargo and luggage flow:
- With respect to import goods and luggage of inbound passengers that are not accompanied by passengers upon disembarkation, adopt health inspection (for animals and plants) and customs procedures;
- With respect to export goods and luggage of transit passengers that are not accompanied by passengers, adopt health inspection (for animals and plants), customs procedures, and security screening.
Public officials, public employees, and employees of field-specific authorities, air operators, airport enterprises, aerodrome enterprises, service providers in immigration sterile areas, employees of enterprises surveying, constructing, repairing, maintaining constructions and equipment in airports and aerodromes, upon entering and exiting immigration sterile areas, must possess aviation security control cards or license or aviation security and safety supervisor card issued by aviation authorities, enterprises under the Law on Civil Aviation of Vietnam or badge of border gate police tasked to station in immigration sterile areas. Border gate police forces are responsible for supervising, inspecting, and controlling in order to prevent, detect, and promptly take actions against violations of the law pertaining to security and order of people entering, exiting, and operating in immigration sterile areas as per the law.
Upon discovering violations of the law in air border gates, authorities governing fields of the violations shall take actions against such violations. If multiple authorities are entitled to take actions against violations, the authorities that first discover the violations shall decide.
If entitled authorities of a violation cannot be identified, border gate police shall take charge, take initial actions against the violation, and later transfer to competent agencies, entities as per the law.
Upon acknowledging information pertaining to violations of the law in air border gates, all agencies, organizations, and individuals are responsible for providing said information to competent authorities.
Agencies assigned to take actions against violations of the law in air border gates are responsible for notifying border gate police and relevant state authorities, enterprises of the taking of actions in order to cooperate in taking actions against the violations and performing tasks, functions as per the law. If the violations are listed as state secret, the exchanging of information shall conform to regulations and law on protection of state secret.
This Decree comes into force from December 22, 2022.
Ministry of Public Security will take charge and cooperate with relevant ministries, central departments, People‘s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities where air border gates are located in implementing measures for maintaining security and order in air border gates in accordance with this Decree; Direct border gate police to take charge and cooperate with relevant agencies, organizations in maintaining security and order in air border gate areas; control immigration; take charge and cooperate with relevant agencies and entities in determining areas in air border gates; closely control immigration sterile areas.
Ministry of Transport will take charge and cooperate with Ministry of Public Security, relevant ministries, central departments, People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities in guiding, organizing implementation of measures for maintaining civil aviation security and order in air border gates; Direct aviation agencies and enterprises to cooperate with Ministry of Public Security and relevant authorities in implementing this Decree.