Date of publication:
01/07/2026
Kyrgyzstan
Do domestic laws and policies prohibit the penalization of asylum-seekers and refugees for irregular entry or presence?
Assessment by population
Analysis
The issue of criminal liability for illegal entry and stay in the Kyrgyz Republic requires a careful analysis of the relevant provisions of two main regulatory acts: the Law on Refugees of March 25, 2002 № 44 and the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic of October 28, 2021 № 127. According to Article 12 of the Law on Refugees, asylum seekers who arrived from their country of citizenship or place of their permanent residence, due to a well-founded fear of becoming a victim of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, membership in a particular social group, as well as a real danger of being persecuted in armed and interethnic conflicts and who cannot, due to such fears, or does not want to avail themselves of the protection of their country, are not subject to punishment for illegal entry and stay in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. This provision implies that such persons may avoid criminal liability if they promptly contact the relevant authorities and provide satisfactory explanations for their illegal entry or stay. Thus, the Law on Refugees establishes an exception for people seeking asylum, protecting them from punishment for violating immigration laws.
It is worth noting that the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic (Article 378) provides for punishment for illegally crossing the state border. In particular, the article provides for correctional labor, a fine or imprisonment for persons illegally crossing the border. It is important to note that this article contains an exception for foreign citizens and stateless persons who arrive in the country with the purpose of using the right to asylum. This means that such persons are not subject to criminal liability under this article, since their actions are not considered a crime in the context of seeking asylum. Thus, the internal laws of the Kyrgyz Republic in their entirety exclude the possibility of criminal liability of asylum seekers for illegal entry or stay if they promptly contact the authorities and explain the reasons for their illegal border crossing.
Related provisions of domestic law or policy
The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Refugees
- Year: 2002
- Type: Domestic law
- Rights Category: Asylum, Education, Freedom of movement, Health, Housing, land & property, Liberty & security of person, Nationality & facilitated naturalization, Social protection, Work & Workplace rights, Family life, Documentation
- Link to external source: https://www.refworld.org/legal/legislation/natlegbod/2002/en/119852?prevDestination=search&prevPath=/search?keywords=Law+on+refugees&order=desc&page=1&sm_country_name%5B%5D=Kyrgyzstan&sort=score&result=result-119852-en
Legal provision
Article 12 - Guarantees of the rights of a refugee
A refugee may not be returned against his will to the country he left for the reasons specified in Article 1 of this Law. This provision may not be applied to a refugee who is considered, for valid reasons, to be a threat to security or who has been convicted by a final court sentence for committing a particularly serious crime. Decisions and actions of state authorities and administration bodies, local government bodies and officials that infringe on the rights of a refugee established by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of refugees may be appealed to the relevant state bodies or to the court. A person seeking asylum and arriving from the territory of a state where his life and freedom were threatened may not be punished because of his illegal entry and stay in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, provided that he promptly appears before the relevant authorities and provides satisfactory explanations for his illegal entry or stay.
The Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic
- Year: 2021
- Type: Domestic law
- Rights Category: Asylum, Freedom of movement, Liberty & security of person
- Link to external source: https://www.refworld.org/legal/legislation/natlegbod/2021/ru/150130
Legal provision
Article 378 - Illegal crossing of the State border of the Kyrgyz Republic
Illegal crossing of the State Border of the Kyrgyz Republic 1. Illegal crossing of the State Border of the Kyrgyz Republic - shall be punishable by correctional labor for a term of one to three years or a fine of 500 to 1,000 calculation indices, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years. 2. The same act committed with the use of violence that is not dangerous to life and health, or with the threat of its use against a person performing border service, by a member of an organized group or a criminal community (organization), - shall be punishable by a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 calculation indices or imprisonment for a term of two to five years with or without expulsion from the Kyrgyz Republic. Note. This article does not apply to cases of arrival of foreign citizens and stateless persons to exercise the right of asylum.