Greater cooperation between Belgium and Vietnam to tackle people smuggling

Belgium is on an important route for illegal migration of Vietnamese people on their way to the United Kingdom. Last year, Belgium and Vietnam agreed on an action plan to boost efforts to tackle the issue of people smuggling.

Ms De Moor told journalists that "First of all, we must ensure that people no longer become victims of people trafficking. By taking preventative measures and by working together to fight people trafficking, we stop dreams from becoming nightmares and prevent people from ending up in appalling conditions where they are exploited." 

In 2022, 78 Vietnamese nationals were found to be in Belgium illegally. This figure was somewhat higher in 2021 at 110. In May 2021 two large groups of Vietnamese were intercepted at the coast in West Flanders. They were hoping to travel on from Belgium and enter the UK illegally. The police say that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that many Vietnamese victims of people smuggling go undetected.

Last year, 17 Vietnamese people that were in Belgium illegally were repatriated. Secretary of State De Moor want this figure to increase. Ms De Moor says that things have already improved in partly due to Belgium enlisting the assistance of the EU liaison officer for repatriation in Hanoi.  

Meanwhile, Ms De Moor has agreed with her Vietnamese colleagues that in future the Belgian Immigration Department will provide the Vietnamese authorities with digital fingerprints of Vietnamese nationals that are caught residing in Belgium illegally. Belgium will also provide the Vietnamese immigration service with assistance in the form of training to, for example, make them better able to detect forged travel documents.