In the work of comparative legal research, the legislation of foreign countries on the criminal liability for committing criminal encroachments in the sphere of illegal migration has been subjected. Depending on the scope, peculiarities and traditions of the statement of norms, the main approaches to the criminalization of the crimes in question are defined: traditional, system-unified and system-differentiated. The authors' classification of these crimes is given: criminal offenses against the requirements of legislation on entry, exit, transit and stay of foreign citizens (stateless persons) in the territory of a foreign state (1), criminal offenses against the legislation on the employment of migrants (2) - punishable illegal use or forgery of documents, the commission of other deceptive actions necessary to obtain citizenship, residence permit, etc. ( 3), criminally punishable violations of the requirements for the expulsion of foreign nationals (stateless persons) (4), and other punishable violations of migration legislation (5). Based on the results of their consideration, conclusions are drawn on the promising areas for improving the criminal mechanism for combating illegal migration.