The world’s smallest sovereign state has a population of fewer than 800 and is surrounded by the city of Rome in Italy, but the Vatican City has felt the need to toughen punishments for people entering illegally ahead of what is expected to be a busier than usual year.

With 2025 a Jubilee year for the Catholic Church, a designation that is likely to see between 30 and 40 million people visit the Vatican, the toughened sanctions were put in place late last year in a decree signed by Cardinal Fernando Vérguez Alzaga.