On July 10, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) held a press conference to release key data on immigration-related work for the first half of 2026.

In the first six months, China’s immigration authorities handled 369 million inbound and outbound crossings, marking a year-on-year increase of 10.8 percent and setting a new record. Of this total, 176 million trips were made by residents from the Chinese mainland, 147 million by residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and 45.91 million by foreign nationals, with year-on-year increases of 10.7 percent, 8.1 percent, and 20.6 percent respectively. Inbound trips by foreign nationals reached 22.91 million, a year-on-year increase of 20.4 percent, showing a trend of rapid growth. Of these, 17.82 million were visa-free entries by foreigners, accounting for 77.7 percent of all foreign entries, with a year-on-year increase of 30.6 percent. The top 10 countries of origin for inbound foreign travelers are South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Mongolia, and Australia, accounting for 62 percent of all foreign entries.

Over the same period, immigration authorities also inspected 20.84 million cross-border transport vehicles (including aircraft, trains, vessels, and motor vehicles), a year-on-year increase of 17.1 percent. This includes 490,000 aircraft, 56,000 trains, 229,000 vessels, and 20.07 million motor vehicles, up 1 percent, 5.7 percent, 4.6 percent, and 17.8 percent respectively. China issued 10.39 million ordinary passports, 49.59 million travel permits for Chinese mainland residents traveling to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and 1.1 million mainland travel permits for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents. A total of 991,000 visas and related documents were issued to foreign nationals. The NIA’s online government service platform provided inquiry and other administrative services 118 million times to Chinese and foreign travelers, and delivered 34.54 million free identity verification services for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents, overseas Chinese, and foreign nationals. The NIA’s 12367 service hotline handled 3.68 million inquiries from domestic and foreign individuals across over 100 countries and regions, achieving an average satisfaction rate of 99 percent.