State Administration of Immigration: In the first half of the year, the total number of people inspected by immigration authorities across the country was 369 million, a year-on-year increase of 10.8% to a record high

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 10, the State Administration of Immigration held a press conference to release the main data on immigration management for the first half of 2026. In the first half of the year, immigration authorities across the country inspected a total of 369 million people, an increase of 10.8% over the previous year, a record high. Among them were 176 million mainland (mainland) residents, 147 million Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents, and 45.906 million foreigners, up 10.7%, 8.1%, and 20.6%, respectively. The number of foreigners entering the country reached 22.914 million, an increase of 20.4% over the previous year, showing a rapid growth trend; of these, 178.15 million foreigners entered without a visa, accounting for 77.7% of foreigners entering the country, an increase of 30.6% over the previous year. The top ten countries for inbound foreign visitors are South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Mongolia, and Australia, accounting for 62% of the total number of foreigners entering the country.

In the first half of the year, immigration authorities across the country inspected a total of 208.44 million inbound and outbound means of transportation (trains, ships, vehicles), an increase of 17.1% over the previous year; of these, 490,000 aircraft, 56,000 trains, 229,000 ships, and 2.068,000 motor vehicles, up 1%, 5.7%, 4.6%, and 17.8%, respectively. A total of 10.392 million ordinary passports were issued, 49.585 million (pieces) of documents for mainland (mainland) residents traveling to and from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan; 1.104 million travel permits for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents were issued to and from the Mainland (mainland); and 991,000 visa documents for foreigners were issued. The government service platform of the State Administration of Immigration provided 118 million inquiries and other government services to immigrants from China and abroad, and provided 34.54 million free identity verification services for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents, overseas Chinese and foreigners; the 12367 service platform of the National Immigration Administration received 3.68 million inquiries from Chinese and foreign personnel, involving more than 100 countries and regions around the world, with an average satisfaction rate of 99%.

In the first half of the year, immigration management agencies across the country continued to promote broader, broader, and deeper innovation in immigration management policies and systems, actively promoted the optimization of regional open layout, collaborated with relevant departments to expand the scope of unilaterally visa-free countries, accurately supply convenient policy initiatives such as visa-free entry and stay, and piloted online lodging registration for foreigners in 7 provinces including Hebei (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) to support aimless sea tours in Shanghai and Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, to help transform greater “inbound and outbound traffic” into greater “economic growth”; The inspection model fully supports the implementation of the “cooperative inspection, one-time release” customs clearance model at Xinhuanggang Port, uses a “face+iris” smart channel for vehicle customs clearance at some land ports adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao, promotes the application of fast vehicle customs clearance at some land ports along the southwest border, continuously improves customs efficiency at ports for personnel, goods and means of transportation; vigorously enhances the efficiency of government services, and continues to expand “Internet+” government services to further promote the facilitation of application of various types of entry and exit documents for mainland residents who have lost entry and exit documents in the Hong Kong and Macao regions Fast certification and easy return, adding new Shanghai residents in Shanghai and Fujian Travel vouchers to Kinmen and Matsu were issued, electronic border control zone passes were fully implemented, and the 12367 service platform was efficiently operated to provide all-weather, multi-lingual, “hotline+online” multi-channel consulting services to the world, so that data runs errands more, people run less, and the entry/exit experience and satisfaction of Chinese and foreign personnel continues to improve.

In the first half of the year, immigration authorities across the country always put safeguarding the country's political security first, insisted on strict regulation of fair and civilized law enforcement, cracked down on crimes that hinder the management of the country's (border) borders in accordance with the law, concentrated efforts to solve cases, focus on breaking down gangs, breaking down “snipers”, and destroying networks, resolutely building security and stability barriers at the country's borders, and resolutely safeguarding the country's sovereignty, security and development interests. A total of 11,400 criminal cases of obstruction of the country's (border) border management have been investigated and handled, more than 22,400 criminal suspects have been arrested, 157 major criminal gangs have been knocked out, and 88 major cases have been listed and supervised. Through international law enforcement cooperation, a number of cross-border criminals such as “snakeheads” have been arrested from abroad. Continue to deepen the management of illegal entry, illegal residence, and illegal employment of foreigners, and investigate and deport 11,900 people. According to law, illegal crimes involving explosions and drug smuggling at port borders have been strictly cracked down. 209 drug cases have been uncovered, 305 criminal suspects have been arrested, and 4.37 tons of various drugs have been seized, including 45 cases of 10,000 grams or more; 603 guns of various types and more than 27,000 bullets have been seized.

This article was selected from the WeChat account of the “State Administration of Immigration”. Zhitong Finance Editor: Xu Wenqiang.