National Immigration Administration: In the first half of the year, immigration management agencies nationwide collectively inspected 3.69 billion inbound and outbound personnel, an increase of 10.8% year-on-year, reaching a record high.

On July 10th, the National Immigration Administration held a press conference to release the main data on immigration management work in the first half of 2026. During the first half of the year, the immigration management agencies nationwide inspected a total of 369 million entries and exits, an increase of 10.8% compared to the previous year, reaching a historical high. Among them, mainland residents accounted for 176 million entries and exits, residents from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan accounted for 147 million entries and exits, while foreigners accounted for 45.906 million entries and exits, with respective increases of 10.7%, 8.1%, and 20.6% compared to the previous year. The number of incoming foreigners reached 22.914 million, showing a rapid growth trend, with 17.815 million of them entering without a visa, accounting for 77.7% of the total, an increase of 30.6% from the previous year. The top ten countries for inbound foreign tourists were South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Mongolia, and Australia, accounting for 62% of the total number of inbound foreign arrivals. In the first half of the year, immigration agencies nationwide inspected a total of 208.44 million transportation vehicles (planes, trains, ships, and vehicles), an increase of 17.1% compared to the previous year. Among them, there were 490,000 flights, 56,000 trains, 229,000 ships, and 2006.8 million vehicles, with respective increases of 1%, 5.7%, 4.6%, and 17.8%. A total of 10.392 million ordinary passports were issued, 49.585 million entry and exit endorsements for mainland residents visiting Hong Kong and Macao were issued, and 1.104 million travel permits for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents visiting mainland China were issued. Foreigners were issued 991,000 visa documents. The National Immigration Administration's government service platform provided services such as inquiries to domestic and foreign travelers 1.18 billion times, provided identity verification services free of charge to Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan residents, overseas Chinese, and foreigners 34.54 million times, and the 12367 service platform of the National Immigration Management Agency accepted inquiries from Chinese and foreign personnel 3.68 million times, involving over 100 countries and regions, with an average satisfaction rate of 99%. In the first half of the year, immigration agencies nationwide continued to promote innovation in immigration management policies and institutions in a wider range, broader areas, and deeper levels. They actively promoted the optimization of regional open layouts, expanded the scope of unilateral visa waiver countries in collaboration with relevant departments, and implemented convenient policies and measures for regional entry visa exemptions and stay in seven provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities), piloted online registration for accommodation outside hotels for foreigners in Hebei and other areas, support Shanghai International Cruise for the destinationless sea tour and yacht free travel in Guangdong Province, and help transform greater "immigration flow" into greater "economic increment". They innovated and optimized border inspection and clearance models, fully supported the implementation of the "cooperative inspection and one-time clearance" clearance model at the New Huanggang Port, and used "face+iris" intelligent channels for vehicle clearance in adjacent land border ports with Hong Kong and Macao. They promoted the application of vehicle fast clearance at some Southwest land border ports, continuously improved the efficiency of personnel, cargo, and transportation tools' border clearance, vigorously improved government service efficiency, deepened and expanded "Internet +" government services, and facilitated the application process for various entry and exit documents, providing quick and convenient certificate issuance for mainland residents who have lost their entry and exit documents in Hong Kong and Macao regions. In Shanghai and Fujian, travel endorsements to Kinmen and Matsu were issued to Shanghai residents and the electronic border management area pass was fully implemented. The 12367 service platform operated efficiently and provided around-the-clock, multilingual, "hotline + online" consultation services globally, allowing data to be processed efficiently and reducing the need for people to travel, thereby continuously improving the satisfaction and experience of Chinese and foreign personnel entering and exiting the country. In the first half of the year, immigration agencies nationwide continued to prioritize maintaining national political security, adhere to strict, standardized, fair, and civilized law enforcement, crack down on crimes that interfere with national (border) management, focus on solving cases, and target groups, cut off channels, smash "snakeheads", and dismantle networks, resolutely strengthen the national border security and stability barriers, and safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests. A total of 11,400 cases of crimes against national (border) management were investigated, with more than 22,400 criminal suspects arrested, 157 major criminal groups broken up, 88 major cases supervised and handled, and through international law enforcement cooperation, a number of "snakeheads" and other cross-border criminals were extradited from abroad. They continued to deepen the governance of illegal entry, residence, and employment of foreigners, and deported 11,900 individuals. They severely cracked down on illegal border crimes involving firearms, explosives, drug trafficking, and smuggling, seized 209 drug cases, arrested 305 criminal suspects, and confiscated 4.37 tons of various drugs, with 45 cases involving more than 10,000 grams and 603 seized firearms and over 27,000 rounds of ammunition. This article is excerpted from the official WeChat account of the National Immigration Administration. Editor: Xu Wenqiang.