In the first quarter of 2024, China saw a significant inflow and outflow of people, with 141 million individuals passing through its borders. This marks a remarkable year-on-year increase of 117.8 percent, according to data from China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA).
The same authority has revealed that mainland China registered 69,541,000 million travelers, while 59,115,000 million were Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan residents, VisaGuide.World reports.
In addition, there was a noticeable rise in the number of foreigners inspected, with 13.074 million individuals, representing a huge increase of 305.2 per cent compared to last year.
A total of 7.353 million inbound and outbound vehicles (trains, ships, and vehicles) were inspected, a year-on-year increase of 78.3 percent; including 194,000 aircraft, 24,000 trains, 102,000 ships, and 7.033 million motor vehicles, respectively. Increases of 158.6 percent, 14.2 percent, 15.9 percent, and 78.5 percent.
In the first quarter, immigration agencies across China handled over 10,000 criminal cases related to border management. They arrested over 14,000 suspects, with over 12,000 facing criminal charges and 1,785 administratively sentenced. The investigations targeted 213 criminal gangs, closed 53 transit locations and seized 377 vehicles involved in crimes.
23,000 Foreigners in China Face Legal Action for Illegal Residence & Work
Additionally, 23,000 foreigners were found to be living and working illegally in China and faced legal action such as fines, bans and deportation. Of these, 4,551 were deported.
Authorities seized 200 cases of drugs involving 256 people, including 38 cases of over 10,000 grams of drugs. 2.5 tons of different medications and 135.6 tons of materials for drug production were also confiscated. Also, 265 firearms were seized, and contraband goods worth 110 million yuan were confiscated.
During this period, the National Immigration Administration outlined several policies to improve immigration procedures. They improved visa policies, introduced measures to facilitate foreign entry, and extended visa-free entry to Hainan for several countries. To support cross-development in Fujian, they issued travel approvals to Hong Kong and Macao for qualified individuals in Xi’an and Qingdao.
China Issues Millions of Passports and Visas in 2024 Q1
The administration also made efforts to improve immigration services. They issued 6,357,000 million ordinary passports, 24,987,000 million travel approvals for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and 724,000 passes for residents of these regions to travel to the mainland. These figures represent year-on-year growth of 24.1 percent, 30.5 percent and 19.9 per cent, respectively. Also, 46,600,000 million foreign visa documents were issued.
Notably, there has been a significant increase in foreigners entering China without a visa, with 1,988,000 million registered, marking an increase of 266.1 percent compared to the previous year. Finally, the National Team Immigration Administration’s service platform received 1,335,000 million inquiries and suggestions, boasting an impressive satisfaction rate of 99.2 percent.