3,113 foreigners from 28 countries were granted Mongolian visas in February 2024, as revealed by the Immigration Agency of Mongolia (IAM).
Of those, 1,897 were e-visas issued to foreign citizens, VisaGuide.World reports.
Furthermore, 612 foreigners were granted residence permits in Mongolia, and the residence permits of 1309 citizens were extended.
During the same month, IAM received 8,607 requests from 2,869 citizens, organizations, and enterprises and processed them through the integrated electronic service system.
In addition, the agency provided advice and information to 5,772 citizens by telephone, 96 citizens in person, 18 citizens electronically, and a total of 5,886 citizens on the issue of residence permit, extension, temporary visitor registration, cancellation, and visa extension in Mongolia for official and personal reasons.
Meanwhile, last January, authorities issued visa approvals to 2,699 foreigners, visas to 737 foreigners, and electronic visas to 3,495 citizens of 31 countries.
E-Visa Issuance Quadrupled in 2023
Last year, the Immigration Agency of Mongolia issued 31,242 electronic visas out of the total of 44,831 visa approvals for foreign nationals and 40,734 Mongolian visas within the appropriate category.
This represents a threefold increase in total visa issuance and a fourfold increase in electronic visa issuance compared to the previous year.
The Immigration Agency of Mongolia
During the same period, IAM granted Mongolian residence permits to 23,555 foreign citizens. Meanwhile, out of 19,488 citizens with extended residence permits, 12,658 were removed from the register. According to IAM, residence permits saw a 2.5-fold increase compared to 2022.
Moreover, starting from April 1, 2023, the Department of Foreign Citizens and Nationalities started independently to print and issue residence cards for foreign citizens. A total of 34,992 new residence cards were printed, and the validity period of 4,664 cards was extended, according to IAM.
From 2021 onwards, by adding the digitalization of services to improve efficiency, reduce service delivery time, and increase accessibility, a total of 12 types of services have been fully digitized, enabling citizens to receive services online 7-15 times faster, eliminating duplication of efforts, and facilitating the conditions for obtaining services online.
As a result, in 2023, IAM revealed that a total of 115,211 requests were processed through the digital service system and promptly resolved.