World Immigration News

Immigration bodies handle record 697 million border crossings in 2025

Release Date: 2026-01-28
Media: China Daily
Summary: China’s National Immigration Administration reported a sharp improvement in service efficiency in 2025, processing a record 697 million border crossings, a 14.2 percent increase from the previous year. Foreign nationals accounted for over 82 million crossings, with visa-free entries reaching about 30 million, or 73 percent of all foreign arrivals.

The growth was driven by expanded visa-free policies, including wider use of online travel document applications, an expanded 240-hour visa-free transit scheme, and increased visa exemptions for ASEAN and other countries. As a result, China’s unilateral visa-free countries rose to 48, and mutual visa exemption countries to 29.

These measures boosted inbound tourism and consumption, with tax-refundable goods sales nearly doubling. Experts described 2025 as a milestone year for China’s tourism opening-up, noting that inbound tourism reached historic highs and is expected to continue growing under further policy liberalization in the coming years.
Tags: China

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