The number of foreign citizens living in China has recovered to 85 percent of 2019 levels, China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced on Thursday, revealing that immigration authorities across China issued 711,000 resident permits for foreigners in 2023.
It is believed that with simplified border procedures, 24-hour visa-free transitions and other measures to facilitate foreign visitors, the number will continue to rise, NIA spokesperson Zhang Ning said at a Thursday press conference.
A total of 424 million inbound and outbound trips were made in 2023, up 266.5 percent year-on-year recovering to 67 percent of 2019 levels. Among them, 206 million were made by mainland residents, and 183 million by residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions. Some 35.5 million were made by foreigners, recovering to 36 percent of 2019 levels, Zhang said.
China issued 184 million passports, 86.09 million travel documents for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions in 2023. Some 1.7 million visas were issued to foreigners, up 158.3 percent year-on-year.
More than 4.8 million mainland residents enjoyed the convenience of "nationwide access" endorsement for travel to Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, saving 8.88 billion yuan ($1.25 billion) in transportation costs. Some 19,000 high-caliber professionals from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area were granted endorsements for travel to Hong Kong and Macao regions, facilitating the flow of talent, according to Zhang.
