Beijing issues over 12.6m travel certificates for SARs, Taiwan since Jan. 8

Beijing has issued 12.67 million certificates for travel to and from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, up 837.7%, albeit from a low base, and 122,000 visas and residence permits for foreigners, up 33.1%.

The dramatic increase came after China lifted its Covid restrictions on Jan. 8, allowing its residents to move freely.

National Immigration Administration data shows that as of Tuesday, immigration authorities inspected about 39.72 million people entering or exiting the Chinese mainland, up 112.4% year-on-year, and about 2.5 million times checked inbound and outbound vehicles, boats, planes and trains, up 59.3% year-on-year.

As cited in a China Daily report, NIA spokesman Lin Yongsheng said that since the implementation of the optimized policies, the numbers of entry-exit flow and the application for entry-exit documents has risen sharply, due to the steady increase of international passenger flights and the resumption of personnel exchanges between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.

Immigration authorities will continue to improve the working plan and measures to meet the increased entry-exit needs and promote exchanges between Chinese and foreign personnel, he said.

Also, immigration authorities across the country issued about 3.36 million passports to Chinese citizens.

Staff Reporter