Mongolia in top 10 source countries for China's 11.6m foreign trips in Q3

China's immigration authorities recorded 192 million cross-border trips between July and September 2026, an increase of 7.9 percent from the same period a year earlier, the National Immigration Administration said. Foreign nationals accounted for 23.27 million of those trips, and visa-free arrivals reached 8.99 million.

Key facts

• Period covered: July to September 2026 (third quarter)
• Total cross-border trips handled: 192 million, up 7.9 percent year-on-year
• Trips by foreign nationals: 23.27 million, up 15.6 percent
• Visa-free arrivals: 8.99 million, or 77.5 percent of all foreign arrivals
• Documents issued to foreign nationals: 603,000 visas and other entry documents
• New exit-entry rules took effect: 15 September 2026

What do the third-quarter figures show?

National Immigration Administration spokeswoman Lyu Ning set out the numbers at a news conference on Tuesday. Of the 192 million cross-border trips handled in the quarter, 95.96 million were made by mainland residents, 73.14 million by residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and 23.27 million by foreign nationals — year-on-year increases of 7.4 percent, 6.4 percent and 15.6 percent respectively.

Foreign nationals made 11.6 million trips to China during the period, up 15.6 percent year-on-year. Visa-free arrivals made up 77.5 percent of all foreign arrivals, a rise of 24.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Lyu said measures including visa-free policies aimed at facilitating exchanges between Chinese and foreign nationals had helped push cross-border travel to successive record highs.

Which nationalities are arriving in China?

The top 10 countries of origin for foreign arrivals were Russia, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, the United States, Mongolia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Australia. The administration did not publish a breakdown of arrivals by individual nationality.

On the outbound side, mainland residents made 48.5 million trips abroad in the quarter, up 7.5 percent year-on-year. Their top 10 destinations were the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia and Indonesia.

What changed for exit-entry service providers?

Following the implementation of the State Council's new regulations on exit and entry administration on 15 September, immigration authorities began registering agencies and individuals that provide exit-entry intermediary services. As of Monday, more than 1,200 agencies and nearly 6,000 individuals had completed the registration process, Lyu said.

During the quarter, authorities also issued 5.34 million ordinary passports and processed 28.79 million applications for travel permits and endorsements for mainland residents travelling to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, plus 473,000 mainland travel permits for residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

What this means for travellers

Visa-free entry accounted for the large majority of foreign arrivals to China in the quarter, so travellers planning a trip can check whether their nationality is covered before arranging other documents. Mongolia was among the top 10 countries of origin for arrivals, and the administration reported continued growth in overall cross-border volumes.

Anyone using an intermediary to handle exit-entry paperwork should note that such providers are now subject to a registration requirement under the new regulations.

The administration also reported that it investigated 4,432 cases and apprehended more than 12,000 suspects in the quarter in enforcement action on border management, seizing 1.88 metric tons of drugs and 402 firearms. No further policy changes were announced at the news conference.