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Chinese nationals have increasingly looked to take advantage of visa-free entry in Serbia and Bosnia to then enter the EU and claim asylum in Western Europe.
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According to data from Frontex – the European Border and Coast Guard Agency – 482 Chinese citizens were caught illegally crossing the “Balkan Route” in the first nine months of 2025.
This number is expected to increase by the end of the year, as four groups of over 50 Chinese nationals have been detained in recent months. Some of these crossings have ended in tragedy.
In October, a case ended with the drowning of a Chinese national after a boat carrying migrants sank while trying to cross the Danube River between Serbia and Croatia. Four other Chinese migrants on board survived.
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More than 1 million Chinese nationals sought asylum abroad between 2012 and 2024, according to data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
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Some try to cross from Serbia to Croatia – where Chinese citizens can stay for up to 30 days without a visa – but more often they try to enter the EU from Bosnia, which allows stays of up to 90 days without a visa and has a much longer border with Croatia.
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The Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirms to Radio Free Europe that the number of Chinese citizens caught during illegal border crossings has increased significantly over the past two years – from just two people in 2023, to 151 in 2024.
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It is noteworthy that this trend has been observed for some time as by several reports, e.g.,
China’s mass exodus: number of asylum seekers surpasses one million under Xi - [January 2025]
Data released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) show a clear trend: between 2012 and mid-2024, over one million Chinese have sought asylum abroad … To put things into perspective: in 2022 alone, the number of Chinese asylum-seekers abroad was the same as during the entire 10-year Hu Jintao era.
And:
The Chinese migrants hoping for a new life in Germany - [February 2025]
A small but growing number of Chinese people are fleeing home, with their sights set on Germany thanks to its reputation as a safe haven for refugees.
If china is so great then why are they leaving
