Immigration procedures for Chinese citizens leaving or entering China will be shortened to less than 30 minutes as of June 18, the State Immigration Administration announced Thursday.

Procedures at airports, sea ports and border crossings have been improved to increase efficiency, the administration said at a press conference held by the Ministry of Public Security.

In recent years, authorities have simplified inspection procedures, increased the digitization of documents required for exit and entry, and added more self-service immigration lanes, the administration said.

Immigration authorities have also asked border inspection agents to take measures to ensure smooth exit and entry of foreign citizens.

Over 598 million exits and entries were made across China's border in 2017, among which 512 million were by Chinese citizens.