About Electronic Travel Documents

Law No. 8/2009 of “The Scheme of Macao Special Administrative Region Travel Documents” and Administrative Regulation No. 20/2009 were published in the Official Gazette of the Macao SAR on 15 May 2009 and 29 June 2009 respectively, stipulating the basic legal system of the Macao SAR electronic travel documents and the detailed rules of implementation. 1. Features and Types of Electronic Travel Documents Due to the development trend of travel documents nowadays, many countries and regions have already issued electronic travel documents. With the considerations of current Macao SAR travel documents being used for nearly 10 years and the first-batch issuance of Macao SAR travel documents being due for replacement soon, the Macao SAR will start issuing electronic travel documents. At the same time, to comply with the standard of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for new travel documents, the new Macao SAR electronic travel documents is embedded with a chip which stores the holder’s identification information. This helps to reinforce the security of documents and hit document forgery, illegal immigration and transnational crimes related to counterfeit documents. The new travel documents are still divided into two types: passports and travel permits. The design of the front cover remains unchanged except an electronic travel document symbol ( ) is added. Inner pages are incorporated with new design and more advanced security features, whereas the personal information page is newly designed. The chip is embedded in the back cover of the document and digitally stores the personal information, photograph and fingerprint image of the holder. 2. Date of Issuance Electronic travel documents will be issued from 1 September 2009. 3. Eligibility I Passport Persons duly fulfill the following criteria can be issued a passport:
i. a Chinese citizen; and
ii. a holder of a Macao SAR Permanent Resident Identity Card. II Travel Permit (a) Persons duly fulfill the following criteria can be issued a travel permit:
i. a Chinese citizen with the status of Macao SAR non-permanent resident; and ii. ineligible to apply for any other travel document.
(b) Persons possess a valid identity card proving the eligibility of refugee, in accordance with Article 23(2)(1) of Law No.1/2004, can be issued a travel permit, provided that they must submit the holding national passport or any other travel documents to the Identification Services Bureau which will then submit the relevant documents to the refugee committee.
(c) Under special circumstances, the director of the Identification Services Bureau can issue a travel permit to persons not satisfying the abovementioned regulations. The director of Identification Services Bureau must take the considerations of the factors of public interest and humanity, and other public entities can be consulted for opinions. Chinese citizen refers to persons of Chinese nationality in accordance with the “Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China” and the “Explanations Concerning the Implementation of the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region”. 4. Valid Period I Passport (a) The valid period is 5 years if the document holder is aged below 18 on issuance date;
(b) The valid period is 10 years if the document holder is aged 18 or above on issuance date. II Travel Permits are valid for a period of 5 years. 5. Replacement I Application Formalities The application of travel documents must be lodged with the Identification Services Bureau by the applicant in person. If the applicant is an underage, a quasi-interdicted or an interdicted person, application must be signed by both parents or the legal representative. The legal representative or guardian must present a documentary proof of such identity. The application of travel documents consists of the following documents:
(a) Application form;
(b) Photocopy of the applicant’s Macao SAR Permanent Resident Identity Card;
(c) Photocopy of the identification document of both parents or the guardian if the applicant is underage;
(d) Photocopy of the identification document of the legal representative if the applicant is an interdicted or a quasi-interdicted person;
(e) Recent photograph;
(f) Applicant’s fingerprint; and (g) Other documents required by laws and regulations. II Application by Appointment Appointment can be made via our service hotlines (2837-0777 or 2837-0888) or at this bureau in person to confirm a specific date and time. Appointment is made on first come first served basis. The appointment service is also applicable to first-time application and replacement for reasons of loss, damage and etc. III Overseas Application If applicants are in other countries or regions, a request for application form can be made to diplomatic or consular authorities of the People’s Republic of China in foreign countries and other foreign institutions authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or to the Identification Services Bureau by mail. The applicants should also submit documents of proving why they cannot make the application at the Identification Services Bureau in person (e.g. proofs of education, employment and etc). 6. Existing Version of Macao SAR Travel Documents will Remain Valid until their Expiry The existing version of Macao SAR travel documents will remain valid until their expiry. Applications for replacing the new electronic travel documents can be made before the expiry of current travel documents. However, applications lodged by holders of expired and to-be-expired travel documents will be processed at a higher priority. 7. Processing Time I The process of application is normally completed in 10 working days after the day of submission of all necessary documents. Under special circumstances, the Identification Services Bureau may adjust the processing time.
II If travel documents are requested to be issued in 2 working days, extra processing fees will be collected according to relevant regulation.
III The Identification Services Bureau may take necessary measures for verification for cases of damaged, stolen or lost travel documents; therefore, the processing time for the replacement can be extended to 60 days at maximum. 8. Photograph Standard The photograph standard remains the same as the existing version of Macao SAR travel documents. The photograph must be 1 1/2 inch, coloured, bareheaded and in white background. 9. Application Fees I The application fees remain unchanged as follows:
(a) Passport is MOP300;
(b) Travel Permit is MOP250;
(c) Extra processing fee is MOP150 if the travel document is requested to be issued in 2 working days. II If the applicant cannot present the original Macao SAR travel document or the replacement is made for the reason of damaged travel document, the extra processing fees to be collected remain unchanged as follows:
(a) MOP150 for 1st time;
(b) MOP300 for 2nd time;
(c) MOP600 for 3rd time;
(d) MOP1,200 for 4th time;
(e) MOP2,400 for 5th time or above. 10. Serial Numbers I Passport number is composed of 2 letters of the alphabet and 7 Arabic numbers for identification.
II Travel Permit number is composed of 2 letters of the alphabet and 6 Arabic numbers for identification. 11. Enquiry Please call 2837-0777 or 2837-0888 for enquiries about application formalities of Macao SAR travel documents, or visit the official website of the Identification Services Bureau (www.dsi.gov.mo) for further details.