Residence Authorization

1. In the examination of an application for Special Authorization to Stay or Residence Authorization, from which other supervising or document issuing entities can the Public Security Police Force ask for opinions besides the Labour Affairs Bureau and the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute?

For example, for the purpose of granting Special Authorization to Stay to an arbitrator, the Public Security Police Force can request the arbitration supervising entity to provide opinions when necessary. In another example, for the purpose of granting Special Authorization to Stay to a traditional trader, the Public Security Police Force can seek opinions from the Municipal Affairs Bureau if necessary.

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2. If I give birth in Macao, can my baby get a Macao Resident Identity Card?

According to Article 4 of Macao Law No. 8/2002 “Regime of Macao SAR Resident Identity Card” (A minor born in Macao will be a Macao SAR resident if either parent is legally residing in Macao at the time the minor is born), as long as one of the parents possesses valid Residence Authorization of Macao or a valid Macao Resident Identity Card when the child is born in Macao, the child is eligible to apply to the competent authorities of Macao for a Macao Resident Identity Card in accordance with the law.

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3. Can I get a Macao Resident Identity Card if I marry a local resident?

Basically any person who marries a Macao resident has the right to apply for Residence Authorization at our Residence and Stay Affairs Department, as long as the application meets the requirements stipulated in Law No. 16/2021 and Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021 (e.g.: 1. The applicant possesses a valid statutory passport/travel document/identification document for entry to and departure from Macao; 2. The applicant is not in a status of being lawfully restricted from entry or residence; 3. The application meets the requirements stipulated in law, etc.) After Residence Authorization is granted, the person concerned may apply to the Macao Identification Services Bureau for a Macao Resident Identity Card with the Residence Authorization Certificate issued by the Residence and Stay Affairs Department.

(Note: Residents of Mainland China should possess a Permit for Travelling to Hong Kong and Macao (so-called One-way Exit Permit) before they apply to the Residence and Stay Affairs Department for Residence Authorization.)

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4. What documents should holders of a Permit for Travelling to Hong Kong and Macao (so-called One-way Exit Permit) get ready in Mainland China before going to Macao to apply for Residence Authorization?

Aside from persons who are preliminarily eligible to be a Macao permanent resident (having an “R” symbol indicated below the photo on their One-way Exit Permit), other One-way Exit Permit holders should prepare the documents of kinship with the reuniting family members in Macao (e.g.: original marriage certificate, notarial marriage certificate, notarial birth certificate, birth medical certificate, notarial kinship certificate, etc.) before they come to Macao. If the interested person is 16 years old or above on the date of issue of the One-way Exit Permit, a notarial national certificate of criminal record of Mainland China issued within 6 months should also be prepared.

Please see the Acceptance Standard for Documents of Residence Authorization for details.

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5. The immigration control department in Mainland China said that they have sent the information of the applicants of Permit for Travelling to Hong Kong and Macao (so-called One-way Exit Permit) for the purpose of taking up residence in Macao to you. Can I inquire about the progress?

Since the information involves personal privacy, the inquiry can only be made in person at the Residence Subdivision of the Residence and Stay Affairs Department by the applicant or his/her reuniting family member in Macao.

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6. When should a holder of a Permit for Travelling to Hong Kong and Macao (so-called One-way Exit Permit) report to the Residence and Stay Affairs Department after he/she enters the Macao Special Administrative Region?

Holders of a Permit for Travelling to Hong Kong and Macao (so-called One-way Exit Permit) will be issued an Application Acceptance Receipt after they complete the entry clearance procedure at the Border Gate Checkpoint and make an application for Residence Authorization. They are required to go to the Residence and Stay Affairs Department to complete the administrative procedure according to the date designated on the Application Acceptance Receipt.

In addition, holders of a Permit for Travelling to Hong Kong and Macao will make an appointment upon entry at the Border Gate Checkpoint. The interested persons are advised to come for the formalities as scheduled so as to save waiting time.

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7. I have applied to the Residence and Stay Affairs Department for Residence Authorization with my Permit for Travelling to Hong Kong and Macao (so-called One-way Exit Permit). However, the application result is not out yet. Can I return to my hometown on the Mainland to visit my relatives?

If a holder of a Permit for Travelling to Hong Kong and Macao (so-called One-way Exit Permit) needs to return to the Mainland after applying for Residence Authorization at the Residence Subdivision but before the Macao Resident Identity Card and Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (so-called Home Visit Permit) are issued, he/she can apply to the Zhuhai Exit-entry Visa Office, Exit-entry Administration Bureau, Public Security Department of Guangdong Province through the China Travel Service (Macao) Limited for a single-entry Exit-entry Permit by providing the Application Acceptance Receipt issued by the Subdivision and his/her Permit for Travelling to Hong Kong and Macao. For details of the application procedure, please make an inquiry to the China Travel Service (Macao) Limited.

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8. How can I apply for the Certificate of Criminal Record required in the application for Residence Authorization and its renewal?

If the interested person is 16 years old or above on the date he/she applies for Residence Authorization or its renewal at the Residence and Stay Affairs Department, a Certificate of Criminal Record issued within 90 days by the Identification Services Bureau should be submitted. For details of the application procedure and necessary documents, please refer to the website of the Identification Services Bureau.

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9. Can I apply for a Macao Resident Identity Card while I collect the Residence Authorization Certificate issued by the Residence and Stay Affairs Department?

No, you cannot. It is the competence of the Identification Services Bureau to issue a Macao Resident Identity Card. After collecting the Residence Authorization Certificate from the Residence and Stay Affairs Department, the applicant should apply to the Identification Services Bureau for a Macao Resident Identity Card within 90 days from the date of issue of the Certificate. According to Item 3, Term 1, Article 90 of Law No. 16/2021, a penalty of MOP300 to MOP500 will be imposed if the interested person fails to apply to the Identification Services Bureau for a Macao Resident Identity Card within the period specified. An additional MOP50 will be imposed per overdue day, but the maximum penalty is limited to MOP15,000.

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10. Your staff said that if I do not habitually reside in Macao after I am granted Residence Authorization, the Authorization may be revoked or the authorities may reject my application for renewal of the Authorization. What do you mean by “habitually reside” in Macao?

The renewal and preservation of the Residence Authorization depends on whether the application meets the prerequisites and requisites stipulated in Law No. 16/2021 and Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021, especially whether the interested persons “habitually reside” in Macao, i.e. whether they make Macao a centre of living and reside in Macao for not less than 183 days per year starting from the effective date of the Residence Authorization. In addition, they should not be away for more than half a year every time they leave Macao.

Take the reunion of husband and wife as an example. After the spouse from a foreign country is granted Residence Authorization, the interested persons (both the husband and the wife) are required to “habitually reside” in Macao for the purpose of reunion. If any of them does not “habitually reside” in Macao, it is possible that the Residence Authorization will be revoked or the authorities will reject the application for renewal of the Authorization. In other words, in all cases that Residence Authorization is granted (See Note), no matter it is granted on the basis of family reunion or other reasons permitted by law, and no matter renewal is required or not, the interested persons are required to comply with the above stipulation regarding “habitually residing” for the duration of the Residence Authorization.

(Note: If the Residence Authorization is granted through the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute, the requirement of “habitually residing” belongs to the competence of the Institute. Therefore, relevant inquiries should be made to the Institute.)

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11. I have married to a Macao resident for a year already and got a non-permanent resident identity card. However, I fell out with my husband lately and am planning to divorce him. Will my identity card be confiscated?

Since you were granted Residence Authorization and hence a non-permanent resident identity card for the reason of reunion with your spouse in the first place, a change in your marital relation at this moment may affect your residence status. Generally, the authorities will revoke your Residence Authorization (or reject your application for renewal of the Residence Authorization) because the prerequisite for the original approval no longer exists.

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12. Can a holder of a Non-resident Worker’s Identification Card get a Macao Resident Identity Card after working for 7 years?

According to the law, holders of a Non-resident Worker’s Identification Card (Non-resident Worker’s Card in short) are only ‘staying’ but not ‘residing’ in Macao while they are working as a non-resident worker. Therefore, they will not be granted a Macao Resident Identity Card even after they have worked in Macao for 7 years.

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13. What formalities should a Hong Kong resident who applies for residence in Macao on the basis of spouse reunion go through?

Basically persons who marry a Macao resident and are holders of a valid passport or travel document of other countries/regions (including residents of Hong Kong and residents of the Region of Taiwan) may apply for Residence Authorization on the basis of family reunion at the Residence and Stay Affairs Department of the Public Security Police Force. The applications should meet the requirements stipulated in Law No. 16/2021 and Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021. For details of the documents required in the application, please refer to the following website: https://www.gov.mo/en/services/ps-1480/.

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14. Persons granted Special Authorization to Stay for over 90 days should specify to the Public Security Police Force their contact address and habitual residence address in Macao. What should be done if the address is changed in the future?

If there is any change in the contact address and habitual residence address in the future, persons who are granted Residence Authorization or Special Authorization to Stay for over 90 days, including non-resident workers, their dependants and non-resident students, should update the Public Security Police Force within 45 days from the date of change.

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15. I am a Macao citizen and my wife is a foreigner. Can my wife apply for residence in Macao?

Basically persons who marry a Macao resident and are holders of a valid passport or travel document of other countries/regions (including residents of Hong Kong and residents of the Region of Taiwan) may apply for Residence Authorization on the basis of family reunion at the Residence and Stay Affairs Department of the Public Security Police Force. The applications should meet the requirements stipulated in Law No. 16/2021 and Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021. For details of the documents required in the application, please refer to the following website: https://www.gov.mo/en/services/ps-1480/.

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16. Is it a violation of the law if I have a bogus marriage with a non-resident of Macao (false marital relation)?

Yes. According to Article 78 of Law No. 16/2021, persons who have a bogus marriage, de facto marriage, adoption or employment contract for the determining motivation of obtaining Residence Authorization or Authorization to Stay of the Macao Special Administrative Region for themselves or others and make relevant applications to the authorities of the Macao Special Administrative Region will be imprisoned for two to eight years.

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17. Is it a violation of the law if I assist others to have a bogus marriage?

Yes. According to the laws in Macao, marriage is contracted by two persons of the opposite sex for the purpose of establishing conjugal relation and constituting a family in the form of having a life together. However, if the marriage is not really having a life together under conjugal relation and status but entered into just for the reason of assisting the husband/wife to obtain local resident status so as to be entitled to enjoy the local welfare and rights (e.g.: to get the right of abode or to work by means of bogus marriage), such marriage without genuine relationship is a bogus marriage. The persons involved will have to bear criminal responsibility.

According to Article 78 of Law No. 16/2021, persons who have a bogus marriage, de facto marriage, adoption or employment contract for the determining motivation of obtaining Residence Authorization or Authorization to Stay of the Macao Special Administrative Region for themselves or others and make relevant applications to the authorities of the Macao Special Administrative Region will be imprisoned for two to eight years.

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18. If Residence Authorization and Macao Permanent Resident Identity Card are obtained by providing false declaration, or false, counterfeit, tampered document or another person’s authentic document, or by any type of fraud, what legal liability should be borne?

According to Article 7 of Law No. 16/2021, Authorization to Enter, Authorization to Stay, Residence Authorization, and the renewal and extension of such Authorization obtained through any type of fraud are void ab initio. The acquisition of a Macao Permanent Resident Identity card does not hinder the declaration of the void Authorization. In addition, civil liability and criminal liability for the relevant act may be borne.

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19. I am a resident of the Region of Taiwan and my spouse is a Macao resident. I am applying to the Residence and Stay Affairs Department for Residence Authorization. Can I stay in Macao to wait for the application result?

Generally, during the waiting period, the applicant will be granted an appropriate limit of stay so that he or she can remain in Macao to wait for the result of the application for Residence Authorization.

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20. I have filed an application to the Residence and Stay Affairs Department for Residence Authorization with my Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao. Then I was notified that certain document is lacking and I have to get back to the Mainland to apply for it. However, my household registration had been cancelled. Without any other document, how can I return to the Mainland?

The applicant can apply to the China Travel Service (Macao) Ltd. for a one-off permit for return to the Mainland by presenting the Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao and the Application Acceptance Receipt issued by our Residence and Stay Affairs Department.

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21. What can I do if I do not have a permanent resident to be a guarantor in my application for Residence Authorization?

According to Article 33 of Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021, besides a Macao permanent resident, a corporation with its headquarters set up in Macao (e.g. bank guarantee) is also eligible to be a guarantor.

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22. I was granted Residence Authorization before the new law takes effect. I will be moving to a new address very soon. Do I need to notify your department?

According to Article 98 of Law No. 16/2021, persons granted Residence Authorization should notify the Public Security Police Force of any change in their habitual residence address in Macao within 45 days from the date of change. Failure to make a notification of the change will result in a fine of MOP2000 to MOP6000.

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23. I was just granted Residence Authorization which is valid for 1 year. Now that the new law takes effect, when should I renew it?

You are required to make an application for renewal of the Residence Authorization in the first 60 days of the 120 days before its expiry. Application can still be made after the above period by paying a fee (MOP2000 in the first 30 days, MOP5000 in the next 30 days). Failure to renew the Residence Authorization within the above period will result in its extinguishment as the Residence Authorization expires and becomes invalid. In addition, you will be deprived of the successive time counted for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident status.

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24. My daughter will study abroad and will only return to Macao during the long vacations. Will this affect her Residence Authorization which was granted by the Residence and Stay Affairs Department?

Whether the Residence Authorization can be maintained generally depends on a number of elements, which include the overall family condition of the interested person, whether she keeps contact with the people in Macao, whether her family member who was the reason for her application for Residence Authorization on the basis of family reunion habitually resides in Macao.

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25. Under what circumstances will I have my Residence Authorization revoked or renewal of Residence Authorization rejected?

According to Article 43 of Law No. 16/2021, when it occurs or is subsequently known that there are reasons for the person granted Macao Residence Authorization to be susceptible of being deemed as inadmissible according to Term 1, Article 23 of Law No. 16/2021, his or her Residence Authorization will be revoked or the renewal of the Residence Authorization will be rejected.

In addition, the Residence Authorization will be revoked or the renewal of the Residence Authorization will be rejected under the following circumstances:
1. After the person is granted Residence Authorization, any of the conditions stipulated in Term 2, Article 23 of Law No. 16/2021 arises and the relevant crime results in the sentence of imprisonment of over a year; or the person commits crimes in Macao and is condemned for more than once, no matter what the range of punishment is.
2. A penalty or security punishment had been imposed on the person granted Residence Authorization by the court in or outside Macao before the Authorization was granted, but such fact was not mentioned during the application;
3. The person granted Residence Authorization does not have habitual residence in Macao anymore, or does not meet a requisite, prerequisite or condition for granting Residence Authorization anymore.

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26. If my Residence Authorization is revoked or renewal / extension of Residence Authorization is rejected, how many more days will I be allowed to stay in Macao?

According to Article 44 of Law No. 16/2021, in general situations, the time limit for departure from Macao is at least 30 days. However, if the person whose Residence Authorization is revoked or whose renewal or extension of Residence Authorization is rejected poses a serious threat to public security or order, he or she will be ordered to leave Macao immediately.

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27. Within how many days should an applicant for Residence Authorization supplement the required information?

According to Terms 2 and 3, Article 3 of Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021, if there is no reason to make a rejection outright, the Public Security Police Force will accept the application and inform the interest person of the rectifiable insufficiencies or irregularities that are found in the application or the documents submitted. The interested person will have to make the corrections within 60 days from the date of notification.

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28. My Residence Authorization will expire soon. When should I apply for renewal of my Residence Authorization?

According to Term 1, Article 36 of Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021, persons granted Residence Authorization should renew it in the first 60 days of the 120 days before its expiry. If renewal is made in the last 60 days, a corresponding fee for deferred renewal should be paid (according to Term 3, Article 40 of the same administrative regulation, MOP2000 in the first 30 days and MOP5000 in the last 30 days).

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29. My Residence Authorization has expired and I have applied for renewal. Can I continue to work in Macao while waiting for the application result?

According to the actual situation, the interested person will have his/her Residence Authorization extended for the time required to complete the renewal procedure (Term 2, Article 36 of Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021). While waiting for the renewal examination result, the interested person granted extended Residence Authorization may continue to work in Macao. However, if no renewal is made within the time limit, the Residence Authorization will become invalid owing to its expiry, which in turn will result in its extinguishment. In this case, the interested person cannot work in Macao anymore.

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30. I have applied for Residence Authorization and have been notified that a Residence Authorization Certificate is issued to me. However, I have not come to collect the Certificate while it is still valid. What is the consequence?

According to Term 2, Article 34 of Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021, a Residence Authorization Certificate is valid for 90 days. According to Term 2, Article 45 of Law No. 16/2021, unless there is a justified reason that is properly proved, failure to collect the Residence Authorization Certificate containing the Residence Authorization or the relevant renewal before it expires is equivalent to renunciation of the Residence Authorization. Applications for new authorization will not be allowed for two years. Therefore, persons who are notified that a Residence Authorization Certificate is issued should collect it as soon as possible and apply to the competent entity in Macao for a Macao Resident Identity Card.

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