Getting a Macau Visa

All travellers entering or leaving Macau must be holders of valid passports or some others valid travel documents.

Macau Visas are generally required by all visitors for a stay of less than 20 days.

macau visa border Hong Kong residents with Hong Kong Identity Card can stay in Macau for a period of up to 90 days.

Macau VISAS are required by all except the following:

1. Nationals of all EU countries (UK nationals for stays of up to six months), Andorra, Egypt, Iceland, Israel, Korea (Rep), Lebanon, Norway, Romania and Tanzania for stays of up to 90 days;

2. Nationals of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay and the USA for stays of up to 30 days;

(Right Picture: Macau China Border Gate)

3. Nationals of China (PR) with valid Macau entry/departure documents, including residents of Hong Kong (SAR), Taiwan (China) and overseas Chinese for stays of up to 30 days;

4. Holders of a Hong Kong Identity Card (HKIC) or Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card or those with a Hong Kong Re-entry Permit for stays of up to one year.

macau visa map

Types of Macau VISA and cost:

Individual: MOP100 (MOP50 for children under 12).

Family: MOP200.

Group: MOP50 per person for bona fide groups of 10 people or more and children of 12 years of age or less.

Macau VISA Validity: 30 days. Can be extended on application to the immigration office.

Application to: Individual visitors requiring a Macau visa may obtain it upon arrival in Macau for a fee of MOP100.

Macau Visas can also be obtained from Consulates or Embassies of China (PR); see China section.

For other enquiries, contact the Public Security Forces Bureau.

Passports:

Passport valid for at least one month required by all, except nationals of China who have a China Identity Card or travel permit and nationals of Hong Kong (SAR) who have a Hong Kong Identity Card (HKIC).

macau visa ferry jetfoil

How about Macau residency for expats?

Below is a posting that originally appeared here

There are two common ways to live and work in Macau. The first way is to acquire a work permit (aka, "blue card"). This process takes 3-6 months from the time you first file your work permit paperwork.

You lose the right to live and work in Macau if you cease working for the employer that sponsored you. Less pleasant employers prefer this route because it gives them leverage over you. Others might just be ignorant of the temporary residency process.

Nice and well-informed employers suggest that while they start the blue card process for you, you should also go out and start your "temporary residency" process. Temporary residency is like a superset of the blue card, and allows you to continue to live and work in Macau, even if you change jobs.

Unless you're Macanese, you're not legally entitled to work in Macau unless you have one of these two permits.

The temporary residency process is managed by the "IPIM" (Macau Trade and Invesetment Promotion Institute) Office. They are located in the red and silver World Trade Center building on Avendia da Amizade.

While there are 4 reasons you can request temporary residency, the one I'm going to write about is "Management staff and professional technicians" (if you're wealthy enough to do the other 3, you wouldn't be the type reading this blog!).

The first step is to go to the office and declare your intent to seek temporary residency. When you do that you receive an appointment card for an appointment at least 6 weeks after you get the card. (Now, you'll be lucky to get an appointment in 4 months time.)

Having the card is good. It is a stay of execution down at immigration - they will extend your entry visa to at least a week or two after your appointment. You will also receive the paperwork you need to fill out and some guidence notes.

The notes are ALMOST complete (see below for my checklist). Even better, they are all in English, and chances are the staff you met and will meet through this process speak pretty good English.

Next is your appointment where you present all the paperwork you had to gather. The important thing here is that you most likely WILL NOT have gathered everything you need, and that's ok. So long as you have most of it, you'll pass the meeting.

The people that I've dealt with at the IPIM have been VERY nice, amazingly nice compared to most government officials I've dealt with (immigration official, Heathrow airport, need I say more).

Providing your appointment is successful, you receive the all important "beige paper" titled "Gabinete Juridico e de Fixacao de Residencia". This is the magic!

Take this paper down to the immigration office, and you should be able to get a 4-6 month extension on your entry visa. Plenty of time to sort out whatever you need to sort out.

Now, on to the list. I originally made up the list as a summary of the paperwork they give you at the start, and I've added a few gotchas to it as well.

Macau Temporary Residency Checklist

Passport - two copies of complete passport, all pages of passport
Proof of residency granted by another country (e.g., passport; yes, redundant with number 1) – two copies
Departure card – one copy
Non-resident worker card – one copy (original taken back by government) – only if you have a current and active card; previous ones don't matter
Birth certificate – one copy
Police criminal declaration
- From country of origin (original)
- If you have had a work permit or a temporary residency permit in Macau previously, then also one from Macau
One set of original fingerprints (like the ones you used to get your criminal declaration)
Photos – 5 black and white or colour photos; print your name on the back of 4 of the photos
Proof of marriage – one copy
Employment contract – one copy; should include all of the following:

employment period, remuneration, name of post
"the contract will take effect from the date the temporary residency is granted to the applicant" (this is important, the emplo ym ent contract must make this reference and reference to the work permit law isn't acceptable)
Main description of job and duties
Proof of education certificates
CV
Proof of professional qualifications
Certificate of commercial registration of organization employing or offering employment to the applicant
If applicant currently working in said position, Individual Professional Tax receipt should be submitted

Job description (must be separate from emplo ym ent contract)

If your spouse is going through the process, she also has to submit 1-9 above.

A few other things to keep in mind:

This isn't Hawaii or Sweden - verbally expressed undying love and domestic partnerships don't fly here - you need to be married or your partner can't participate in this process

For everything above that says "copy", be sure to bring the original as well - the clerk will verify each copy against the original

Everything can be submitted in English

When I applied I was told it would take... 9 months... to process (in other words, get the blue card to gain the right to work in Macau, don't wait for your temporary residency!)

If you get your blue card, when you receive your temporary residency you will need to forfeit your blue card in exchange for the temporary residency

If you do happen to be working in Macau, without a blue card or temporary residency, DON'T MENTION IT! IT'S ILLEGAL! YOU WILL BE IN DEEP DOO DOO!

In all seriousness, they are plenty of examples of illegal workers being arrested at labor raids at offices and construction sites big and small. Don't mess with it. Fines. Jail. Bad.

Your employer may be able to arrange a 45 day consultancy agreement with you to alleviate this. Make sure your employer is paying consultant level taxes to the Macau government if you do arrange this. This is safe and legal.

Conversely, it does seem to be ok to mention that you are currently living in Macau

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