Macau residency for expats

This post is about how Macau expats acquire temporary residency in Macau. It's a little out of left field compared to the usual tech and gambling posts. As igaming (ok, Internet Gambling) really picks up in Macau, hopefully some of you will find it useful.

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. 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.

AgentOfKaos' Macau Temporary Residency Checklist

1. Passport - two copies of complete passport, all pages of passport
2. Proof of residency granted by another country (e.g., passport; yes, redundant with number 1) – two copies
3. Departure card – one copy
4. 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
5. Birth certificate – one copy
6. Police criminal declaration
1. From country of origin (original)
2. If you have had a work permit or a temporary residency permit in Macau previously, then also one from Macau
7. One set of original fingerprints (like the ones you used to get your criminal declaration)
8. Photos – 5 black and white or colour photos; print your name on the back of 4 of the photos
9. Proof of marriage – one copy
10. Employment contract – one copy; should include all of the following:
1. employment period, remuneration, name of post
2. “the contract will take effect from the date the temporary residency is granted to the applicant” (this is important, the employment contract must make this reference and reference to the work permit law isn’t acceptable)
3. Main description of job and duties
4. Proof of education certificates
5. CV
6. Proof of professional qualifications
7. Certificate of commercial registration of organization employing or offering employment to the applicant
8. If applicant currently working in said position, Individual Professional Tax receipt should be submitted
11. Job description (must be separate from employment 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
  

Ok, I hope that helps some expat out there, in whatever industry they're in, to make their Macau experience just a little better.