Macao Chief Executive (CE) Sam Hou Fai’s forthcoming trip to Portugal could result in the SAR relaxing residency rules for Portuguese citizens. That’s according to Carlos Cid Álvares, the president of the Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (known by its Portuguese initials CCILC), who spoke to local media yesterday on the sidelines of an Infrastructures and Smart Cities business summit.
Regarding Sam’s visit to Portugal and Spain, which is scheduled between 17 and 23 April, Álvares said he believed the CE’s inaugural overseas trip would help to push discussions towards a Portuguese residency system in Macao that is “less bureaucratic, faster, and easier to attract talent.”
The CCILC president noted that such a simplified system existed in the past.
Rules tightened significantly from August 2023 when Portuguese nationals seeking residency in Macao were no longer permitted to apply under the category of “specialised technical functions,” and could only seek residency based on family reunion or preexisting ties to the SAR.
Another path to Macao residency for Portuguese individuals is via the government’s recently introduced talent recruitment initiatives.
As a result of the current restrictions, many Portuguese citizens are now only allowed to remain in Macao using a blue card that gives them the right to work, but deprives them of residency privileges relating to areas such as healthcare and education.
[See more: Sam Hou Fai to lead Macao’s largest ever trade mission to Europe]
“I believe this is an issue being worked on, perhaps behind the scenes, and I’m confident a solution will be found,” said Alvares, who also heads Banco Nacional Ultramarino. He added that “there must be reciprocity” between Macao and Portugal, which “granted around 120,000 to 130,000 passports to people from this region [Macao and Hong Kong].”
He warned that if the stringent residency rules continue, it could be detrimental to Portuguese influence in the city, which “cannot be sustained here under the current situation.”
“It’s one thing for Chinese people to speak Portuguese, but it’s another for Portuguese people to be here in Macao,” the chamber president said.
The CCILC head also mentioned Legislative Assembly vice president Ho Ion Sang’s recent idea of a “talent card” for foreign professionals that would give them healthcare, education and tax benefits.
The businessman made it clear that a proposal was “worth exploring,” as a failure by Macao to step up its game in terms of talent acquisition would result in these professionals flocking to other Greater Bay Area cities that are also looking to build their talent pool. He warned that if this were to happen, the SAR would lack the human resources needed to diversify its economy.
During a visit to Macao last September, Portuguese prime minister Luís Montenegro also expressed confidence that rules on the residency rights of the Portuguese in Macao would be loosened, telling media outlets that he believed “things are on track for us to have a more agile, easier and faster system.”
According to a Ponte Final report published on Monday, the number of new Macao ID cards issued to Portuguese citizens has fallen significantly, from 309 in 2013 to only 23 in 2025.
