increased to MOP198,000 for part-time employees, employees who are aged 65 or above, or with a permanent disability level of 60% or higher.
Rates. Professional tax rates are set forth in the following table and apply to both residents and nonresidents.
Tax rebate. For 2024, an additional 30% relief is granted on the total amount of tax payable.
Relief for losses. Employees may not carry back or carry forward losses. However, an individual carrying on a business as a sole proprietor may carry forward and deduct losses from assessable profits in the following three years if he or she is a Group A taxpayer subject to Macau complementary tax or a professional practitioner with proper accounting records who is subject to Macau professional tax.
B. Estate and gift taxes
Effective from 1 August 2001, estate and gift taxes were abolished.
C. Social security
Employers must contribute monthly to a government social security fund in the amounts of MOP60 for every resident worker and MOP200 for every nonresident worker. Resident workers must each contribute MOP30 per month. No ceiling applies to the amount of wages subject to social security contributions.
Macau has not entered into any social security totalization agreements with other jurisdictions.
D. Tax filing and payment procedures
Tax is levied on income arising in or derived from Macau during the calendar year.
Employers in Macau must withhold professional tax at the rates set forth in Rates from salaries paid to employees. In addition, employers must withhold professional tax at a rate of at least 5% from amounts paid to nonresidents without work permits. Professional tax collected by employers must be remitted quarterly under Article 32 of the Professional Tax Regulations and/or monthly under Article 36 of the regulations to the Macau Finance Department. Employers in Macau must prepare and submit annual tax returns with respect to salaries paid to residents and nonresidents and the professional tax withheld.
E. Double tax relief and tax treaties
Macau has entered into double tax treaties with Cambodia, Cape Verde, China Mainland, the Hong Kong SAR, Mozambique,
Portugal and Vietnam. Macau has signed a tax treaty with Belgium, but this treaty is not yet in force.
F. Visitor visas
All travelers entering Macau must hold valid passports or other equivalent travel documents. Nationals from the jurisdictions listed below do not require a visa to visit. The length of time one is permitted to stay in Macau under visitor status depends on the jurisdiction that issued the passport.
Albania Grenada Netherlands
Andorra Hungary New Zealand
Argentina Iceland North Macedonia
Armenia India Norway
Australia Indonesia Philippines
Austria Ireland Poland
Belarus Israel Portugal
Belgium Italy Romania
Bosnia and Japan Russian Federation
Herzegovina Kiribati Samoa
Brazil Korea (South) San Marino Brunei Latvia Serbia
Bulgaria Lebanon Seychelles
Canada Liechtenstein Singapore
Cape Verde Lithuania Slovak Republic
Chile Luxembourg Slovenia
Croatia Malaysia South Africa
Cyprus Mali Spain
Czech Republic Malta Sweden
Denmark Mauritius Switzerland
Dominica Mexico Tanzania
Ecuador Moldova Thailand
Egypt Monaco Türkiye
Estonia Mongolia United Arab Emirates
Finland Montenegro United Kingdom
France Morocco United States
Germany Namibia Uruguay
Greece
A holder of a Hong Kong SAR Permanent Identity Card may stay in Macau for up to one year without a visa.
Nationals from jurisdictions other than those listed above (however, see the last sentence of this paragraph) may obtain visitor visas on arrival in Macau at the cost of MOP200 (one-off) or MOP300 (multiple) for an adult, MOP100 (one-off) or MOP150 (multiple) for a child under 12 years of age, MOP400 (one-off) or MOP600 (multiple) per passport for family groups, and MOP100 (one-off) or MOP150 (multiple) per person for tourist groups of 10 or more. These individuals may stay in Macau for 30 days. Visitors from Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are required to apply for a Macau visa in advance through a Chinese embassy or consulate.
Foreign nationals staying in Macau under visitor status may not engage in any form of employment in Macau, except for those who qualify for an exemption (see Section G).
documents, must be submitted to the DSAL three months before the expiration date of the work permit. The applicant must also apply for renewal of a blue card from the Immigration Department when the work permit is renewed by the DSAL.
An expatriate who wants to work in Macau is exempt from the work permit requirements if either of the following circumstances exist:
• An enterprise with a registered office located outside of Macau and an enterprise with a registered office in Macau enter into an agreement with respect to the performance of specified or occasional guidance, technical, quality control or supervisory duties.
• An individual or collective person with a registered office in Macau invites a nonresident to engage in religious, sports, academic, cultural interchange or artistic activities.
The above work permit exemptions are limited to a maximum period of 45 consecutive or non-consecutive days in each period of six months. The calculation of the work permit exemption period begins from the date of the entry of the nonresident into Macau. The dates of the expatriate’s work in Macau should be recorded in documents.
Foreigners who enter Macau to set up their own businesses are also required to obtain a work permit to work in Macau. They must follow the procedures for recruiting nonresident workers and submit the following documents:
• Copy of the applicant’s identification document
• Copy of the latest Business Tax Registration or Declaration of Start/Alteration of Activity Form M/1
• Proof of the activities performed by the applicant, such as academic certificates or work reference letters
• Proof of applicant’s economic capacity in Macau
• Copy of the contributions to the Social Security Fund
• Personal information of recruited local workers, including positions, remuneration and identity documents
H. Residence permits
The government’s policy is to encourage people of financial standing, who will make substantial investment in the territory, to become residents of Macau. To qualify, an applicant must demonstrate his or her financial ability to invest significantly in an enterprise in Macau. Management and/or technical personnel employed or likely employed by a Macau-registered company with qualifications and professional experience that contribute to Macau’s economy may also be granted a residence permit on application.
Foreign nationals applying for residence permits must have the prior approval of the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (Instituto de Promoção do Comércio e do Investimento de Macau, or IPIM). To obtain this approval, the applicant must file with the IPIM an application describing all pertinent information relating to the investment or the foreign national’s qualification and experience. An appointment must be made with the IPIM to submit the required documents. After all the required
documents have been submitted, the IPIM generally takes more than one year to process the application.
If the IPIM is satisfied that all prerequisites for the grant of a residence permit are fulfilled, the applicant must go to the Residence and Stay Affairs Department of the Macau Public Security Police Force with the Approval Notification of Residence Authorization issued by IPIM to apply for the Receipt of Residence Authorization (Residence Receipt). The issuance of the Residence Receipt takes approximately seven working days. After obtaining the Residence Receipt, the applicant can go to the Identification Bureau of Macau to apply for a Macau Nonpermanent Resident Identity Card. This process generally takes 15 working days.
The temporary residence permit is normally granted for an initial period of three years, depending on the validity of the applicant’s travel document. A residence permit expires 30 days before the expiration of an applicant’s travel document.
Temporary residence permits may be extended on application by the permit holders. An application for renewal, together with all documents required, must be submitted to the IPIM for endorsement within the first 60 days of the 90-day period before the expiration date of the temporary residence permit. The granting or renewal of a temporary residence permit is not subject to any fees by the issuing authorities.
In general, a temporary residence permit holder may, after seven years of continuous residence in Macau, apply for permanent residence status.
The Macau SAR government has suspended the application for a residence permit based on an investment in real estate until further notice.
I. Family and personal considerations
Family members. In general, foreign nationals who hold blue cards or residence permits may be accompanied to Macau by their family members on application. Family members include a spouse, children and parents that are financially supported by the applicant. Unskilled workers may not have dependents accompany them to Macau. Accompanying family members are normally permitted to stay in Macau for the duration of their family member’s work permit or residence permit.
Driver’s permits. Foreign nationals may drive legally using their home jurisdiction driver’s licenses if they hold valid international driving permits. Holders of international driving permits or overseas driver’s licenses of like effect (which are recognized in Macau) issued by China Mainland, the Hong Kong SAR or those listed in the Convention on Road Traffic and who intend to stay in Macau for more than 14 days must register with the Macau Traffic subdivision of the Public Security Police Force. Registration is not required for holders staying for 14 days or less. The registration validity period is based on the limit of stay in Macau and the validity of the driver’s license of the person. In general, the normal validity period for holders of a Macau Resident Identity Card (BIR) or Non-resident Worker’s Identification Cards is six