Macau health authorities announced Friday that non-resident Portuguese nationals will be allowed to enter the MSAR starting from May 27.
According to the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre, Portuguese travelers will be granted entry as long as they have only been to mainland China, Hong Kong, or Portugal within the previous 21 days, and not to foreign countries, “although transit is permissible.”
As the pandemic situation in Portugal has subsided, and in view of the close relationship between Portugal and Macau, the local authorities had decided to loosen entry restrictions for non-residents of Portuguese nationality.
“The health authorities have determined to loosen the entry restrictions, in a proper way, for non-residents with Portuguese nationality after assessment of the epidemic risk,” the center said in a statement.
Last month, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U said that the Macau SAR government is currently studying the possible easing of entry requirements for travelers from countries with close ties to Macau.
Ao Ieong U said that the measure is part of easing the city’s border restrictions, which has been in place since March 2020, barring foreign arrivals.
She added that Portugal is one of the countries which the government hopes to examine as soon as possible, noting that Portugal is the country which the review will chiefly focus upon as it has a “close relationship with Macau.”
“For example, many families from the countries [might have relatives] in Macau or vice versa. Some students from that country [might be] studying [in Macau]or vice versa. These types of countries will be on the preliminary list to serve as a reference”, said Ao Ieong.
Meanwhile, Portuguese travelers will still be subject to standard entry regulations, such as holding a valid passport, and will have to show the documents required by the health authorities, namely a negative test result for Covid-19, prior to boarding a flight to Macau.
A 14-day hotel quarantine and other Covid restrictions apply to those coming from the “old country.”
Portugal is one of the most vaccinated countries in the European Union, although its caseload had been on the rise recently. MDT
