The Philippine Consulate General in Macau reminded its community that the migration law had taken effect yesterday, reiterating the community to “strictly” follow the laws and the regulations of the local government.
Back in August, SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng signed Law No. 16/2021 on the Legal Framework for the Control of Migration and Permits to Stay and Reside in Macau SAR, which officially took effect yesterday.
The law represents an update to Macau’s legal framework relating to immigration, stay and residence in Macau.
Article 21 of the law states that non-residents must declare their intended purpose and stay in the region, noting that the entry permits granted upon arrival are exclusively for tourism purposes.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, under the labor law for non-resident workers which was passed in October last year, many migrant workers sought jobs while holding tourist visas.
With the updated labor law, foreign workers seeking jobs in Macau face additional difficulties in accessing the documents that allow such work as it requires unqualified and domestic workers from overseas to have an entry permit on arrival to Macau in their possession.
This also applies to the non-resident workers already working in Macau, should they need or want to change employer.
With the border closures, foreign employees have taken the chance to change employers as it is now particularly challenging for local families to hire domestic workers.
Those looking to change employers were required to take the inactivated vaccine to be able to cross the border and return to Macau with a work permit to comply with the labor law.
The Macau Overseas Worker Employment Agency Association previously stated that some migrant domestic helpers are using the mainland-Macau U-turn convenience to change jobs, even requesting to be dismissed by their employers to find a better job.
The association described the job market as messy, despite the fact that the policy has helped ease the city’s demand for non-resident domestic helpers.
Another article of the law stated that stay permits issued to non-residents may be revoked when the person performs unauthorized work. Also, anyone who knowingly provides shelter or accommodation to an illegal immigrant can face imprisonment of two to eight years.
Therefore, the Philippine Consulate in Macau “reiterates its standing reminder to the Filipino Community in Macau to strictly follow the laws, rules and regulations of the Macau SAR Government.”
According to the consulate, the law “introduces critical changes in the law that all residents and non-residents in Macau must observe.”
Recently, the consulate called on the the Filipino community to refrain from organizing public gatherings without obtaining prior permits from the relevant Macau authorities.
This comes after the one-day detention of over a dozen of Filipinos who took part in a gathering to show support for a political party running for presidency in the Philippines’ 2022 elections due to failure to show the necessary permit from local authorities.
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