Courts | TUI rules occasional technical support not illegal

The Court of Final Instance (TUI) has ruled that it is not illegal for non-local residents to provide occasional technical support in Macau under agreements between local and foreign companies, according to a statement released by TUI regarding a case being heard.

The two parties involved in the case are a Hong Kong resident and the Secretary for Security.

In 2014, a Hong Kong resident visited Macau on a total of 61 nonconsecutive days to provide technical support to the Macau branch of a non-local company.

On April 8, 2015, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) revoked the man’s permit to stay in Macau and banned him from entering the city for three years. Additionally, he was issued a penalty of MOP5,000 by the Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL).

The Hong Kong man appealed to the PSP. However, the Secretary for Security revoked the appeal, which prompted the man to file a lawsuit against the Secretary’s decision.

The judgment by the Court of Second Instance (TSI) fell in the man’s favor. The Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, then appealed to the TUI, claiming that the TSI did not explain the definition of “long-term and stable work.”

According to the TUI’s ruling, under the following conditions, a non-local person will not be considered to be providing illegal work: where local and non- local enterprises have an agreement; the assistance aims at providing occasional, especially instructive, technical and quality assurance service; the non-local resident does not stay in Macau for a consecutive or nonconsecutive 45 days within a period of six months, with the six months starting from the day of their entry.  JZ