Entry bans without restrictions

The new immigration law being analyzed by the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) Third Standing Committee does not establish time limits for the enforcement of entry bans over people caught in unlawful activities, although the government says it is willing to negotiate with lawmakers on that matter.
This was one of the outcomes of yesterday’s meeting at the AL between the members of the committee and government representatives, said the committee chairman, Vong Hin Fai, in the press briefing that followed the meeting.
One of the articles analyzed yesterday morning was Article 8, which regulates the banning of entry into Macau. On the matter, lawmakers questioned the government on the absence of an upper limit for the bans.
According to Vong, the government explained that both the current and new laws do not establish a maximum period that one person can be prevented from entering Macau, a fact that, in the words of Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak as cited by Vong, was “never was a problem in the past.”
Vong noted that in Macau’s general laws enforced by the courts, there are cases where the courts issued legal opinions expressing that such bans should not exceed 10 years. He noted that the 10 year time frame comes from a law that regulates the penalties to be imposed on such organized crime.
Nevertheless, Vong said that the government expresses that it is open to negotiating the inclusion of an upper limit, although a concrete number has not yet been mentioned.

Gov’t defines ‘livelihood resources’ for visitors to MOP500 per day

The figure is not new, but the immigration authorities has defined what can be understood as “enough livelihood resources” when entering Macau. The authorities acknowledged that the amount in use is based on the calculation of MOP5,000 per person for a maximum of 10 days, equaling to MOP500 per day.
This is the sum that visitors need to prove that they possess to be allowed to enter the Special Administrative Region, the Secretariat for Security clarified in response to lawmakers’ questions during the analysis of the new immigration law at the Legislative Assembly (AL).
To clarify on how the proof can be made, chairman of the Third Standing Committee Vong Hing Fai noted, “probably this can be done through a credit card or by presenting the mobile phone with an electronic payment application.”