IPIM-approved residency permits drop in first half of 2019

The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) approved just six residency permits for technical immigration (mainly in the financial services and education sectors) during the first half of 2019, according to new data released by the Statistics and Census Service.

The number of approved applications markedly dropped after some of the institute’s top officials were removed from their roles last year during an anti-corruption probe.

Among the cases handled in the first half of 2019, six applications in the category of “management and technical personnel” were approved, while one was rejected or cancelled.

Meanwhile, no applications in the category of “major investment” were approved.

Former IPIM head Jackson Chang was placed under investigation in October 2018 for allegedly relaxing the requirements of his bureau for approving technical and investment residency applications. At the same time, investigations into several other high-ranking IPIM officials were opened, including former IPIM director Glória Batalha Ung.

Chang was placed under preventive custody in July, after the Commission Against Corruption concluded he had committed acts of “passive corruption” by falsifying documents and abusing his power.

According to data provided by IPIM, for the year of 2018, 25 applications for technical immigration residency were approved, while no applications were approved for major investment purposes. In 2017, there were 231 technical immigration residency applications approved and 10 major investment applications approved. DB