MSAR passport holders can apply for UK e-passport service

The British Consulate-General in Hong Kong has confirmed with the Identification Services Bureau that Macau SAR passport holders are now eligible to join the UK’s Registered Traveller Service (RTS), permitting them to enter and exit the UK using either the e-passport gates or the UK/EU entry lane.

MSAR passport holders will no longer need to complete a landing card. The relaxed regulations are expected to expedite travelers’ clearance through British immigration checks at certain airports.

Applicants for the RTS must be at least 18 years old and hold a Macau passport. They must also hold a valid UK visa or have visited the UK at least four times in the last 24 months.

It currently costs 70 GBP (MOP735) to join the program for the first year and an additional 50 GBP to renew thereafter.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application within 10 working days.

Those who pass the preliminary assessment will still need to use other passport lanes than those indicated, and complete a landing card next time they travel to the UK. At that point, a UK immigration officer will check that the applicants meet the relevant criteria and will grant them the RTS privilege if they do.

The UK airports with RTS facilities are Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, London, Luton, Manchester and Stansted, as well as Eurostar terminals in Brussels, Lille and Paris.