Discussion over the new law updating the rules regulating the issuing and use of the Macau Identity Card (Macau ID) has concluded at the Legislative Assembly (AL) First Standing Committee.
Soon to be raised to plenary for final voting, the proposed date at which new law will enter into force is June 30.
One of the main reasons for the amendments to the law regulating the Macau ID cards was said to be related to the so-called electronization of the document, although the president of the Standing Committee, lawmaker Ella Lei, admitted yesterday that for the time being what will be enforced in just a “semi-electronization.” The use of the physical document will still be necessary for the majority of situations.
The main exception to this, for which the government aims to have legally enshrined regulation as early as the end of this month, has to do with the cross-border automated passages.
As soon as the law comes into force, it will be possible to generate a QR code via the Macao One Account platform that will be scanned by the border crossing automated gates allowing a touch-free and quicker immigration procedure, the government said.
Lei noted that this will be the first phase of the implementation of the new bill’s measures. At a later stage, several other functions will be introduced.
As the Times noticed when the bill was first presented, there will also be changes in the physical cards that will have less information displayed as the information will be stored in the electronic chip inside the cards.
At a later stage, the government will start to discuss the needs of various associations and services to access information stored in the chip. As Lei said, different organizations and services might have different degrees of access to the information on the card according to their needs.
Questioned on the matter by the media, Lei clarified that if any entity needs to have access to the information stored in the ID card chip, access must be granted through a request to the Identification Services Bureau (DSI). The DSI will analyze the request and its grounds and decide whether or not to grant authorization.
Some entities that the government considers essential to having access to the full information are being equipped with card readers that can read all the information, Lei said, noting that the law has specific articles that regulate this matter.
The Times asked whether the replacement of the ID with an electronic version in the Macao One Account, as already happens with other documents such as driving licenses and vehicle documentation, was a possibility.
Lawmaker Lei replied that for the time being only “some scenarios” are being considered by the government for the non-mandatory presentation of the physical document when requested by the authorities.
However, she noted that nonetheless that there will be a possibility of police authorities being able to verify someone’s identity through electronic means.
As for the new ID cards, according to previous information from the Secretary for Administration and Justice, André Cheong, they should start to be issued before the end of this year.
Cheong also advanced that the change for the new system, which includes changes to IT equipment as well as readers and physical card models, is expected to cost 155 million patacas, of which 64 million is for software and hardware changes and 91 million is for the production of the physical cards.
