The delegation from the Commission for Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities, which visited Macau from December 3 to 7, 2025, noted issues with the recent changes to the Resident Identity Card (BIR) regime since 2023, which have created additional obstacles for recruiting Portuguese workers.
The report also highlights significant delays in the processes for granting Portuguese nationality and issuing passports by the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN), with cases potentially taking between one to five years to resolve.
The replacement of magistrates, teachers, and doctors returning to Portugal was identified as a direct problem affecting the community, with seven doctors reportedly leaving Macau in 2025.
The delegation pointed out the resistance among public officials and some local magistrates to using the Portuguese language in their duties and stressed the need to address the rising demand for Portuguese language courses, amid concerns over the direct hiring of teachers by China.
Regarding Hong Kong, where the delegation visited from December 7 to 8, it was noted that about 30,000 Portuguese residents live there, along with the importance of the Club Lusitano.
In Timor-Leste, visited from December 9 to 12, the main challenge identified was the difficulty for Portuguese citizens to participate in electoral processes, due to unreliable postal services. Consequently, emigrants in East Timor have reinforced calls for the implementation of electronic voting.
The report also mentioned delays in pending nationality processes at the IRN and challenges in using Portuguese in the Timorese National Parliament, where many deputies and officials prefer Tétum or English despite Portuguese being an official language.
Additionally, the construction of a new Portuguese school in East Timor was deemed an urgent priority, considering that the current school, designed for 400 students, accommodates around 1,400 with a waiting list of about 400.
The mission further emphasized the need to strengthen Portuguese cultural presence in East Timor, support Timorese students and young workers in Portugal, preserve historical buildings related to the Portuguese presence, and develop economic opportunities in areas such as canned goods, shipbuilding, and regional Asian logistics.
