Non-Chinese residents of Macau – including Portuguese nationals – can, as of today (18), cross three border checkpoints into mainland China by vehicle more easily, using a single document instead of two.
The measure applies to Macau residents and permanent residents of Hong Kong, “including those of non-Chinese nationality,” traveling in either direction, according to the local Public Security Police Force.
Residents can use their Mainland Travel Permit – without also presenting their Macau identity card — at automated inspection channels and vehicle inspection lanes, the police explained.
“The new measures facilitating cross-border travel are intended to simplify entry and exit procedures and improve the cross-border travel experience for passengers,” police said Monday night.
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The measure covers the Hengqin and Qingmao border checkpoints and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, police said in a social media post.
“Passengers only need to ‘queue once, scan their document once and complete biometric verification once’ to complete all border inspection procedures for Guangdong and Macau,” police added.
Access to vehicle lanes at the Hengqin border checkpoint has also been expanded to foreigners holding a valid multiple-entry visa with a validity period of more than six months.
According to police, 42 million people crossed Macau’s borders during the first half of the year, an average of 235,000 crossings per day and a 12.8% increase from the same period in 2025.
Of those crossings, 43.8% involved Macau residents and 2.2% Hong Kong residents, representing increases of 12.4% and 12.2%, respectively, compared with the same period last year.
Since September 2024, foreign permanent residents of Macau and Hong Kong have been able to apply for permits to drive vehicles from the two special administrative regions in neighboring Guangdong province.
Two months earlier, China’s National Immigration Administration announced that foreign permanent residents of Macau and Hong Kong could apply for permits to enter mainland China, valid for up to five years.
The measure covers members of Macau’s Portuguese community who are permanent residents and who had previously been required to apply for a visa to cross the border into mainland China. The 2021 census recorded more than 2,200 people born in Portugal living in Macau.
The latest estimate provided to Lusa by Portugal’s Consulate General put the number of Portuguese passport holders among residents of Macau and Hong Kong at around 155,000.
