I. The nature of the passport and the travel permit of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and their prospective applicants

The passport of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as "MSAR passport") is one category of the passports of the people's Republic of China. The travel permit of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as "MSAR travel permit") is one category of the travel documents of the People's Republic of China. MSAR passport and MSAR travel permit are valid for travel to all countries and regions in the world and both record the bearer's right to return to the Macao Special Administrative Region. Under Article 139 of The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, MSAR passports shall be issued to Chinese citizens who are permanent residents of the Macao Special Administrative Region, while MSAR travel permits shall be issued to other lawful residents of the Macao Special Administrative Region, including non-permanent residents and permanent residents of non-Chinese nationality of the Region.

 

II. The Issuing Authority of the Passport and the Travel Permit of the Macao Special Administrative region of the People's Republic ofChina

Under Article 139 of The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the Central People's Government of China shall authorize the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region to issue, in accordance with law, passports and travel permits of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. In addition, according to international practice, Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in foreign countries, or other Chinese representative offices abroad under the entrustment of the Ministry of Foreign affairs of the People's Republic of China may also handle matters relating to the issuance of MSAR passports and travel permits subject to strict regulations and elaborate arrangements.

 

III. The Validity of the Passport and Travel Permit of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

MSAR passport is normally valid for ten years unless otherwise stated. MSAR travel permit is normally valid for five years unless otherwise stated. Neither MSAR passport nor MSAR Travel permit has Accompanying Children Page. People under 18 years of age are eligible to apply for separate MSAR passports or MSAR travel permits as the case may be, which are normally valid for five years.

 

IV. The Format and Printing Technology of the Passport and the Travel Permit of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

1. The full name of MSAR passport as appearing on its cover is "中华人民共和国澳门特别行政区护照" in Chinese, "REGIAO ADMINISTRATIVA ESPECIAL DE MACAU,REPUBLICA POPULAR DA CHINA,PASSAPORTE" in Portuguese, and "MACAO SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION,PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA,PASSPORT" in English.

The full name of MSAR travel permit as appearing on its cover is "中华人民共和国澳门特别行政区旅行证" in Chinese, "REGIAO ADMINISTRATIVA ESPECIAL DE MACAU,REPUBLICA POPULAR DA CHINA, TITULO DE VIAGEM" in Portuguese, and "MACAO SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, TRAVEL PERMIT" in English.

2. MSAR passport and travel permit are 125mm by 88mm in size and have 48 and 32 pages respectively. Both are done in the three languages of unsimplified Chinese, Portuguese and English.

3. MSAR passport has a dark-green soft cover while MSAR travel permit has a dark-purple soft one. On the front cover of MSAR passport and travel permit are printed a gilded design of the national emblem of the People's Republic of China and gilded characters and letters of their respective full names in Chinese, Portuguese and English.

4. The inner pages of MSAR passport and travel permit are made of paper exclusively produced for the purpose. Each page contains a watermark of the Great Wall design and an embossed lotus pattern on a rainbow background.

5. The inside front cover of MSAR passport and MSAR travel permit carries a message of request. Page 1,2 and 3 are notes in Chinese, Portuguese and English respectively. Page 4 and 5 are observations pages. Pages 6 to 47 (6 to 31 in the case of MSAR travel permit) contains information for emergency and the signature of the bearer. The inside back cover is a page for the bearer's personal data.

6. When MSAR passports or travel permits are issued, the bearer's personal particulars and photograph will be printed on the personal data page. In addition, the bearer's ID number, photograph and fingerprint will be printed on the observations page.

7. Both MSAR passport and travel permit are machine-readable. The format of personal data page is designed according to the recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The Machine Readable Zone is at the lower part of the personal data page on the inside back cover.

 

V. Anti-forgery Measures for the Passport and the Travel Permit of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

All the materials and equipment used for making MSAR passports and travel permits are provided by world-renowned specialized manufacturers or suppliers. The printing and manufacturing techniques are superior and environmental-friendly. Made with the state-of-the-art security and anti-forgery technologies, MSAR passports and travel permits are of high quality.