Abstract
This chapter analyses the migration laws and regulations of Macau as well as the international regulatory framework applicable in this special administrative region of China. It also addresses issues of ‘citizenship’, immigrant labour force, repatriation, and human trafficking in light of the special status of the region within China and because Macau has become the world’s primary gambling hub, with tens of casinos and hotels increasingly seeking significant numbers of immigrant workers to cater to millions of tourists. Finally, it highlights the issue of a political-ideological border control, a matter well documented by media sources.
This chapter is based on the report prepared for the XIXth Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law that was held in Vienna in 2014, titled ‘Migration and Law in the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (China)’.
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Notes
- 1.
Occasionally, also spelled ‘Macao’, even though ‘Macau’ is the name in Portuguese, which is one of the official languages in the territory. This chapter adopts ‘Macau’ as the standard, but it maintains the spelling within legal passages quoted.
- 2.
Henceforth Macau.
- 3.
Henceforth China.
- 4.
See Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau, 1987.
- 5.
There is, of course, a discussion over the ranking of the Basic Law in relation to international law in Macau. See Basic Law (EN) for English translation.
- 6.
Number refers to the division of an Article of Law in Macau.
- 7.
The maximum length of stay differs from nationality to nationality. A period of 3 months is valid for most nationalities of Europe and some others (such as Brazil), but can also be of very different durations (14 days for nationals of Brunei or 6 months for British nationals) as it stands on 30 August 2013. See PSB (VIII).
- 8.
Such as visitors from Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam (starting 1 July 2010), who are required to apply for a Macau visa in advance through a Chinese embassy or consulate. Available at website of Corpo de Polícia de Segurança Pública de RAEM, see PSB (b).
- 9.
See PSB (a).
- 10.
See PSB (a).
- 11.
See PSB EN (IX).
- 12.
For the most recent numbers, see SCB (a) and LAB (a).
- 13.
Also known in a different English translation as ‘Human Trafficking Deterrent Measures Concern Committee’.
- 14.
2014 Trafficking in Persons Report. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State website, www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2014/226766.htm (last accessed on 21 September 2017).
- 15.
‘MACAU: Tier 2 Watch list. The Government of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) of the People’s Republic of China does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated these efforts during the reporting period by inspecting employment agencies, construction sites, and companies with gaming licenses for indicators of trafficking, conducting numerous anti-trafficking trainings and public awareness campaigns, also via new online videos available in eight languages, and providing services to all victims identified during the reporting period. However, the government did not add measures compared to the previous reporting period. Although authorities investigated four cases of potential labour trafficking in 2016, the government concluded they were not forced labour cases, and pursued prosecutions under other charges. Authorities have never identified labour trafficking victims in Macau. The government initiated eight trafficking investigations and two prosecutions, but did not obtain any trafficking convictions for the second consecutive year. Macau authorities identified four sex-trafficking victims—the lowest number in the past 5 years. Therefore, Macau was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List’. See USDS (2017).
- 16.
This number refers to March 2018, see SCB (b).
- 17.
In 2016, the number of visitors to Macau reached 30,950,336. For this information as well as the number of visitors per month, see SCB (c).
- 18.
For the latest figures concerning the number of visitors and the economic data for Macau, see the website of Macau’s Statistics and Census Bureau, www.dsec.gov.mo/home_enus.aspx (last accessed 17 April 2019).
- 19.
For an unofficial English version of the regulation, see LAB (b).
- 20.
See USDS (2012).
- 21.
For one, see: USDS (2012) Human Rights Report on Macau (within the broader report on China).
References
Government Websites
Macau Basic Law English translation (Basic Law (EN)) available at: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/mo/mo019en.pdf. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
Public Security Bureau or Corpo de Polícia de Segurança Pública de RAEM (PSB EN)
PSB (EN b) Application for Macao Visa through Chinese Embassy or Consulate, available at: http://www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/eng/AfMV.html, Accessed 21 Sept 2017
PSB (Portuguese) Available at: www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/por/psp_top3_3.html. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
PSB EN (a) Immigration Service, available at: www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/eng/Service_Imm.html, Accessed 21 Sept 2017
PSB EN (IX) Entry and Exit of Non-residents, Available at: www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/eng/EDoN.html#IX. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
PSB EN (VIII) Limit of Stay upon Arrival, Available at: http://www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/eng/EDoN.html#VIII. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
Macau’s Statistics and Census Bureau (Direcção dos Serviços de Estatística e Censos) (SCB)
SCB (a) available at http://www.dsal.gov.mo/en/standard/download_statistics/folder/root.html. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
SCB (b) Macao in figures, available at: http://www.dsec.gov.mo/Statistic.aspx?NodeGuid=3c3f3a28-9661-4a5f-b876-83d8b3eade28. Accessed 28 Mar 2018
SCB(c) Visitor Arrivals, available at: http://www.dsec.gov.mo/TimeSeriesDatabase.aspx?lang=en-US&KeyIndicatorID=27. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
Macau’s Labour Affairs Bureau (Direcção dos Serviços para os Assuntos Laborais) (LAB)
LAB (a) Statistics on Labour Force, available at: http://www.dsal.gov.mo/en/standard/download_statistics/folder/root.html. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
LAB (b) Administrative Regulation no. 17/2004 on “illegal work” (unofficial English version) available at: https://www.dsal.gov.mo/en/text/dsallawc_law3.html. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
U.S. Department of State (USDS)
U.S. Department of State (USDS) (2014) Trafficking in Persons Report. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, available at: www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2014/226766.htm. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
USDS (2012) Human Rights Report on Macau (within the broader report on China), available at: www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012humanrightsreport/index.htm?dynamic_load_id=204199&year=2012#wrapper. Accessed 28 Apr 2013
USDS (2017) Trafficking in Persons Report (2017) Office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, available at: https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2017/271231.htm. Accessed 21 Sept 2017
Legal References Cited
Macau’s Legislation
Administrative Regulation No. 17/2004 on Prohibition of Illegal Work
Administrative Regulation No. 23/2009, on the Amendments to the Stipulation on Overstay in the Regulations of Entry, Stay and Residence Authorization
Administrative Regulation No. 5/2003, on the Regulations of Entry, Stay and Residence Authorization
Administrative Regulation No. 8/2010, on the Regulation of the Law of the Employment of Non-resident Workers
Basic Law of Macau, 1993
Executive Order No. 266/2007 of the Chief Executive (On the Interdepartmental Committee to Fight Against Human Trafficking)
Law No. 21/2009 (as amended by Law No. 4/2013), on the regulation of the Employment of Non-resident Workers
Law No. 4/2003, on the General Principles of the System of Entry, Stay and Residence Authorization
Law No. 6/2004 (Law of Illegal Immigration and Expulsion)
Law No. 6/2008 (Law Against Human Trafficking)
Law No. 6/97/M (‘Law on the Organized Crime’) of 1997
Law No. 9/2002 (Internal Security Law)
International Law
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children (Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime)
Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Issue of Macau, 1987
Slavery Convention
Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the assistance of Jieqiong Yan (Olga) and the support of the University of Macau; Prof Hanne Petersen and the Centre for European and Comparative Legal Studies (CECS) of the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen. Further, the author wishes to extend special thanks to Prof Fernanda Duarte, UNESA/UFF—Brazil and Prof Rostam Neuwirth, University of Macau, Macau—China, for their continuous support, insightfulness, and collaboration. The author acknowledges and thanks UNESA—Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and its Post-Graduate Programme in Law (PPGD) for the partial funding of his investigations through the institution’s productivity scholarship programme, and thanks for the continuous support of Prof Rafael Mario Iorio Filho, UNESA’s Vice-Rector of Graduate Studies, Research and Community Affairs, and Prof Carlos Eduardo Adriano Japiassº, Coordinator of UNESA’s PPGD programme and Prof Eduardo Val, Associate Coordinator of UNESA’s PPGD programme.
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de Castro Halis, D. (2022). Law and Migration in the World’s Gambling Haven: The Uniqueness of the Macau SAR (China) and Its Migration Reality. In: Foblets, MC., Carlier, JY. (eds) Law and Migration in a Changing World. Ius Comparatum - Global Studies in Comparative Law, vol 31. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99508-3_10
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