The renewal and preservation of the Residence Authorization depends on whether the application meets the prerequisites and requisites stipulated in Law No. 16/2021 and Administrative Regulation No. 38/2021, especially whether the interested persons “habitually reside” in Macao, i.e. whether they make Macao a centre of living and reside in Macao for not less than 183 days per year starting from the effective date of the Residence Authorization. In addition, they should not be away for more than half a year every time they leave Macao.
Take the reunion of husband and wife as an example. After the spouse from a foreign country is granted Residence Authorization, the interested persons (both the husband and the wife) are required to “habitually reside” in Macao for the purpose of reunion. If any of them does not “habitually reside” in Macao, it is possible that the Residence Authorization will be revoked or the authorities will reject the application for renewal of the Authorization. In other words, in all cases that Residence Authorization is granted (See Note), no matter it is granted on the basis of family reunion or other reasons permitted by law, and no matter renewal is required or not, the interested persons are required to comply with the above stipulation regarding “habitually residing” for the duration of the Residence Authorization.
(Note: If the Residence Authorization is granted through the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute, the requirement of “habitually residing” belongs to the competence of the Institute. Therefore, relevant inquiries should be made to the Institute.) |
