What Are Visa-free Countries for Entry to Macao?

Macao or Macau is a special administrative region of China that is located southwest of Hong Kong. Famous with its casinos and often dubbed Las Vegas of Asia, Macao also offers unique culture and experience that drives tourist visits to the region. According to the data released by Macao government, number of tourists visiting Macao in 2023 amounted to more than 28 million, around 70% of 40 million tourist arrival to Hong Kong in 2023.

It is not uncommon for a traveler visiting Hong Kong to also consider visiting Macao. Located only around 40 km from Hong Kong airport with direct access by ferry and bus, visiting Macao can be an alternative option to consider during Hong Kong layover. A visit to Macao by ferry from Hong Kong airport Sky Pier takes around 60 minutes. Alternatively, when visiting Macao by bus from Hong Kong airport to Macao port, the travel time will only take around 45 minutes.

If you are planning for a visit to Macao, the immediate question could be whether visa is required or not to visit Macao. You will figure out if you need visa for your next Macao visit in the rest of this article.

The government of Macao has developed an online information portal regarding visa requirements for entry to Macao. There are 81 countries that have been granted visa-free policy for entry to Macao with maximum duration of visa exemption varying from 14 days to 6 months.

Visa-free Countries for Entry to Macao

The list of visa-free countries for entry to Macao is summarized in the table below.

No	Country Name	Visa-free Visit Duration
1	Albania	90 days
2	Andorra	90 days
3	Argentina	30 days
4	Armenia	90 days
5	Australia	30 days
6	Austria	90 days
7	Belarus	30 days
8	Belgium	90 days
9	Bosnia & Herzegovina	90 days
10	Brazil	90 days
11	Brunei	14 days
12	Bulgaria	90 days
13	Canada	30 days
14	Cape Verde	90 days
15	Chile	30 days
16	Croatia	90 days
17	Cyprus	90 days
18	Czech	90 days
19	Denmark	90 days
20	Dominica	90 days
21	Ecuador	30 days
22	Egypt	90 days
23	Estonia	90 days
24	Finland	90 days
25	France	90 days
26	Germany	90 days
27	Greece	90 days
28	Grenada	30 days
29	Hungary	90 days
30	Iceland	90 days
31	India	30 days
32	Indonesia	30 days
33	Ireland	90 days
34	Israel	90 days
35	Italy	90 days
36	Japan	90 days
37	Kiribati	30 days
38	Korea (Republic of) / South Korea	90 days
39	Latvia	90 days
40	Lebanon	90 days
41	Liechtenstein	90 days
42	Lithuania	90 days
43	Luxembourg	90 days
44	Macedonia	90 days
45	Malaysia	30 days
46	Mali	90 days
47	Malta	90 days
48	Mauritius	90 days
49	Mexico	90 days
50	Moldova	90 days
51	Monaco	30 days
52	Mongolia	90 days
53	Montenegro	90 days
54	Morocco	90 days
55	Namibia	30 days
56	Netherlands	90 days
57	New Zealand	90 days
58	Norway	90 days
59	Philippines	30 days
60	Poland	90 days
61	Portugal	90 days
62	Romania	90 days
63	Russia	30 days
64	Samoa	30 days
65	San Marino	30 days
66	Serbia	90 days
67	Seychelles	30 days
68	Singapore	30 days
69	Slovakia	90 days
70	Slovenia	90 days
71	South Africa	30 days
72	Spain	90 days
73	Sweden	90 days
74	Switzerland	90 days
75	Tanzania	90 days
76	Thailand	30 days
77	Turkey	30 days
78	United Arab Emirates	30 days
79	United Kingdom	6 months
80	United States of America / USA	30 days
81	Uruguay	90 days

Besides the 81 countries above, Macao also stipulates special visa-free policies for visitors who satisfy certain criteria, as for example passport type or residence type, as shown in the table below.

No	Country Name	Criteria	Visa-free Visit Duration
1	Hong Kong	Permanent resident identity card holder	1 year
		Hong Kong passport holder on transit with flight ticket and visa for another country	7 days
2	China	Two-way exit permit with exit endorsement to Macao	90 days
		Permit for traveling to and from Taiwan with exit endorsement to Taiwan	7 days
		China passport holder on transit with flight ticket and visa for another country	7 days
3	Any country	Diplomatic passport holder	No limit

Macao Entry Permit Policy for Non Visa-Free Countries

Macao enacts visa-on-arrival policy for citizens whose countries are not included in the visa-free policy. With this policy, even if your country is not listed in the visa-free countries for entry to Macao, you can visit Macao without having to apply for Macao visa at Chinese embassy or consulate in your country. Upon arriving in Macao, you can apply for the entry permit, which is officially called the “Authorization to Enter and Stay“, at the border checkpoint and pay for the visa-on-arrival fee. The fees levied by Macao government for visa-on-arrival are structured as follows.

Applicant Type	Entry Type	Fee (MOP)	Fee (USD)
Individual	Single entry	MOP 200	USD 25
	Multiple entry	MOP 300	USD 38
Family passport	Single entry	MOP 400	USD 50
	Multiple entry	MOP 600	USD 75
Children under the age of 12	Single entry	MOP 100	USD 12.5
	Multiple entry	MOP 200	USD 25
Group of at least 10 people	Single entry	MOP 100	USD 12.5
	Multiple entry	MOP 150	USD 19

However, there are some countries that are excluded from the visa-on-arrival policy. Citizens from those countries are explicitly not exempted from a visa and thus being required to apply for Macao visa at the Chinese embassy or consulate in their respective country and obtain a valid visa prior to their arrival in Macao.

The list of countries with visa requirements for entry to Macao can be seen in the table below.

No	Country
1	Bangladesh
2	Nepal
3	Nigeria
4	Pakistan
5	Sri Lanka
6	Vietnam

If you are from one of the countries with visa requirements for entry to Macao, you can find more details on the document requirements and process from the visa application portal administered by Macao Public Security Police Force.

Macao Arrival Card / Authorization to Stay

If you visit Macao as the citizen of one of the visa-free countries, you will be given arrival card by the immigration officer upon clearing the immigration process. Macao arrival card has been renamed into Authorization to Stay since 2021. The “Authorization to Stay” slip contains information on the visitor’s name, travel document / passport number, date of entry to Macao, and last date to depart from Macao. A sample of Macau arrival card is shown below.

With its vicinity to Hong Kong and various tourist attractions it offers, Macao may be your next travel destination. The fusion between Eastern and Western culture is just too tempting to miss out. Don’t you think so?