Macau SAR Government welcomes the decision of the 15 signatories of the Schengen Agreement on granting visa-free access to Macau SAR Passport holders, Secretary for Administration and Justice Florinda Chan said today at the Government Headquarters.

This visa-free agreement would come into operation twenty days after the announcement and the Macau SAR Passport holders may freely access to 15 countries of Europe after late April or early May, Ms. Chan added.

Speaking at the press conference, Ms. Chan elaborated that the Schengen Agreement covers 13 member countries of the European Union (EU) including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Greece, as well as Norway and Iceland which determined to grant 90 days of visa-free access to holders of Macau Special Administrative Region passports.

In return, the Government will introduce amendment on the legislation thus passport holders of Schengen signatories countries may stay in Macau for up to 90 days.

Ms. Chan said that the SAR Government would continue to lobby Britain and Ireland to grant visa-free access for the Macau SAR Passport holders, adding that the Government would continue to introduce the Macau SAR Passport to the other countries.

Concerning about those Macau SAR Passport holders who overstayed in the 15 signatories of the Schengen Agreement in Europe, Ms. Chan said that the Government promised to receive them. However, concerning those who illegally enter other countries through Macau, the Government would discuss the issue with EU once they required.

So far, 24 countries, including 15 signatories of the Schengen Agreement in Europe, Turkey, Korea, South Africa Samoa, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Egypt and Republic of Kiribati, have granted visa-free access to Macau SAR Passport holders.

The Macau Identification Bureau up to the date has issued about 60,000 SAR passports.