VisaWorkers leaving a job in Macao should check permission before starting another
Current-rule guide to cancellation, exceptions to the six-month employment restriction and employer responsibility for transport home.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
Last verified against linked sources:
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Cancel the old permission and confirm the departure date
Non-resident workers ending a job in Macao should use the government cancellation service immediately. It is free and listed as a same-day service. Take the employer's cancellation letter and copy, travel-document copy, worker card or approved application/receipt, and any stay slip. The employer's identity document is additionally specified for domestic helpers. Explain missing documents in the letter.
Cancellation ends the worker's and attached family's stay permissions immediately. The service says another stay authorisation of at least eight days is granted if necessary for departure arrangements. This is conditional, not an automatic grace period. Without another authorisation, remaining after cancellation means overstay from the following day. Ask the Non-resident Workers Subdivision at the Immigration Building, Pac On, for the actual permission and departure date before relying on the card's printed expiry.
Establish why the employment ended
The police FAQ on the six-month employment restriction explains why the termination documents matter. Cancellation does not produce the same outcome in every case. Listed exceptions include expiry of the employment contract, revocation of the employer's employment permit, mutual agreement, termination by the employer without just cause, and resignation by the employee with just cause. A same-employer renewal at the end of the existing term is another specified situation; it should not be confused with taking a different job.
For mutual agreement, the FAQ calls for a declaration recording that reason, with the employer's signature or both parties' signatures. For the employer-termination and employee-just-cause cases, it calls for evidence issued by a competent authority, such as the Labour Affairs Bureau. A worker's own description of a resignation does not establish that the authority accepts just cause. Before signing a departure settlement, identify the recorded reason and ask which official evidence is needed for the claimed exception.
Check the occupation condition and who pays for returning home
The Labour Affairs Bureau's consolidated employment law adds an important qualification to the exceptions. Article 4 places the six-month rule in paragraph 3; the older police FAQ uses earlier paragraph numbering. Under paragraph 4, where the employer's permit was revoked, employment ended by mutual agreement, or either specified termination exception applies, a new permit within six months concerns a job identical to the previously authorised occupation. An exception to waiting therefore does not mean unrestricted access to any occupation.
The same law separately protects repatriation when employment ends. Article 26 makes the employer responsible for the corresponding transport cost to the worker's habitual residence. The worker may choose another destination, provided that this creates no additional burden for the employer. This is a transport obligation, separate from the government's free cancellation procedure. Use the consolidated law when discussing the destination and payment with the employer; neither an agreed ticket nor an available job replaces the immigration permission needed to remain.
Use the worker account before arranging a new start
The government's worker-card FAQ provides a practical way to check the restriction recorded for an individual. In Macao One Account, select Non-resident Worker Services and inspect the limitation information, including the six-month employment restriction and the same-occupation limitation. Workers who already created an account can still use it after their card is cancelled, provided that the travel document registered with the police remains valid. Some other functions are available only to people who still hold worker status.
First-time registration is different: the FAQ requires valid non-resident worker status and a valid worker card. Someone whose card is already cancelled cannot assume that a new account can be created retrospectively. Existing users can also consult past employment records, but this service does not display employment-contract terms. Keep the signed termination evidence separately. If the recorded limitation differs from the exception being claimed, take that discrepancy to the subdivision before promising a new employer a starting date; an account enquiry itself is not a new work authorisation.
