Right of abode in Macau
Legal right to permanent residency in Macau / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In Macau immigration law, the right of abode (Chinese: 居留權, Portuguese: Direito de Residência)[1] entitles a person to live and work without any restrictions or conditions of stay. Individuals with this right are called permanent residents. Foreign nationals may acquire the right of abode after meeting a seven-year residency requirement and are given most rights usually associated with citizenship, including the right to vote in regional elections. However, they are not entitled to hold territorial passports unless they also naturalise as Chinese citizens.
As a special administrative region of China, the territory does not have its own nationality law and natural-born residents are generally Chinese citizens. Prior to 1999, the region was a colony of Portugal and right of abode was tied to Portuguese nationality law. Although Macau, mainland China, and Hong Kong constitute a single country, local residents with Chinese citizenship do not have automatic residence rights in either of the other two jurisdictions, which both control immigration separately. Conversely, mainland Chinese and Hong Kong residents do not automatically have residence or employment rights in Macau.