Macau Advanced Professionals Programme
The employer-backed tier of Law 7/2023, for professionals in occupations that Macau has officially listed as in short supply across its four key industries.
Of the three talent categories this is the one a normal skilled worker can realistically reach, because it does not require a Nobel prize or a 200 point score built without a job. It requires an employer. The permit is tied to that employer and that occupation, and unlike the other two talent categories it does need habitual residence in Macau to renew. That combination makes it closer to a managed work permit with a settlement path than to a free-agent talent visa.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Professionals in designated shortage occupations in big health, high tech, modern finance, culture and sport, with a Macau job offer |
| Route family | Skilled work, employer sponsored |
| Validity | Up to 3 years |
| Stay per entry | Not applicable, this is a residence authorisation |
| Threshold | Employer offer in a shortage occupation, salary floor set per programme (MOP 600,000 pre-tax in the 2023 big health programme, about USD 74,500 at MOP 8.05 per USD), and 150 of 300 points |
| Renewal | Same or shorter period. Employment must continue and habitual residence is required |
| Settlement | Switch required. Keep the qualifying job, or move to Outstanding or High-end |
| PR clock | 7 years of ordinary residence |
| Citizenship clock | None. Permanent residence is the terminal status |
| Family | Spouse or de facto partner, and children under 18 |
| Local employment | Sponsor only |
| Tax headline | Territorial. Macau salary up to 12 percent |
| Processing | Statutory 90 days plus stops. Employer must hire within 90 days of the residence decision taking effect |
The salary figure is a moving target
The MOP 600,000 pre-tax annual salary comes from the 2023 big health programme. Each industry programme sets its own floor, and floors can be reset for each round. Do not treat MOP 600,000 as the national number. Confirm the current programme document for your industry before an employer builds an offer around it.
The points requirement is lower than the Outstanding Talents threshold, at 150 of 300, but the points are only one of three gates. The other two, the shortage occupation and the salary floor, are the ones that fail applications.
Application flow
- Secure a Macau job offer in an occupation on the current shortage list for the relevant industry programme.
- Check the salary floor for that programme and round, and confirm the employer will document the offer.
- Submit through the Talent Development Committee system during an open round. The current round runs from 2 December 2025 to 1 December 2026.
- The industry task force assesses the occupation, salary and points, and the Chief Executive approves.
- Complete residence formalities at the PSP within 90 days.
- The employer must actually hire you within 90 days of the residence decision taking effect. A slow onboarding process can waste the approval.
- Renew with proof that the employment continues and that you have been habitually resident in Macau.
Good fit
A mid-career specialist who already has a Macau employer willing to sponsor, in a role that appears on the shortage list, at or above the programme’s salary floor. A nurse, engineer, IT specialist or finance analyst moving into an established Macau operation. Someone who wants residence and intends to live in Macau full time.
Poor fit
A remote worker or freelancer with no Macau employer, since there is nothing to sponsor the application. Anyone whose occupation is not on the shortage list, because the points score cannot compensate. Anyone planning to spend most of the year outside Macau, because habitual residence is a renewal condition here and more than six months abroad in a year can break it.
Watchpoints
- The permit dies with the job. Losing the position can extinguish the residence authorisation, and a replacement job must still be in a shortage occupation at the salary floor. A promotion into a management role outside the list can be a problem.
- Habitual residence is required, unlike the other two talent tiers. This is the category where living abroad breaks renewal. Long absences are the most common cause of a refused renewal.
- The 90-day hiring deadline is hard. The employer’s HR timeline, not the applicant’s, decides whether the approval converts into a permit.
- The salary floor is programme specific. MOP 600,000 is the 2023 big health figure. Other industries and later rounds differ.
- Quota limited. A reported ceiling of 1,000 places for advanced professionals circulates among consultants, but per round quotas are not published clearly. A qualifying score is not a place.
- Switching tier is possible but not automatic. Moving to Outstanding or High-end means a fresh application against that programme’s criteria, not an upgrade at renewal.
Sources
- Talent Development Committee, Talent Recruitment System, checked 2026-10-22
- Administrative Regulation No. 19/2023, Official Gazette, checked 2026-10-22
- Law No. 7/2023, Legal System for Talent Recruitment, checked 2026-10-22