The Macau government said yesterday that as of last week, around 31,000 Macau residents had obtained a mainland car driving licence without having to take a driving test there.
The reciprocal driving-licence recognition agreement between the mainland and Macau took effect on May 16 this year.
The local government signed the agreement with the Ministry of Public Security in February this year.
The mutual driving-licence recognition only applies to cars, not other motor vehicles.
According to the agreement, Macau permanent residents holding a Macau driving licence can obtain a mainland driving licence without having to take a driving test. The mutual driving-licence recognition does not cover Macau non-permanent residents.
Eligible Macau driving licence holders intending to obtain a mainland driving licence need to visit a police or traffic service point in the mainland, where they are required to present various documents such as their Macau ID card, Macau driving licence, certificate of physical fitness, and headshot photo.
Application procedures slightly differ among cities across the mainland. There are seven application points in the neighbouring city of Zhuhai, which require potential applicants to make an appointment before visiting them.
A statement by the Macau Transport Bureau (DSAT) yesterday said that as of Wednesday last week, i.e., six months after the reciprocal driving-licence recognition agreement took effect, 31,470 Macau permanent residents had obtained a mainland driving licence, without a driving test, from police or traffic service points across the mainland, according to data provided by the Ministry of Public Security.
According to the agreement, those holding a Macau Category B driving licence, which allows the driving of either manual-transmission (MT) or automatic-transmission (AT) cars, are eligible to obtain a mainland corresponding-category driving licence, namely Category C1. Those holding a Macau Sub-category B driving licence that only allows for the driving of AT cars are eligible to obtain a mainland Category C2 driving licence, which also only allows the driving of AT cars.
According to the agreement, mainland residents holding a mainland driving licence can drive in Macau for up to 14 days after entering the special administrative region without the need to obtain a Macau driving licence.
However, those intending to drive in Macau after the 14-day period have to register with the Macau Public Security Police (PSP) Traffic Department. After registering with the PSP Traffic Department, they can drive in Macau for up to one year. Eligible mainland driving licence holders have to present their paper driving licence when formalising their registration at the PSP Traffic Department, which will then issue them with a one-year driving permit.
Those who have registered with the PSP Traffic Department have always to carry their mainland paper driving licence with them, as well as the one-year driving permit issued by the PSP Traffic Department, while driving in Macau.
Correspondingly, mainlanders holding a Category C1 driving licence are allowed to drive either MT or AT cars in Macau, while mainlanders holding a Category C2 driving licence are only allowed to drive AT cars here.
Moreover, the reciprocal driving-licence recognition agreement also allows Macau residents without a Macau driving licence but holding a mainland driving licence to obtain a Macau driving licence without having to take a driving test here. In other words, the beneficiaries are Macau residents without a Macau driving licence who have obtained a mainland driving licence after passing a driving test there.
More details about the mainland-Macau reciprocal driving-licence recognition scheme can be checked at: http://www.dsat.gov.mo/cn-mo-drivinglicense/.
This poster provided by the Transport Bureau (DSAT) earlier this year explains the mainland-Macau reciprocal driving-licence recognition scheme.
