Identification Services Bureau (DSI) Director Chao Wai Ieng said yesterday that there are about 750,000 Macau identity card holders, of whom about 90 percent are able to renew their identity cards electronically, while only a small number of residents, including those who apply for identity cards for the first time or who are under the age of five on the date of this issue, need to apply at the counter in person.
Addressing a current affairs phone-in programme, Ou Mun Gwong Cheung, hosted by Ou Mun Tin Toi – the Chinese-language radio channel of public broadcaster TDM, Chao discussed the new generation of ID card (BIR) processing and e-services.
Chao said that as of last month, 128,000 residents had applied for the new generation of Macau identity cards, of which electronic applications accounted for 55 percent, counter applications made up 45 percent, and more than 55 percent of residents chose to use 24-hour self-service centres to renew their ID cards.
The self-service centres have been used by 290,000 people so far, reflecting the popularity of the 24-hour self-service centres among residents and the significant increase in the electronic and self-service applications for identification documents by residents, Chao pointed out.
Chao said that since the second quarter of this year, the bureau has run its outreach on-site ID card processing service, which is mainly targeted at schoolchildren – who are required to apply in person – and elderly residents requiring special care, adding that more than 100 applications have been processed so far this year. Chao said that he expected the number of outreach applicants to increase.
A caller asked during the phone-in programme whether residents living outside Macau can use the government’s Macao One Account mobile app for ID renewal.
Chao said that the applicant must be a permanent resident aged 18 or above, and also has had an ID photo taken at a photo studio in Macau that is cooperating with the bureau, before leaving Macau and upload it to the app, adding that the photo is valid for one year.
Chao also said that the government has run an online service for residents who lost their travel documents abroad since 2021, where they will receive an application number and verification code valid within 24 hours after filling in their personal details and completing face recognition at the Macao One Account app.
Chao underlined that the service has been fully covered in more than 160 countries and about 250 Chinese embassies abroad, adding that the bureau received 72 applications regarding the loss of ID documents overseas from January to October this year, of which nearly 80 percent were completed through the Macao One Account app.
In addition, so far this year, the bureau has received more than 80 applications for naturalisation to become a Chinese national from Macau permanent residents.
In addition, Chao said that if the bureau found suspected fake marriage cases during identity checks, they would report them to the police, and most of the suspects volunteer to give up their documents or surrender to the authorities during the investigation, adding that in cases where identity cards have already been obtained, their ID documents will be revoked upon conviction by a court.
Identification Services Bureau (DSI) Director Chao Wai Ieng addresses yesterday’s current affairs phone-in programme, Ou Mun Gwong Cheung, hosted by Ou Mun Tin Toi – the Chinese-language radio channel of public broadcaster TDM. – Photo courtesy of TDM
