Extending a Macau visitor stay: timing, documents and approval

01This guide concerns visitors who are already admitted

Checked on 25 October 2026, this guide covers preparation by non-resident short-term visitors seeking an extension of “Authorization to Stay”. It does not explain first admission or substitute the separate procedure for residence applicants awaiting a decision. Before arrival, or for a later return to Hong Kong, check the separate Hong Kong–Macau entry and re-entry guide.

The official service overview requires justified reasons, such as force majeure, humanitarian grounds or other exceptionally substantiated reasons, along with valid accepted travel documents and no relevant legal impediment. Wanting a longer holiday is not a universal approval guarantee. The authority assesses the application and period.

Find the Slip of Authorization to Stay issued on your latest entry and any subsequent approved extension documents. Establish the limit that currently applies to you. A friend's visa-free allowance, hotel nights or passport validity cannot determine your own authorised departure deadline. Ask the police if a document is missing or the date unclear.

02Ordinary and exceptional applications have different deadlines

Confirm the applicable procedure with the authority rather than selecting whichever appears easier.

“90 accumulated days” describes the ordinary procedure's scope; it does not promise an extra 90 days for each application. The exceptional route is not an automatic additional allowance for every visitor. Use the ordinary service page and exceptional service page without mixing forms or deadlines.

Five and ten days concern submission timing, not a five- or ten-day processing promise. Start preparing earlier. If approaching expiry, facing a holiday or dealing with unusual circumstances, contact the department promptly. Do not assume an appointment on a particular day preserves your existing limit. Official guidance says late or obviously unjustified applications may be initially rejected.

03Your travel document and admission purpose matter

Two people described as tourists may have different conditions. The police appointment-system guidance explains that holders of a PRC Exit-entry Permit with a Macau endorsement are bound by the endorsement's stay conditions. PRC-passport and other travellers admitted for transit must also respect that purpose.

The explanation identifies exceptions where force majeure prevents departure, such as hospitalisation, a traffic accident or flight cancellation. It does not permit every endorsement holder to extend a holiday freely, or turn transit permission into unrestricted sightseeing permission. Explain your document category, admitted purpose, present limit and reason, then ask which handling applies.

Foreign-passport holders should not infer extension eligibility from nationality alone either. The allowance potentially available at first entry and the grounds for extending after admission are separate questions. An earlier successful application, informal agent advice or a paid hotel reservation cannot replace assessment of this case.

04Organise identity, existing permission and supporting evidence

The ordinary procedure requires the completed application form and copies of the valid passport or travel document used for your Macau stay: the biodata page, used pages and latest entry Slip of Authorization to Stay. Applicable identification-document cases follow the official requirements. Show originals for checking when submitting copies. Having photographs on a phone is not the same as preparing every required item.

Match evidence to the reason. The authority gives the example of a hospitalisation certificate following illness or a traffic accident. Ask what is needed for other circumstances. For a cancelled flight, retain the carrier's notice, original itinerary and subsequent arrangements, then confirm the department's evidence requirements. Do not assume one screenshot must be sufficient.

The person concerned or a legal agent may apply. An agent needs a certified authorisation letter and a copy of valid identification; a relative carrying your papers has not automatically completed those formalities. Exceptional applications including family members require the relevant personal-information form, and further documents may be requested. Keep an organised copy of what you submitted and when.

05Use the current official address, not an old street photograph

The present service pages name the Stay Subdivision, Residence and Stay Affairs Department, Immigration Building of the Public Security Police Force, Travessa Um do Cais de Pac On, Taipa, Macau. Historical street views, department names or building photographs should not override that address. The opening building photograph and the 2010 immigration-services photograph below provide institutional context; they are not two alternative current application counters.

Published hours are Monday–Thursday 09:00–17:45 and Friday 09:00–17:30, closed Saturdays, Sundays and Macau government holidays. Application tags stop at 17:00; result-collection and supplementary-document tags stop at 17:15. Closing time and the end of ticket allocation differ, so arriving at 17:40 does not establish that an application will be taken.

Use the appointment link from the official service page and ask the department when needed at +853 2872 5488. An online appointment is not a completed online extension application. Confirm the procedure, documents and forms before going. Keep personal travel-document details secure.

06After submission, check both progress and your valid stay arrangements

The ordinary procedure's one-working-day service pledge starts on the next working day after the unit receives and confirms all required documents are correct. It excludes queueing and postage. Supplementary documents, individual circumstances and the approval outcome cannot be inferred from that single number. Exceptional extensions have case-dependent processing, not the same one-day pledge.

The official progress enquiry system asks for travel-document number, date of birth and a verification code. Enter through the official service page, check the domain and supply your own information there. Keep submission records or receipts and read the instructions given to you.

Do not interpret an appointment confirmation, receipt or pending status as an already-approved new limit. At submission, ask what valid stay arrangements currently apply, when to supply missing documents, how the decision is communicated and what to do if the original limit approaches without a result. Follow the police's case-specific instructions. Ask directly when uncertain; changing hotel dates does not extend lawful permission.

The service overview says approval results in a new Slip of Authorization to Stay showing the new limit. Check the name, document details and authorised date, collect or confirm the result through the applicable method, and retain it before updating departure transport. If refused or granted less time than requested, act on the formal decision. The date you requested is not the date necessarily approved.

07Settle departure travel separately from the application

Changing a flight, extending accommodation and obtaining immigration approval are three tasks. Compare flexible bookings and retain carrier notices, but do not treat a non-refundable onward reservation as a reason the authority must approve. Departure still involves reaching an airport or terminal, completing formalities and meeting the next destination's entry requirements.

If expiry is already very close before submission, contact the police immediately. If already overstaying, the ordinary timeline in this article is not permission to regularise matters yourself. Contact the police directly about an overstay; leaving then returning does not guarantee a fresh allowance. Clarify dates and document conditions before arranging a feasible departure.