Hong Kong Opens 1,400 Cross-Boundary Driving Quotas for Macao Applications Starting May 7

New open category under regular quotas for Hong Kong private cars using HZMB to Macao facilitates cross-boundary travel

The Transport Department (TD) announced today (May 1) that a total of 1400 regular quotas for Hong Kong cross-boundary non-commercial private cars using the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) to Macao (Hong Kong quotas) will be open for application from May 7. A new open category will be introduced to make better use of the HZMB's carrying capacity and facilitate efficient cross-boundary travel.

Apart from accepting individuals or companies meeting specific employment or business activities to apply for individual or company quotas respectively under "quotas with eligibility criteria" according to the usual practice, new "open quotas" not subject to the above eligibility criteria will be introduced in this batch for all Hong Kong permanent residents and registered companies.

A spokesman for the TD said, "Hong Kong and Macao governments have adhered to the principle of making better use of the HZMB's carrying capacity. The governments have committed to enhance the arrangements of cross-boundary driving schemes, streamline the application procedures and improve travel experiences. These new open quotas will provide additional convenience for Hong Kong residents to drive to Macao for work, business, visiting families or sight-seeing, thereby strengthening ties between the two places."

Application details

The 1400 Hong Kong quotas in this batch include 900 additional quotas agreed between the governments of Hong Kong and Macao and 500 reallocated quotas upon expiry. Details of different categories and their eligibility criteria are tabulated below:

Category of Hong Kong quotas

Quotas with eligibility criteria

(allocated based on existing eligibility criteria)

Open quotas

(open to all individuals/ companies)

Individual quotas

500

(including 250 new quotas and 250 reallocated quotas)

open to Hong Kong permanent residents who are employed with remuneration in Macao or who have established a registered company in Macao

200

(new quotas)

open to all Hong Kong permanent residents

Company quotas

500

(including 250 new quotas and 250 reallocated quotas)

open to companies registered in both Hong Kong and Macao, or companies registered in Hong Kong that are associated with another company registered in Macao

200

(new quotas)

open to all companies registered in Hong Kong

Total

1000

400

The TD reminded applicants that:

Any individual or company can only hold one Hong Kong quota. Holders of existing individual or company quotas launched from September 2023 onwards are not eligible for this batch;

Each individual or company can only submit one application under quotas with eligibility criteria or open quotas. They will be disqualified if otherwise;

To further ensure applicants' eligibility, during ballot registration, all applicants must fill in the reference numbers of their valid required supporting documents; and

Applicants under quotas with eligibility criteria are also required to upload a copy of the required supporting documents (including a valid Business Registration Certificate of a Macao registered company, a valid Non-resident Worker's Identification Card issued by the Macao Public Security Police Force or a Macao Permanent Resident Identity Card and a valid employment contract with receipts of income covering the recent three months issued by the employer in Macao).

Eligible applicants may submit their applications from 9am on May 7 until 5.15pm on May 20, 2026, through the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/en/residents/transport/crossboundary/hzmballot.htm), after which a ballot will be conducted. Successful balloting applicants must submit the required documents for the TD's vetting to prove that they have met the eligibility criteria on or before May 20.

Validity period of quotas

Private cars issued with quotas are expected to access the city of Macao multiple times via the HZMB starting from July 13, 2026, at the earliest. The quotas are valid for not more than three years until July 12, 2029. The TD will arrange open applications for and reallocation of the quotas upon their expiry.

For details of the application criteria, procedures and licensing requirements of Hong Kong quotas, please visit the TD'swebsiteor call the hotline 2804 2600 for enquiries.

Source: AI-found images

New Statutory Minimum Wage rate of $43.1 per hour takes effect today

The Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) rate has been raised from $42.1 per hour to $43.1 with effect from today (May 1).

According to the Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO), employees are protected by the SMW whether they are monthly-rated, daily-rated, hourly-rated, piece-rated, permanent, casual, full-time or part-time, etc, and regardless of whether they are employed under a continuous contract as defined in the Employment Ordinance (EO). The SMW is not applicable to live-in domestic workers (irrespective of their sex, race and nationality), student interns and work experience students as specified in the MWO, and persons to whom the EO does not apply.

The SMW also protects employees with disabilities. A special arrangement is provided under the MWO for employees with disabilities to opt for a productivity assessment to determine whether they should be remunerated at no less than the SMW or at a rate commensurate with their productivity. For those employees with disabilities who have chosen this special arrangement, their employers must pay wages of not less than the amount calculated according to the new SMW rate and the degree of productivity assessed.

In addition, the monthly monetary cap on the requirement for employers to record the total number of hours worked by employees in a wage period under the EO has been raised from $17,200 to $17,600 per month with effect from today in tandem with the implementation of the new SMW rate. When wages payable to an employee in respect of a wage period are less than $17,600 per month, the employer is required to keep a record of the total number of hours worked by the employee in that wage period.

Enquiries about the SMW can be made through the 24-hour enquiry hotline at 2717 1771 (handled by 1823) and during office hours at branch offices of the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department (LD). For details of the SMW, please visit the LD's homepage (www.labour.gov.hk).

Source: AI-found images