As many as 400,000 local residents are expected to renew their identification cards in the next three years, Secretary for Administration and Justice Cheong Weng Chon said.

The Legislative Assembly passed a bill today (Wednesday) aimed at updating a 2002 law on local IDs. According to the secretary present, a new-generation ID card will be available for renewal by the end of the year. Yaskawa Motherboard

In response to an expected spike in demand for the new type of identification document, Cheong said the government would spend some MOP64 million (US$8 million) on a new system, and another MOP91 million allocated for the production of physical identity cards.

The new bill, which will come under scrutiny by lawmakers before a second vote, will allow locals to present their IDs on their mobile phones if passed.

“It was just an electronic way of reading personal information,” the secretary stressed. “Make sure you have a physical ID card with you if you’re worried that you may come across a policeman asking for your ID card on the street.”

It is expected that locals will be able to use their phones to pass through local immigration at the Gongbei checkpoint as early as the middle of 2023.

Robot Accessories However, they will still be required to present what is generally known as a ‘home-returning permit’ for Zhuhai immigration.