Macau’s one-stop strategy kicks off with mobile birth, marriage registration

One-stop digital registration is now available for residents of Macau who are getting married or having a child. The key life events have been added to services available through the Macau One digital ID platform and app, according to a government release.

The additions are the first sallies of a larger government “One Thing” initiative, which “integrates cross-department services with large application volume, strong correlation and concentrated processing time” to streamline processes and add convenience. “Through process optimization and data exchange,” says the release, “it breaks the data barriers between the Civil Registration Bureau and other departments, and enables marriage applications and birth registration” to happen completely online.

“One-Stop Birth” can automatically transmit identity information of newborns to the Health Bureau. Per the release, “parents can now use a mobile app to conveniently register their newborn’s birth, apply for an ID card, update health insurance information, and apply for birth allowance all in a single transaction.” The government says the digital certification system has reduced processing time for birth registration from four working days to one.

“One-Stop Marriage” offers a similarly efficient process for newlyweds, integrating procedures for registration, scheduling, identity card updates and marriage allowance application across multiple departments. Couples can even use the app to locate a private notary that can marry them, and have a marriage certificate issued on the same day.

The Macau One app has been a hit right out of the gates. According to coverage from Macau News, the app, which launched in pilot in 2020, had registered 560,000 users as of January 2024, accounting for some 80 percent of the Special Administrative Region’s population.

While it connects to 30 different departments and offers 330 services, a core function is to provide electronic identity verification through a device-bound mobile digital ID.

In March, the Identification Services Bureau (DSI) enabled identity card replacement and renewal services through Macau One. The latest generation of its Macau Electronic ID Cards (MEID) is provided by Veridos, and supports biometric identification and digital signatures. Marc-Julian Siewert, CEO of Veridos – which has been working with the DSI since 2022 – calls Macau “a trendsetter worldwide” in its adoption of biometric and digital ID technologies.

Given current Macau chief executive Ho Iat Seng’s planned expansion of digital services and push for digital transformation across government, the Macau One app and its digital ID ecosystem are likely to become central to an increasing number of government services and ID use cases in the region.

As a gambling hub and tax haven – especially one that is, technically, ruled by Beijing – it has also been an early adopter of facial recognition and other biometric surveillance tools, both in its casinos and at its borders.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  birth registration  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  identity verification  |  Macau  |  Macau One