The Healthcare System in Macao: Organisation, Access for Foreigners, Hospitals and Emergencies

Health falls under the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, whose Health Bureau coordinates public and private facilities. The Government distinguishes two main groups. The government sector comprises the health centres, responsible for primary care, and the Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre (CHCSJ), which provides specialised care. The non-government sector brings together facilities subsidised by the Government and other institutions, including private clinics and laboratories. According to the Government’s official page, about 480 healthcare facilities and three private hospitals are registered.

Several reference figures come from the Government brochure and are given as a benchmark: the territory has nearly 1,900 doctors and 2,700 nurses, or 2.8 doctors per thousand inhabitants. Current health spending as a percentage of GDP is not published by the World Bank for Macao. Life expectancy at birth exceeds 83 years according to the World Bank. A system this well endowed does not mean free access, however: the billing rule depends on the patient’s status, set out below.

The Health Bureau applies a three-level tariff. The first level concerns holders of the Macao resident identity card, the second holders of the non-resident worker identification card, the third holders of any other identity document, for example a tourist, a retiree or a foreigner with no local status. In the CHCSJ emergency department, the consultation is billed MOP 42, MOP 60 or MOP 120 depending on the level, and the price of a day of hospitalisation in a room is the same (MOP 42, 60 or 120). Laboratory tests, medicines, treatments and surgery are billed in addition, at 70%, 100% or 200% of the reference rate.

For a French national, the status therefore depends on their situation: an employee recruited on an employment permit holds the non-resident worker card, while a tourist, retiree or spouse with no particular status falls under the third level. Holders of the resident card also benefit, according to the Government, from a 30% reduction on chargeable CHCSJ services, except for persons designated by the Government. Pregnancy and childbirth costs for non-resident workers and non-resident pregnant women are subject to a separate tariff, to be consulted with the Health Bureau.

Since 2009, permanent residents have received an annual healthcare voucher (MOP 600 since 2013, distributed electronically since 2018): this scheme does not concern non-resident foreigners. The insurance route for a non-resident is therefore private or voluntary: see the page healthcare reimbursement in Macao.

Primary care rests on nine health centres: Areia Preta, Fai Chi Kei, Ilha Verde, Tap Seac, Porto Interior, Praia do Manduco, Ocean Gardens, Nossa Senhora do Carmo-Lago and Seac Pai Van, complemented by health stations (new urban zone, Taipa, Coloane, Hengqin). They offer in particular consultations for adults, children and women, oral health care, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, mental health follow-up, screenings (cervical, breast, colorectal), health examinations and vaccination. The Government specifies that holders of the resident card receive free primary care there and that, on referral from a centre, complementary tests at the CHCSJ are exempt from payment.

For a non-resident, care is charged according to the Health Bureau’s tariff, the amount of which is not published on the page consulted. Most centres are open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with nursing care only at weekends and on public holidays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Each centre serves, in principle, the residents of its sector; a consultation outside the sector remains possible in some cases, for example for an unscheduled consultation. Dental and Chinese medicine care are not available at every centre. A foreigner without a resident card should, in practice, call the centre to learn the rate and the conditions of admission before going.

The CHCSJ is Macao’s public hospital. According to the Government, it has 29 specialities and 24 sub-specialities covering outpatient consultations, emergencies, hospitalisation, surgery and rehabilitation, and it was re-accredited in 2024 by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards International with a rating of “excellent” for the person-centred module. As a benchmark, the Government brochure records about 440 doctors, 1,150 nurses and 1,050 beds, for more than 250,000 emergency department visits a year.

The CHCSJ emergency department is open 24 hours a day in the emergency building. Since 28 January 2026, the operation of the emergency station of the Islands district has been entrusted to a medical centre, with the same operating model and the same three-level tariff: a non-resident pays 100% of the approved emergency costs there, according to a Government press release. In an emergency, France Diplomatie says to dial 999 (police, fire brigade, ambulances). The Government Tourism Office also lists the numbers 110 and 112 and gives the CHCSJ number (2831 3731): to be confirmed before use.

France Diplomatie reminds readers that without an assistance policy or insurance, the traveller may not have access to care, even in a life-threatening emergency, and that the French embassy in no case covers medical costs. As a public hospital bills a non-resident at the third-level tariff, direct payment by an insurer or assistance provider simplifies the process.

France Diplomatie’s China page, which includes Macao for insurance, gives general advice: never take medicines bought on the street because of the risk of counterfeits, carry your medicines in their original packaging with a prescription written using the international nonproprietary name (INN) and check that they are permitted in the destination country. In Macao, the Pharmaceutical Supervision and Administration Bureau, created on 1 January 2022, is responsible for registering medicines and supervising pharmacists and pharmaceutical companies. The list of authorised products is not published on the pages consulted: a chronic treatment is prepared in advance with your regular doctor, asking if necessary for a certificate and the INN of each product.

For freelancers and retirees staying for a long time, health insurance that covers medicines, dental care and hospitalisation is useful, because most costs in Macao remain the non-resident’s responsibility. Reimbursement benchmarks are in the reimbursements guide.

France Diplomatie states that the vaccines recommended in France are also essential for a stay abroad and that additional vaccines may be considered depending on the traveller’s profile: hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, rabies, dengue, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, tuberculosis, and yellow fever if arriving from an endemic area. The China page also mentions dengue cases in Guangdong province, recommending avoiding anti-inflammatory drugs. France Diplomatie also publishes occasional regional alerts, notably on measles, which do not name Macao explicitly; it is wise to check your vaccinations with a doctor before departure.

For the territory’s health situation, the Consulate General of France refers to the Institut Pasteur in Paris. As a benchmark, the Government records, among notifiable diseases, enterovirus infections, salmonella infections and cases of chickenpox. Natural risks also count: heat above 30 °C and humidity up to 90% from mid-May to the end of September, typhoons from May to November, and seismic risk. The typhoon signal instructions (T1, T3, T8, T9, T10) are detailed in the page living in Macao.

No social security agreement between France and Macao appears in the CLEISS list (CLEISS is the French Centre for European and International Social Security Liaison): the Carte Vitale opens no entitlement on site. The Caisse des Français de l’Étranger (CFE, the French overseas nationals’ health fund) offers a main offer, an offer for people under 30 and an offer for retirees, with contributions that depend on age and the plan chosen (current amounts on cfe.fr); first-euro international health insurance reimburses actual costs within the contract ceilings, with direct payment possible. Contracts are compared on the annual ceiling, hospitalisation guarantees, repatriation and the handling of pre-existing conditions: see expat health insurance, the CFE guide and repatriation and assistance. Expavy helps you test these options against your situation.