APEC Business Travel Card
On September 4, 2007 the United States became the 18th
member economy of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to sign up to
the APEC Business Travel Card program.
The APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) is available to senior
business people who, in one application process, are granted three year
multiple entry visas to participating economies. The ABTC removes the need to
individually apply for visas or entry permits. The ABTC allows qualifying
travelers to transit through the airport quickly using a priority immigration
processing lane, and provides business visa pre-clearance valid for three years
and multiple entries to program-participating economies for a maximum stay of
two months.
There are 18 economies now participating
in the ABTC program: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, China, Hong Kong (China),
Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, PNG, Peru, the Philippines,
Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, USA, and Vietnam.
The ABTC is not yet available to U.S.
citizens pending implementation by the United States.
In other countries where the ABTC has
already been implemented, securing the card can take up to six months from the
time a completed application is submitted since all participating economies
must approve the traveleršs application. To date, only 17,000 cards have been
issued worldwide1. The ABTC is appropriate for senior
frequent long-term travelers to participating economies.
Travelers will be advised of the
availability of the APEC
Business Travel Card once applications procedures have been announced by the
United States.