Discover why the APEC card is a secret weapon in the passport wallet of Australian business travellers.
By Staff Writers, August 14 2024 Share this article:
Imagine a single card which not only unlocks fast-tracked dedicated immigration lanes at the airports of over a dozen countries but lets you visit those countries without the hassle of applying for a visa.
Now stop imagining it because this card is the real deal – it’s the APEC Business Travel Card, and it’s part of a multi-national program to make business travel quicker, easier and a lot more affordable.
The APEC Business Travel Card is also surprisingly easy to obtain. Here’s what you need to know.
In this article:The APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) is issued and recognised by 19 member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation pact to facilitate business travel across the APEC region.
It significantly streamlines the travel process by removing the need to apply for a separate visa with each APEC country, with the bonus of letting you zip through airports using a special lane typically reserved for cabin crew and diplomats.
The following countries are full APEC members, in addition to Australia, of course:
While the USA and Canada are not full members, they still offer some fast-track benefits to APEC Business Travel Card holders.
There are two core benefits to holding an APEC Business Travel Card, and all of them will be music to the ears of any frequent flyer.
Visa-free travel: with an APEC Business Travel Card, you no longer need to apply for a visa to enter any of the 19 APEC member nations. That’s an immediate saver of time, hassles and money.
As a bonus, you can also stay up to 60 or even 90 days on each trip (the exact number depends on which country you’re visiting) and enjoy multiple entries within a consecutive 90-day period, again without the need for a special ‘multiple entry’ visa .
This all vastly simplifies the process of embarking upon a single business trip to Asia and visiting several countries within the region.
The only exception to this is the USA and Canada, which as ‘transitional’ APEC members still require travellers to complete a visa waiver.
Fast-track customs and immigration: say goodbye to all those times you’ve turned up at the airport, or landed in another country, only to be confronted with long snaking barely-moving lines for immigration and customs.
Your APEC Business Travel Card unlocks access to a special series of fast-track lanes at customs and immigration checkpoints.
These aren’t just the same priority lanes assigned to first and business class passengers: instead, they’re the special lanes used by cabin crew and the holders of diplomatic passports.
That’s the fastest of fast-tracks and it’ll get you to your hotel or meeting in record time – especially if you’re in the habit of being a ‘hand-luggage only’ flyer who eschews checked bags.
And because the APEC Business Travel Card is valid for five years, you’re in for five years of quicker, easier travel throughout Asia and beyond.
While each APEC member country has its own set of guidelines for applying for an APEC Business Travel Card, the eligibility criteria and overall process is generally quite similar.
In Australia, applications for an APEC Business Travel Card are processed by the Department of Home Affairs and requires a $200 non-refundable application fee.
Though once a physical card, the APEC BTC is now fully virtual – accessible via a smartphone app available on the Apple iPhone and Google Android platforms.
To be eligible for an APEC Business Travel Card, Australian applicants must first of all travel frequently to an APEC country for business purposes, and have not been convicted of any criminal offence.
Assuming you tick both of those boxes, you can be any of the following:
Finally, your business or “Australian-based peak business body” must be “engaged in international trade or investment between APEC economies.”
That can cover “trading goods, services or conducting investment activities between APEC economies”, although the rules provide leniency “if the business is a start-up operation.”
The Department of Home Affairs website offers more detail on how it assesses if your business is uitable for the APEC Business Travel Card.
Yes. The APEC Business Travel Card is not intended to replace the passport and you will be required to present it together with your APEC Business Travel Card when arriving and departing from participating economies.
As a general rule, each application takes between two to three months to be processed. However, some economies require additional information and may impose additional eligibility criteria, which may delay the clearing process even further.
If you are planning to travel through the APEC region within a short time of applying, the Australian Government offers an interim APEC Business Travel Card option.
This alternative will allow you to indicate five priority economies when submitting your application and receive a provisional card for those five economies whilst you wait to receive your official APEC Business Travel Card.
The ABTC is valid for five years. Note, however, that your APEC Business Travel Card is associated with the specific passport you used in your application, so if your passport expires, you’ll have to update the details by submitting a copy of your new passport bio-data page through your ImmiAccount.
Unfortunately, there is no established renewal process. Your only option is to file a new application once your current APEC Business Travel Card has expired, meaning you’ll once again have to wait for all the countries of the APEC Business Travel Card scheme to process and approve your application.
We therefore recommend submitting the application for the new APEC Business Travel Card at least three months before the expiry of your current card.
