The APEC business travel card is a reciprocal multilateral visa arrangement made by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to facilitate trade and investment in this region. The card makes commercial travel for business people from the organization's various economies more convenient.
At present, 21 economies of the APEC have joined the program. With this card, users from the Chinese mainland can travel back and forth to 16 economies: Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Mexico, and Russia.
Applying for this card is equivalent to simultaneously obtaining visas for the 16 economies. During its validity period, there is no need to apply for a visa separately when travelling to these economies for business activities.
State-owned enterprises and non-public enterprises registered in Xiamen that have business dealings with APEC economies or plan to expand business there can apply for this card for their employees.
The card application process takes three to six months.
To provide maximum convenience, only the submission of the "APEC business travel card enterprise application form", the "APEC business travel card applicant information form", and a color copy of the personal data page of the applicant's passport are required during the application process. All of these documents can be submitted online.
The travel card serves as a "visa", and cardholders must have both a valid travel card and passport to enter or exit the relevant economies. It should be noted that cardholders can only enter or exit economies that have been approved, as indicated by English abbreviations on the back of the travel card.
All major ports in economies participating in the travel card program have dedicated customs clearance channels for cardholders.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
