APEC Business Travel Card: the opportunity to travel the world without visas

Starting from June 1, 2013 Russia became a full participant of the system for business travel into the APEC member countries

Any businessperson can become a participant of this program in the country of residence, contacting the competent authorities to obtain a special card, which gives the right to visa-free travel to the countries participating in the APEC forum.

The primary purpose of the APEC card is to simplify and accelerate the procedure of crossing the border when entering and leaving the APEC member countries.

APEC card enables regular business trips to the following countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Chile, Japan.

The US and Canada are temporary members of the APEC Business Travel Card system (there is no agreement now, the entry using the APEC card is not available).

The order of the issuance and use of cards for business travel into the APEC member countries is regulated by the APEC Business Travel Card Operating Framework (www.businessmobility.org), Russian Government Decree as of October 2, 2009 №773 «On the participation of Russia in the system for business travel into the APEC member countries "and the Presidential Decree as of June 5, 2012 № 777 "On the order of entry into Russia and exit from Russia for foreign citizens, holders of cards for business travel into the APEC member countries."

The APEC card may be issued to the honest entrepreneur, or the head of the legal entity, who has not been convicted of committing a criminal crime and performs the activities related to the business trips directly to the APEC forum member countries.

The competent authorities of all countries participating in the APEC forum carry out the approval of the candidate on obtaining the APEC card. Countries, granted the permission to the cardholder, are listed on the backside of the card. This is necessary to ensure that airlines and border guards can quickly determine whether the cardholder is permitted to enter the country.

Countries participating in the forum ensures cardholders the minimum stay in the country for 2 months and the maximum stay for 3 months, depending on the features of the immigration laws of each APEC country.

In accordance with Russian law, the period of stay of foreign citizens in Russia is not more than 3 months, herewith the total period of stay of foreign citizens in Russia is not more than 90 days per each period of 180 days.

APEC Business Travel Card is issued for a period of 5 years.

The APEC cardholders presents their card at the airports of participating countries on arrival and on departure. Countries may also require the cardholder to present a passport and an entry / exit card (migration card), at that, in case of prior approval, other visa documents are not required. When crossing the border, the cardholders may be checked in database containing the information on foreign APEC cardholders.

The APEC Business Travel Card does not enable anyone to carry out work in these countries. The laws of the host country regulate the order of stay on the territory of APEC member countries.

Foreign citizens, the holders of the cards issued by the competent authorities of the APEC member countries, enter Russia in order prescribed by the law. At the same time, it ensures the priority passage of the border control at checkpoints across the state border of Russia. 

In accordance with Clause 1 of the Decree of President of Russia as of 05.06.2012, № 777 "On the order of entry into Russia and exit from Russia for foreign citizens - holders of cards for business travel into the APEC member countries", foreign citizens, holders of cards for business travel into the APEC member countries with the code “RUS” on the back side of the card, may enter and exit Russia without a visa on the basis of the card and the actual documents proving their identity and recognized in Russia.

The sample of the APEC card is available here.

Below you can familiarize yourself with the stages, cost and terms of the services required to apply for an APEC card:

Please note that APEC card issuance can take from 3 to 6 months, as Applicants must be approved by the competent authorities of all APEC countries.

Also, the APEC card does not give the right to work in the territory of the APEC countries, entry is possible only for business purposes. When crossing the border, it is recommended to have a letter from partners in the country of destination, confirming the business purpose of the trip.

Duration of stay on such cards in APEC countries is regulated by local legislation. In the table below you can find a list of countries that can be entered with such cards and the duration of their stay. Please note that it is possible to change the indicated dates, please clarify the information immediately before planning the trip:

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