The Chamber has been authorized by The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Australia to provide a “Letter of Endorsement of Business Interest in APEC Region” as a supporting document for APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) applications.
Members should contact AustCham by email for assistance.
You can apply for an ABTC if you:
- travel frequently to an APEC economy (other than Australia or your place of residence) for business purposes
- have not been convicted of a criminal offence
- To be eligible, you must be one of the following:
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or regional or country head of a registered business entity
- an owner or director of a registered business entity
- a board member of a registered business entity
- CEO or CFO of an Australian-based business peak body
- a Vice President, Executive, Director, Senior Manager or similar
- an employee of a registered business entity nominated by the CEO, CFO, regional head, owner or director of the organisation. See the Pro-forma nomination letter (20KB PDF)
- a senior government official (defined as a member of the Australian Public Service who is at the Senior Executive Service level or above, or a state/territory equivalent)
Your business entity or Australian-based peak business body must be engaged in international trade or investment between APEC economies. If you are living outside Australia, you must have permission to live and work within this economy of residence. Applicants may be required to provide evidence of their work and residence permit with their application. More information on how to apply is available on the Department of Home Affairs website.
China Acceptance of Virtual ABTC
The Chinese Government has announced that it will accept the virtual APEC Business Traveller Card (ABTC) from 1 May 2023 (00:00 Beijing Time). The Chinese Government has also announced that as an interim arrangement, Chinese embassies and consulates will provide visas free of charge to those virtual ABTC holders who:
- have received pre-clearance from China and
- do not have a physical ABTC
China continues to accept physical ABTCs from all participating APEC economies.
Virtual ABTC holders need to provide proof pre-clearance has been granted by China. If no such proof is available, the application will be verified by China. Applicants may contact relevant Chinese embassies and consulates for details, noting the specific requirements and procedures may vary at different diplomatic services.
Virtual ABTC holders may also wish to confirm the status of their pre-clearance to China on their ImmiAccount, or using the APEC ABTC pre-clearance status tracker via the following link.
The ‘CHN’ notification for pre-clearance to China will be reinstated on the virtual ABTC mobile application from 1 May 2023 (00:00 Beijing Time).