FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - US/Canadian Issued APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC): Updates, Experiences, Q&A

Oct 22, 2017 | 12:40 am

#1318

docbert

Join Date: Jul 2007

Location: Brisbane, Australia

Programs: UA 1K/MM, Marriott Titanium, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC

Posts: 8,526

Quote:

Originally Posted by tentseller

APEC is a card to get you through the fast lane.

It is not a VISA.

If your passport requires a visa for entry you would still need that, especially for countries that requires visa for US and/or Canadian passports.

To be 100% clear, that is true for US/Canadian citizens. It is (in principal at least) NOT true for most APEC BTC holders.

For citizens from any of the full ABTC member countries (US/Canada are transitional members), an ABTC is basically a visa-equivalent for any of the countries that the holder has been pre-approved for. ie, those countries that are listed on the back of the card.

As an Australian Citizen with an APEC BTC, I am can entry any of the countries listed on my card (which is all of the non-transitional member countries) without a visa - even for countries that would otherwise need a visa (eg, China). I can also use the "fast lane" in any of the APEC countries (plus the transitional member countries), but that's really just intended as a secondary-benefit of the card.

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