APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) Application

Procedure

Procedure

1. 01

   1. Check eligibility and company requirements — The applicant must need to travel frequently to APEC member economies for business, for example 4 or more visits in the last 2 years. The company must meet one of the requirements in Article 3 of the regulation, such as holding a trade business number with annual exports or imports of USD 100,000 or more in the previous or current year, overseas direct investment of USD 100,000 or more, or an overseas construction license with contract records. The applicant must be an executive of that company or a staff member in charge of import-export or overseas investment.

2. 02

   2. Confirm the number of cards per company and prepare the applicant list — The number of cards is based on headcount by corporate registration (business registration for sole proprietors). Companies with fewer than 20 employees may receive 2 or fewer, 20 to fewer than 50 employees 5 or fewer, 50 to fewer than 100 employees 10 or fewer, and 100 to fewer than 500 employees 20 or fewer, with larger limits for larger companies. Employees posted to overseas subsidiaries, branches or liaison offices can be counted as staff of the Korean parent company, so the list should include existing card holders as well.

3. 03

   3. Prepare the application form and personal, company and sector documents — Each applicant prepares the application in Form 1, a passport photo, a consent form for collection, use and third-party provision of personal information, a pledge, a passport copy with the back digits of the resident registration number removed, and a criminal record certificate. The company submits a recommendation request, an applicant list and employment confirmation, a list of card holders, a copy of the business registration certificate and a withholding tax return, and attaches sector documents such as an export-import performance certificate for trading companies or an overseas direct investment report and foreign currency remittance confirmation for investing companies. Names, positions and passport details are checked to match across all documents.

4. 04

   4. Filing with the Incheon Airport Immigration Office and member approval — The application is submitted to the issuing authority, the Incheon Airport Immigration Office, and the applicant is verified through an email address in the applicant's name. The office reviews the documents and any departure restrictions or grounds for refusal, then enters the data into the ABTC system and requests approval from each member economy, so approval timing differs by economy. The office may request additional materials or inspect the business if needed.

5. 05

   5. Reissuance and reporting after issuance — The card is valid for 5 years from issuance, and if the holder gets a new passport or changes the verification email, reissuance is applied for with the Form 3 application. If the card or the phone holding the mobile card is lost, a loss report is filed within 14 days. If status changes through retirement, dismissal, or a merger or split of the company, it must be reported within 14 days and any physical card returned.

Filing route

Filing route

Deadlines & processing notes

Deadlines & processing notes

Fees & official charges

Fees & official charges

Included in the basic fee — Initial document review, required-document guidance, basic form preparation, one filing support and one ordinary supplement.

Conditional success fee — For this service, any conditional success fee may be separately agreed within the lawful service scope and stated in a written engagement agreement. No outcome is guaranteed.

Displayed amounts are starting estimates, not statutory or standard rates. The final fee is confirmed after consultation and document review in the engagement agreement. Government fees and actual expenses may change.

Basic documents

Basic documents

A person who submitted false documents to obtain or try to obtain a card and the head of that company, or a person who used a card outside its purpose and procedures or used an invalid card, may be barred from issuance for 3 years from the date the fact becomes known. If the holder loses the status held at application through retirement, dismissal or similar, the card becomes invalid, and failing to report within 14 days or to return a physical card may bar both the holder and the company head from issuance.