APEC Business Travel Card for Singapore Citizens

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travel Card (ABTC) is a scheme designed to facilitate the movement of business travellers between APEC member economies.

You can apply for an ABTC if you are a Singapore Citizen (SC) with no past criminal convictions, and you belong to one of the following categories:

• A bona fide business person representing an economically active business entity
• A member of a professional body (for example, a doctor, lawyer or accountant)
• A public officer representing a ministry, government department, economic agency, or statutory board, travelling in official capacity

Participating Economies

With a valid Singapore passport, you can use your ABTC as a multiple-journey visa for expedited immigration clearance through designated lanes in the following participating economies:

When travelling to the US or Canada, you must undergo standard immigration clearance processes. However, you may use ‘fast track’ immigration lanes (currently designated for airline crew) at major international airports.

You will need the following to apply for an ABTC:

Basic documents (required for all applicants)

• A valid Singapore passport
• A recent passport-sized, digital, colour photograph taken within the last 3 months (see Photo Guidelines)
• A scanned signature image file in JPEG format (.jpg), with a preferred dimension of 250 x 220 pixels and file size under 60 KB

Additional documents (based on how you are applying) 

If your ABTC has expired or there is a change in your passport details/employment, you must submit a new application online.

If your passport is expiring or you have a pending passport application, please apply for a new ABTC after you have collected your replacement passport.

Log in using your Singpass to complete the online application form.

You must pay a non-refundable S$100 fee.  

Save your receipt after you have made payment, as it will not be emailed to you automatically.

If your application is eligible, ICA will send to the APEC economies for pre-clearance. The majority of applications take up to 4 months for full pre-clearance.

As a guide, foreign APEC economies are unlikely to process applications beyond the 9-month mark.

You can check your pre-clearance status of your application about 4 weeks after applying. Select “Singapore” as the Economy of Application and enter your passport number in capital letters. You will see a list of the member economies that have approved your travel.

ICA will mail your physical card to you 4 months after your application. This card will reflect all the economies that have approved your application by then.

If other economies approve your application after that, ICA will issue a final ABTC about 9 months after your initial application.