APEC Business Travel Card

[Kangol]

Recently had mine approved.
Currently the card says valid for travel to AUS only.
Does this mean I can use the APEC lane in any of the APEC countries (excluding AUS), but have to organise the visa on my own?
Thereby the benefit of not having to wait in the normal line is available, even if the respective country has not yet processed the pre-clearance?

 

[Brettmcg]

A colleague of mine has been waiting since March 2026 for Vietnam to approve her (this is for an ABTC renewal - she has a 15+ year history of being an ABTC holder). They are the final economy to provide approval on this new card, and despite our best efforts trying to escalate through the AU Government as well as through any contacts we can find for Vietnam, we've still no luck. I don't suppose anyone has any suggestions?

 

[doc]

Does this mean I can use the APEC lane in any of the APEC countries (excluding AUS), but have to organise the visa on my own?

Correct. Expect the country list to start to fill out without the next few days, although it might take a month or three until you get every country.

You CAN use the APEC line in Australia - on arrival it's normally not going to be worth it (depends on how long the line is at the smartgate - I've used it twice over the past few years due to the smartgate line being long), but on departure (security) and through customs on arrival for airports that have a separate line (eg, BNE) it's normally worth it.

 

[Kangol]

Correct. Expect the country list to start to fill out without the next few days, although it might take a month or three until you get every country.

You CAN use the APEC line in Australia - on arrival it's normally not going to be worth it (depends on how long the line is at the smartgate - I've used it twice over the past few years due to the smartgate line being long), but on departure (security) and through customs on arrival for airports that have a separate line (eg, BNE) it's normally worth it.

Thanks. Sorry I used the wrong words: "excluding AUS". I meant any other country that has not granted pre-clearance.

Ended up finding the official response (took a while to locate). Thought I'd put this here for anyone in the same boat, from the FAQ:

Frequently Asked Questions for APEC Business Travel Card Clients | APEC

www.apec.org

Question 6 – Can I only use my card to travel to economies that are listed on the back of my card?

Travellers are exempted from applying for a visa only from economies listed on the back of their ABTC. If you wish to travel to an economy that is not listed on the back of your ABTC, you must present any visa, travel or identity document that is required by your destination economy for entry. However, any cardholder can use the fast-track lane in APEC economies’ airports regardless of which economies’ names are listed on the back of the card.

 

[Daver6]

Correct. Expect the country list to start to fill out without the next few days, although it might take a month or three until you get every country.

You CAN use the APEC line in Australia - on arrival it's normally not going to be worth it (depends on how long the line is at the smartgate - I've used it twice over the past few years due to the smartgate line being long), but on departure (security) and through customs on arrival for airports that have a separate line (eg, BNE) it's normally worth it.

Australian airports don't tend to give you access to expedited (ie crew or J/F) security lanes on departure. It's ridiculous really.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

No longer any APEC line in MEL although never have to wait longer than a minute or 2 if ever at the terminals

 

[doc]

Australian airports don't tend to give you access to expedited (ie crew or J/F) security lanes on departure. It's ridiculous really.

Depends on the airport. Brisbane has ABTC lines at security on departure, at immigration on arrival (requires going to a manned booth, so normally not faster) and at customs.

The departure ones generally don't save much time, but on occasion they can - such as when they had a security incident a year or so back and had to empty the airside area. I arrived post-evacuation but before they had started letting people back through, and was one of the first through once they opened things up again. Saved me well over an hour in a queue...

 

[Spamam]

Took over 3 months but have just been approved for an interim card.