[Photo/Shanghai Observer]

Shanghai companies are now able to apply for an APEC Business Travel Card for their employees with just a few clicks, making travel to other APEC economies faster and easier.  

The APEC Business Travel Card, or ABTC, is issued by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation to facilitate business travel between participating economies. 

"In the past, an applicant had to make a reservation and then hand over required documents to an offline office to handle the application. This sometimes caused delays. But now you can apply online anytime, anywhere," said Liu Ruling, a person in charge of international exchanges and cooperation at the Shanghai-based AllBright Law Offices.

In less than half an hour, Liu had finished the ABTC application process for a partner of her law firm, including submitting the company's documents, filling in the applicant's personal information, and making the payment.

Liu herself is heading to Mexico next month for the annual conference of the International Bar Association. She said that using dedicated APEC channels at airports would save her time waiting in line for entry and exit.

To apply for an ABTC, an enterprise can log on to https://apec.wsb.sh.gov.cn/. If all goes well, a card will be issued after three months, allowing the holder to travel freely among 16 APEC economies. 

The categories of companies that can apply for an ABTC for their employees have been expanded from manufacturing and trading enterprises to include sectors such as finance, IT, education, tourism, and construction materials. AllBright Law Offices is among the first law firms to apply for ABTCs. 

As more and more Shanghai enterprises expand their business globally, the ABTC can facilitate business travel overseas and save costs for enterprises, said Huang Feng, chairman of the Shanghai Foreign Investment Association. 

So far, more than 500 Chinese workers from more than 120 member enterprises of the association have obtained the ABTC, Huang added. 

About APEC Business Travel Card:

A holder of APEC Business Travel Card can stay for a period ranging from 60 to 180 days in an APEC economy. The following is the stay duration for 16 APEC economies: 

- 60 days: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore

- 90 days: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam

- 180 days: Mexico

The United States and Canada are transitional members of the ABTC scheme and do not offer reciprocal entry arrangements. However, they do provide visa application assistance and expedited immigration processing at major international airports for cardholders from other participating economies.

Find out more about ABTC here.

Sources: Shanghai Observer, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce