On April 12th, 2023, Vice Prime Minister – Mr. Tran Luu Quang – signed on behalf of the Prime Minister and issued Decision No. 09/2023/QD-TTg on procedures, authority for issuance and management of APEC business travel cards, whereby:
+ Form of the card:
APEC traveling card, or ABTC in short, is a card issued by the competent authority of an APEC participating economy to its business people after receiving approval for entry from other participating economies, it comes in 02 forms which are physical card and virtual card. These forms have the same legal validity and Vietnamese business people choose physical ABTC or virtual ABTC in their discretion. Virtual ABTC is a card issued on a virtual interface through the ABTC application on a smart electronic device connected to the internet.
+ Conditions and entities that are entitiled to ABTC issuance for Vietnamese business people:
Eligibility criteria for the enterprise for which the business person is working:
– The enterprise has operated continuously for 12 months or more, has strictly abided by the provisions of law on trade, tax, customs, labor, social insurance, and other relevant laws;
– The enterprise has to engage in signing and direct business cooperation with partners of APEC participating economies;
Eligibility criteria for ABTC applicant:
– Vietnamese business people working for enterprises that are legally established under laws of Vietnam and holding some of the following positions: Presidents of the Board of Members, members of the Board of Members, Presidents of the Board of Directors, members of Board of Directors; Presidents of companies; General Directors or Directors, Deputy General Directors or Deputy Directors of enterprises; Chief accountants;…..
– He/she has worked and held a specific position in the agency, organization, enterprise for at least 12 months up to the date of application for approval for ABTC eligibility. And he/she does not fall under cases of temporary suspension from exit as prescribed in Article 36 of the Law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.
Business people issued ABTCs shall observe and abide by the provisions of law on entry, exit, residence and other regulations concerning activities of business people in participating countries or territories.
Foreign business people using ABTCs must comply with the law on entry, exit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam.
+ ABTC term:
ABTC shall be valid for 05 years from the date of issuance and can not be extended.
This Decision takes effect from July 10th, 2023, and replaces Decision No. 45/2006/QD-TTg dated February 28th, 2006.
