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The APEC Business Travel Card:
provides cardholders with pre-cleared, multiple entry to participating APEC
economies for short stay business visits, and access to express immigration
processing on arrival and departure through special APEC-marked lanes. The
scheme's membership currently includes 17 of the 21 APEC member economies.
Cardholders are also entitled to access "fast-track" immigration lanes
(designated for air-crew) upon entry at all international airports in the
United States.
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Intra-Company Transfers:
BMG
members have agreed to make best endeavours to process within 30 days all
visa applications and extensions of temporary residence permits for APEC
Intra Company transfers of executives and senior managers, and specialists
(the latter group as defined by each member economy)
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The APEC Business Travel Handbook:
available on this website. Provides up to date information on economies’
temporary entry business visa and entry arrangements.
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Advance Passenger Information (API)/Advance Passenger Processing (APP):
BMG
economies have agreed to implement an API system as soon as possible. API
systems assists with streamlining border processing for all passengers and
provides increased border security through enabling passenger screening and
clearance in advance of a passenger’s arrival.
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Standards, a Key to Building Capacity:
Economies have agreed to develop and implement standards in all major areas
of immigration activity including pre-arrival, entry stay and departure, as
a foundation for improving immigration programs and services. The BMG
has an agreed capacity building strategy, endorsed by APEC Leaders, which
uses agreed standards as a basis for self-assessment and the development and
implementation of individual action plans, tailored to the unique
requirements of individual APEC administrations. Standards and/or best
practice guidelines have been agreed by the BMG covering short term and
temporary residence arrangements; transparency; API implementation;
e-commerce; immigration legislation; travel document examination; travel
document security; professional immigration service; and the APEC Business
Travel Card scheme. The BMG is assisting member economies to meet these
standards through cooperative technical training and assistance projects and
through regular information exchange.
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Regional Movement Alert System
(RMAS):
RMAS is a world first in the real-time accessing of lost and stolen passport
data in a multilateral environment. It allows participating APEC economies
to improve border control and passenger facilitation without needing to pool
data in a central database or provide direct connections to each other's
databases. RMAS is currently being successfully operated between Australia, New Zealand and
the United States and further economies are expected to join the system in
2007.
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International Criminal and
Police Organisation (ICPO):
BMG
member economies have agreed, on a best endeavours basis, to supply Lost and
stolen passport data to the Interpol database by the end of 2006.
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Adoption
of Biometrics in Passports: The BMG has agreed to adopt Machine Readable
Travel Documents (MRTDs) by 2008 with biometrics, if possible, which meet
international standards. In 2006, the BMG conducted a a seminar and workshop to
raise economies’ awareness of the standards and benefits of biometrics to
ensure the greater safety and security of travellers across the region.
To build on this work, the BMG has recently received APEC funding to produce
a readily accessible, web-based reference tool document covering technical
and non-technical issues and best practice; options for financing cost
recovery and procurement; and other issues associated with adopting
biometric MRTDs and related border systems. The document is expected to be
launched in Australia in June 2007.
