The validity period of an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) issued by Vietnam would increase to five years from the current three years as provided in Prime Minister Decision 45 of 2006.
Such is proposed by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) in a draft decision on procedures, order and competence for grant and management of ABTCs.
While Decision 45 only provides in a general manner that those who enter Vietnam with ABTCs will be granted a temporary residence certificate (TRC) of a validity period of 90 days, the draft goes on to specify the issuance and use of such certificates.
Accordingly, for each entry in Vietnam with an ABTC, a foreign businessperson would be granted a TRC. The certificate, which would be issued upon arrival at a Vietnamese international airport, would be valid for 90 days but would expire one month before the expiration date of the ABTC holder’s passport. In case the remaining validity period of the foreign businessperson’s ABTC is under 90 days, he may stay in the country for a period equaling the remaining validity term of his ABTC.
After entering the country, if the businessperson loses his passport and is granted a new one, the MPS’s Immigration Department would re-issue a new TRC for him. The validity period of the new TRC would coincide with that of the TRC issued upon arrival.
ABTC means a kind of visa issued by competent authorities of countries and territories participating in the ABTC Scheme to their businesspersons in order to facilitate their travels for the purposes of conducting business cooperation, trade, investment or service activities; participating in conferences and seminars; or for other economic purposes in countries and territories within APEC participating in the Scheme.
ABTCs might be hard cards or electronic cards with the same legal validity. At airports of member economies, ABTC holders would be given with priorities when carrying out immigration procedures.- (VLLF)
