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China APEC Business Travel Card photo requirements

The 30 × 40 mm photo rules set by Foreign Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal Government for the China APEC Business Travel Card, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 10 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the China APEC Business Travel Card photo?

Chinese applicants for the APEC Business Travel Card supply a front-facing, bareheaded colour photo on a white background with no border. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' online APEC system accepts a JPG, JPEG or PNG of 50 x 50 to 600 x 800 pixels, under 5 MB, and Beijing and Weihai ask for a 3:4 shape. Where a paper form is still used, Beijing's rules set the print at 30 x 40 mm (1.18 x 1.57 in).

The APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) is a card for business people. Once the other APEC economies have approved the holder, it replaces separate entry visas for those economies and gives access to dedicated fast-track lanes at major ports of entry. You apply only to the economy whose passport you hold, and fully participating economies issue a five-year card. In China the card is for Chinese citizens only: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs approves applications and makes the cards, using an application form issued by its Department of Consular Affairs.

Eligibility is tied to work. The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (Beijing E-Town) lists senior managers, key business staff and technical staff of state-owned and private enterprises, including joint ventures and foreign-funded firms, who hold a valid Chinese passport, travel to APEC economies often for work and have no criminal record. The employer applies on their behalf through the foreign affairs office (外办) of its city or province, which checks the papers before passing them to the ministry.

The photo is handled mainly as a digital file. The ministry's online APEC system has an applicant photo field with its own limits, and local offices add their own guidance: the Beijing municipal foreign affairs office (rules dated 2014), the Beijing E-Town guide (2020), Weihai in Shandong (2024) and Fujian province (a provisional list from 2025). They agree on a white background but differ on the printed photo, so this page names the office behind each rule.

China APEC Business Travel Card photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Foreign Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal Government:[1]

Print sizePaper form, where used: 30 x 40 mm (1.18 x 1.57 in) in Beijing's rules; Weihai asks for a 2-inch print
Digital size50 x 50 to 600 x 800 pixels; Beijing and Weihai ask for a 3:4 shape
BackgroundWhite, with no border on the digital file (Weihai, Fujian)
ColourColour only; the Beijing E-Town guide does not accept black-and-white photos
Photo ageTaken within the last 6 months (Beijing, printed photo)
File sizeUnder 5 MB in the ministry's online APEC system
File formatJPG, JPEG or PNG in the ministry's system; Beijing, Weihai and Fujian ask for JPG
Pixels when printed354 × 472 px at 300 dpi · 709 × 945 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
30 mm40 mm
30 × 40 mm photo drawn to scale. Background: white.

Key requirements

  • Limits in the ministry's system

    The applicant photo field of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' APEC application system accepts images from 50 x 50 to 600 x 800 pixels, in JPG, JPEG or PNG format, with a file size under 5 MB.

  • A 3:4 portrait shape

    Beijing and Weihai both set a width-to-height ratio of 3:4, with the width between 50 and 600 pixels and the height between 50 and 800. Beijing suggests 300 x 400 pixels, while Weihai and Fujian suggest 550 x 733.

  • White background, no border

    Every office read for this page asks for a colour photo on a white background. Weihai and Fujian add that the digital file must not have a border, and the Beijing E-Town guide says black-and-white photos are not accepted.

  • Face the camera, no hat

    Beijing asks for a front-facing photo taken without a hat, for both the print and the digital file. For the print it adds that the face must be clear and that tinted glasses are not allowed.

  • Print sizes differ by office

    Beijing's rules set the print on the ministry's application form at 30 mm wide and 40 mm high. The form itself asks for a standard Chinese passport photo, the Beijing E-Town guide says the same, and Weihai asks for a white-background 2-inch colour print.

  • The signature is a separate image

    The signature is uploaded as its own image, twice as wide as it is tall. Weihai suggests 300 x 150 pixels of black writing on white, centred, as bold as possible, with the surrounding blank space cut away and no border.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Photograph yourself against a plain white wall or backdrop
  • Crop the file to 3:4, for example 300 x 400 or 550 x 733 pixels
  • Keep the upload within 600 x 800 pixels and under 5 MB
  • Ask your foreign affairs office which print size its form needs
  • Sign in black ink, centred inside the signature box

Don't

  • Do not frame the digital photo with a border
  • Do not submit a black-and-white image
  • Do not wear tinted lenses
  • Do not keep a hat or cap on
  • Do not let the signature run over the edge of its box

Sample photos

How a China APEC Business Travel Card photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 30 × 40 mm and background colour.

Correct
Open-mouth smile
Head tilted
Too close: head too big
Too far: head too small
Busy background
Shadows on face or background
Glare on glasses

Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.

Glasses

Beijing's rules for the printed photo say tinted glasses must not be worn and the face must be clearly visible. None of the other offices read for this page sets a separate glasses rule for the digital file. If you keep clear glasses on, check that the frames and any reflections leave your eyes fully visible.

Headwear and religious dress

Beijing describes the photo as 免冠, which means bareheaded, and applies this to both the printed and the digital photo. The APEC card guidance read for this page does not mention religious head coverings, so ask your foreign affairs office before submitting a photo with one.

The digital file is the photo that reaches the ministry. The Beijing E-Town guide shows the route: once the municipal office has approved the papers, it submits the electronic materials through the ministry's APEC application and approval system. Older Beijing guidance had these files delivered on a CD together with the paper documents.

A printed photo is needed only where the paper application form is still part of the set. Weihai's 2024 list includes the form with a white-background 2-inch print attached, and Beijing's rules give 30 x 40 mm. Fujian's 2025 provisional list removes the form from the materials altogether. A digital photo can be cropped to 3:4 for the upload and, if your office wants a print, printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter and cut to the size it names.

Where to submit the photo

Applications go through the employer, not the individual. In Beijing, state-owned enterprises entitled to file official overseas trips, and some private firms the municipal foreign affairs office has approved, apply to that office directly; in Beijing E-Town, other companies first go through the district's business cooperation bureau. After the ministry approves, it sends the application to the other APEC economies, and once they have decided it makes the card and the local office hands it out.

Besides the photo, Weihai asks for a colour scan of the passport's main page, a scanned signature, a criminal record certificate and a social insurance contribution record, together with company documents such as a letter of application and proof of business with APEC economies.

How to get your China APEC Business Travel Card photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the China APEC Business Travel Card: 30 × 40 mm print, 600 × 800 px digital file, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: limits in the ministry's system; a 3:4 portrait shape; white background, no border; face the camera, no hat.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. The digital file is the photo that reaches the ministry. The Beijing E-Town guide shows the route: once the municipal office has approved the papers, it submits the electronic materials through the ministry's APEC application and approval system.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Applications go through the employer, not the individual.

Make this photo online

China APEC Business Travel Card photo FAQ

For the upload, a 3:4 image between 50 x 50 and 600 x 800 pixels; Beijing suggests 300 x 400 pixels and Weihai 550 x 733. For the paper form, where an office still asks for one, Beijing's rules give 30 x 40 mm, while Weihai asks for a 2-inch print.

It depends on your local foreign affairs office. Beijing and Weihai list the ministry's paper application form with a photo attached, but Fujian's 2025 provisional materials list drops that form, leaving only the digital photo. Check the current list of the office handling your application.

The applicant photo field accepts JPG, JPEG and PNG files under 5 MB, sized between 50 x 50 and 600 x 800 pixels. Local offices such as Beijing, Weihai and Fujian ask for JPG, so a JPG file meets both sets of rules.

No. In China the employer applies through its city or provincial foreign affairs office, which reviews the materials before they go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applicants must be staff of the applying company who travel to APEC economies regularly on business.

Up to five years. APEC says fully participating economies issue a five-year card, and the Beijing E-Town guide gives five years as the maximum. Each economy sets the length of stay per visit, which that guide puts at 60 to 90 days.

Clear glasses are not ruled out, but Beijing's rules ban tinted glasses on the printed photo and ask for a clearly visible face. Make sure neither the frames nor reflections cover your eyes.

Yes. Beijing, Beijing E-Town, Weihai and Fujian all ask for a colour photo on a white background, and Weihai and Fujian add that the image must have no border.

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Official sources

  1. Foreign Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal Government. 办理APEC卡所需材料 (APEC card application materials) wb.beijing.gov.cn. Checked 1 November 2026.
  2. Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Administrative Committee. 经开区办理APEC商务旅行卡工作指南 (Beijing E-Town APEC card guide) kfqgw.beijing.gov.cn. Checked 1 November 2026.
  3. Weihai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office. 申办APEC商务旅行卡所需材料要求及模板 (APEC card materials and templates) wb.weihai.gov.cn. Checked 1 November 2026.
  4. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Consular Affairs (form), via Weihai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office. APEC商务旅行卡申请表（填表注意事项） (APEC card application form, filling notes) wb.weihai.gov.cn. Checked 1 November 2026.
  5. Fujian Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, via the Fujian Provincial Government portal. 简化APEC商务旅行卡申办材料及上报格式（暂行） (Simplified APEC card materials, provisional) fujian.gov.cn. Checked 1 November 2026.
  6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Consular Affairs. APEC业务系统 (APEC card online application system) consular.mfa.gov.cn. Checked 1 November 2026.
  7. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) and Virtual ABTC apec.org. Checked 1 November 2026.
  8. Huai'an Foreign Affairs Office. APEC Business Travel Card guide wsb.huaian.gov.cn. Checked 1 November 2026.
  9. Wuxi Foreign Affairs Office. APEC Business Travel Card guide (April 2025) fao.wuxi.gov.cn. Checked 1 November 2026.
  10. Shenzhen Foreign Affairs Office. APEC Business Travel Card applications fao.sz.gov.cn. Checked 1 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Foreign Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal Government before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"China APEC Business Travel Card photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/china/apec-business-travel-card-photo

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