Quick answer
What photo does a Chinese APEC Business Travel Card need?
Applications go through your local foreign affairs office to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Offices ask for a colour JPG on a white background in a 3:4 ratio, 50–600 pixels wide and 50–800 pixels high, and Beijing recommends 300 × 400 pixels. Paper photo sizes differ between offices.
An APEC Business Travel Card photo (APEC商务旅行卡照片) for a Chinese applicant is a recent colour photo on a white background, uploaded as a 3:4 JPG between 50 and 600 pixels wide and 50 and 800 pixels high, with no border. Beijing recommends 300 × 400 pixels and Weihai 550 × 733 pixels. Most offices also want a white paper photo on the application form, but its size varies.
The card is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Consular Affairs (外交部领事司). Your company applies through the foreign affairs office (外办) where it is registered, using the MFA's APEC system on 中国领事服务网 (consular.mfa.gov.cn/APEC) or a local platform. The photo rules below come from local foreign affairs offices, because the MFA's own pages could not be checked.
Digital photo requirements
| Format | JPG |
|---|---|
| Shape | 3:4 (width to height) |
| Width | 50–600 px |
| Height | 50–800 px |
| Recommended | 300 × 400 px (Beijing); 550 × 733 px (Weihai, 2024) |
| Background | White, colour photo, no border |
| Photo | Front-facing, bare-headed, face clear, no tinted glasses, taken within 6 months (Beijing) |
Beijing's figures are from an older guide (dated 2014); Weihai's from June 2024. The pixel limits are the same in both.
Paper photo: ask your office
The paper application form also carries a photo. The size is not the same everywhere:
| Office | Paper photo |
|---|---|
| Beijing (2014 guide) | 30 mm wide × 40 mm high, white background, colour, within 6 months, no tinted glasses |
| Weihai (2024) | One white-background "2-inch" (2寸) colour photo on the form |
| Huai'an and Wuxi (2025) | "Small 2-inch" (小二寸) white-background photo, plus the digital file |
| Shenzhen (2025) | One white-background passport photo ("large 1-inch", 大一寸) taken within 3 months |
Signature and passport scans
| Signature | JPG, 2:1 (width to height), 50–600 px wide and 50–300 px high; 300 × 150 px recommended. Sign in black, centred, filling the box, with no border |
|---|---|
| Passport page | A scan of the original passport photo page, A4, JPG. Beijing rejects scans of photocopies and photos of the page |
| Passport validity | Beijing suggests at least 5 years left; Shenzhen at least 2 years |
How applications work
In Huai'an's example, the company applies to its district foreign affairs office, which passes it to the city and then the provincial office. The province sends it to the MFA's Department of Consular Affairs, which submits it to the other APEC economies and makes and issues the card once they approve. It takes about 3 months with complete papers. Wuxi lists a fee of 1,200 yuan per person. Shenzhen uses its own 深圳·智慧外事 system and checks papers within 7 working days before passing them to the MFA.
Sample photos
How to prepare an APEC Business Travel Card photo
- Check with your foreign affairs office. Ask the 外办 where your company is registered which system to use and what paper photo size it wants.
- Take a white-background colour photo. Use a recent, front-facing, bare-headed photo with a clear face and no tinted glasses, taken within 6 months.
- Make the digital file. Crop it to a 3:4 JPG no larger than 600 × 800 pixels, such as 300 × 400 or 550 × 733 pixels, with no border. If the file is not a JPG, such as a HEIC photo from an iPhone, convert it with the free 123PhotoTool JPEG converter.
- Prepare the signature and passport scans. Sign in black on white and scan it as a 2:1 JPG, and scan the original passport photo page.
- Submit through your company. Upload the files in the MFA APEC system or your city's platform, and attach the paper photo to the form if your office asks for it.
The 300 × 400 file fits; check the print size
Our linked tool's APEC preset makes a 300 × 400 pixel white-background file, which matches Beijing's recommendation and fits every office's 3:4 limits. Its 35 × 45 mm print size is not one any office names, so for the paper photo, use the size your foreign affairs office asks for.
APEC Business Travel Card photo FAQ
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Consular Affairs (外交部领事司). It checks the application, sends it to the other APEC economies for approval, and then makes and issues the card. You apply through the foreign affairs office (外办) where your company is registered, not through the National Immigration Administration.
A colour JPG on a white background in a 3:4 ratio, 50–600 pixels wide and 50–800 pixels high. Beijing's guide recommends 300 × 400 pixels, and Weihai's 2024 guide recommends 550 × 733 pixels. Both sizes are within the limits.
Offices differ. Beijing's older guide asks for a 30 × 40 mm white-background photo on the application form. Weihai asks for a white "2-inch" photo, Huai'an and Wuxi a "small 2-inch" one, and Shenzhen a "large 1-inch" white passport photo taken within 3 months. Ask your office.
The card is for business people applying through their company. Offices first check the company: Shenzhen, for example, asks companies to register with its foreign affairs office before staff can apply.
Huai'an and Wuxi say about 3 months when the papers are complete. Each APEC economy approves the card separately.
Shenzhen's guide lists 16 APEC economies open to Chinese cardholders, with multiple entries over 5 years and stays of 60 or 90 days per visit, depending on the economy. You travel with the card and the passport printed on its back.
Official sources
- Beijing Foreign Affairs Office: 办理APEC卡所需材料 (materials for an APEC card)
- Weihai Foreign Affairs Office: APEC card materials and templates (2024)
- Huai'an Foreign Affairs Office: APEC Business Travel Card guide
- Wuxi Foreign Affairs Office: APEC Business Travel Card guide (April 2025)
- Shenzhen Foreign Affairs Office: APEC Business Travel Card applications
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: APEC Business Travel Card system
Last checked . Requirements and fees can change, so always confirm with the issuing agency before you apply. This site is independent and not affiliated with any government agency.