Bringing your family to Singapore: Dependant's Pass and LTVP

Your job offer gets you into Singapore. Whether your family can follow comes down to two things: one number on your payslip, and which box each person falls into. Household income doesn't come into it, and neither does how long you plan to stay. Get those two right before you sign, and the rest is mostly paperwork your employer files for you.

This is the family half of the move. If you're still weighing up the offer itself, our explainer on the Employment Pass covers the salary bar and the points test. If you want the whole move in order, start with our complete guide to moving to Singapore. Here we stay on the family: who goes on which pass, how the application runs, and what each pass actually lets your spouse and children do. It's plain guidance built from the published rules, not legal advice, and the rules do change, so check the official pages before anything is filed.

Who goes on which pass

The Ministry of Manpower, which runs work passes here, sorts your family into two groups. The split is about the relationship, not the person's age or nationality. It decides which pass each person gets and which documents you'll need.

On a Dependant's Pass:

• Your legally married spouse.
• Your unmarried children under 21, including legally adopted children.

On a Long-Term Visit Pass:

• A common-law spouse, meaning a relationship recognised as common-law under the laws of your home country.
• Unmarried stepchildren under 21.
• Unmarried children aged 21 and over with a disability. The ministry's own word is "handicapped".
• Your parents, but only on a higher salary, which we'll come to.

Anyone outside those lists isn't covered by either pass. Children who are married, or over 21 without a disability, need a pass of their own, usually a Student's Pass or a work pass. Siblings aren't on either list. And the parents route is for your own parents: the proof the ministry asks for is your birth certificate with their names on it.

The split matters beyond the form you fill in. A married couple goes through on a marriage certificate. An unmarried couple has to prove a relationship that Singapore doesn't register itself, and that takes longer to put together. More on that under documents.

The salary test, and what counts towards it

Here's the rule in the ministry's terms. To bring family on either pass, you must hold an Employment Pass or S Pass and earn a fixed monthly salary of at least S$6,000. You also need to be sponsored by an established company registered in Singapore, which is usually your employer. To bring your parents, the bar rises to a fixed monthly salary of at least S$12,000.

Three details trip people up.

It's your salary alone. The ministry states plainly that the test is based on your salary and not on combined household income. Two partners earning S$4,000 each don't qualify as a couple. If you both have offers here, it's worth working out which of you should be the main pass holder.

Only the fixed part counts. Fixed monthly salary means your basic pay plus allowances that don't change from month to month, like a fixed housing allowance. Bonuses, commission, overtime, variable allowances, reimbursements and stock options are all left out. A package that looks generous on paper can still fall short on its basic.

The bar can sit above your own pass. The Employment Pass salary rises with age, and at the youngest end it has sat below S$6,000. So it's possible to qualify for your own pass and still not be able to bring anyone. The ministry's next published set of qualifying salaries starts at S$6,000, which narrows that gap. If you're near the line, negotiate the fixed salary before you sign.

Two things can change once you're here. If you get a raise that takes you over the line, your employer has to update your salary with the ministry before applying for your family. If your employer lowers your salary and you no longer meet the bar, the ministry will revoke any family passes tied to your work pass. That second one is worth remembering if you're ever offered a pay cut to keep a job.

One niche exception. Some companies bring staff in as overseas intra-corporate transferees under the World Trade Organization's services agreement or a free trade agreement. On that route your family generally can't get either pass, unless the specific agreement covers them. Ask HR which route your application uses.

Ministry of Manpower or immigration authority: who issues what

Singapore has two agencies issuing long-stay passes, and advice online often mixes them up. As an Employment Pass or S Pass holder, you only deal with one of them.

The Ministry of Manpower issues both the Dependant's Pass and the Long-Term Visit Pass for families of work pass holders, parents included. Your employer applies through the ministry's online system, and that's the whole route.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) issues its own Long-Term Visit Pass, but for different people. It covers spouses, children and parents of Singapore citizens and permanent residents. It also covers a parent or grandparent of a child studying here on a Student's Pass, which needs a local sponsor who is a citizen or permanent resident. Spouses of citizens also have an enhanced version of that pass, the Long-Term Visit Pass Plus, which sits outside this guide.

So if you hold a work pass and someone points you to the immigration authority's form for your parents, it's the wrong door. The authority only becomes your door when you apply for permanent residence, and your family can go on that same application.

How the application works

You don't apply yourself. Your employer, or an employment agent they appoint, files a separate application for each family member through the ministry's online service on the myMOM Portal. On a Personalised Employment Pass or EntrePass you file it yourself, which we cover further down.

When to file. Family applications can go in alongside your own pass application or later. The ministry recommends waiting until your pass is approved. If your own pass is rejected, the family's applications are rejected with it, and their fees aren't refunded.

Where your family should be. They don't need to be in Singapore when the application goes in, and the ministry advises bringing them in only once the pass is approved. If they arrive early on a visit pass that runs out before their own pass is issued, the ministry won't extend it.

The documents. Every application needs a copy of the passport's personal particulars page. If a child shares a parent's passport, include the parent's page too. Then it depends on who it's for:

• A married spouse: the marriage certificate.
• A child: the official birth certificate showing the parents' names, or the adoption order for an adopted child.
• A common-law spouse: one of three things. A common-law marriage certificate, an affidavit from you both declaring the relationship and notarised in your home country, or a letter from your home country's embassy acknowledging it.
• A stepchild: the court order on custody, plus a letter from the child's other biological parent saying they don't object to the move.
• An adult child with a disability: a letter or report from a doctor on their condition.
• Your parents: your own birth certificate with their names on it.

Foreign-born children aged 12 and under also need a vaccination verification document from the Communicable Diseases Agency when they apply for a new pass. Anything not in English goes in with an English translation, uploaded together with the original as one file. The ministry can also ask for more once it starts reviewing.

Two of those documents are slow for reasons nobody here controls. The other parent's consent letter depends on someone who may not be keen to help. The affidavit for an unmarried partner has to be notarised in your home country, which is awkward to arrange from a flat in Singapore. If either applies to you, start it as soon as the move looks likely.

How long it takes. For dependants of Employment Pass and S Pass holders, the ministry says most applications get an outcome within three weeks, and some take longer. If it needs more documents, it emails within those three weeks.

What approval looks like. An approval comes as an in-principle approval letter, which doubles as a single-entry visa. Dependants of Employment Pass holders then have six months to arrive and get the pass issued. Dependants of S Pass holders have two months.

Getting the pass issued. Once your family member is in Singapore, your employer completes the issue online, and a medical examination or declaration form may be needed at this point. A notification letter then arrives by email, which lets them travel in and out while the card is made. If the letter asks for it, they register fingerprints and a photo at the ministry's service centre within two weeks (one week for S Pass dependants). That visit also sets them up with Singpass, the national digital ID, and a digital pass in the SGWorkPass app. The card itself is delivered within five working days.

The fees. The ministry charges S$105 for each application and S$225 for each pass when it's issued. A multiple journey visa, where one is needed, adds S$30. Those are per person, so a spouse and two children means three sets. Whether your employer covers them is worth settling in the offer.

If it's refused. The rejection advisory in the online system gives the reasons. Only the employer or the agent who filed can appeal, within three months of the rejection, and you can't appeal yourself. The ministry is clear that the outcome won't change without new information, so an appeal only makes sense if it fixes what the advisory names. Appeals take at least three weeks. Miss the three-month window and it's a new application instead.

A baby born in Singapore

A baby born here to pass holders needs a pass of their own, and the clock is tight. Register the birth with the immigration authority within 14 days. The registration comes with an advisory note granting a Special Pass, which lets your baby stay for 42 days from the date of birth.

Within that window you'll need a passport from your embassy or high commission, and your employer applies for a Dependant's Pass. If the passport isn't ready, the application can go in with proof that you've applied for one, and the Special Pass can be extended. Staying beyond 42 days without the right pass is an offence under the Immigration Act. Book the embassy appointment the week the baby arrives.

Can your spouse work? What changed, and what's left

For a lot of families this is the question that matters most, and much of the advice online is out of date. Neither the Dependant's Pass nor the Long-Term Visit Pass lets the holder take a local job on its own.

Spouses on a Dependant's Pass used to be able to work with a letter of consent from the ministry, a fairly light step. That route has since closed for employees. A working spouse is now treated like any other foreigner working here, so they need a work pass of their own. The letter survives only in a narrow form, mainly for business owners.

These are the routes that are actually open.

Their own Employment Pass or S Pass. An employer here applies, and your spouse has to meet that pass's criteria in full, salary and points test included. Once it's issued, their Dependant's Pass is cancelled and they no longer depend on you for their stay. That's a real upside: if your job ends, theirs doesn't end with it.

A work permit linked to the Dependant's Pass. The ministry has a version of the Work Permit for Dependant's Pass holders. It's open to any nationality, has no minimum qualifying salary, and lasts as long as the Dependant's Pass does. The catch sits with the employer. The usual Work Permit quota and monthly levy apply, so not every company will offer it. And it ends the moment the Dependant's Pass does.

Running their own business. This is where the letter of consent lives on. A Dependant's Pass holder can apply if they own a business registered here as a sole proprietor or partner. A company director qualifies too, with at least 30% of the shares. The first letter runs for up to a year, or until the Dependant's Pass expires if that's sooner. To renew it, the business must employ at least one Singaporean or permanent resident on at least the local qualifying salary. That employee also needs three months in a row of CPF contributions, which is Singapore's national retirement fund. And the Dependant's Pass needs at least three months left on it.

Remote work for an overseas employer. If your spouse is physically here and works for an organisation or clients based overseas, the ministry says no work pass is needed. Work for a Singapore-registered organisation or client does need one, and that includes freelance work.

Volunteering. No pass is needed for volunteer work, as long as nobody is paid and it's for a charitable purpose.

Family on a Long-Term Visit Pass from the ministry get no special route. To work, they need an Employment Pass, S Pass or Work Permit applied for by an employer, and they must meet its criteria. You may read about letters of consent for long-term visit pass holders. Those exist, but only for spouses and children of citizens and permanent residents, on the immigration authority's version of the pass.

Two edge cases are worth knowing. A child on a Dependant's Pass at an eligible local institution can do work that's part of their course, with a letter of consent before they start. And if you hold an Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass, your spouse on a Dependant's Pass can still work on a letter of consent.

School: what the pass gets your child, and what it doesn't

Start with the easy part. A child on a Dependant's Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass doesn't need a Student's Pass for full-time, non-religious study. They can enrol in any school while their pass is valid.

Note the "while their pass is valid". If the pass expires or is cancelled partway through their studies, they'll need a Student's Pass to carry on. The criteria for that are whatever applies at the time. It's most likely to bite when a child turns 21, or if your job ends in the middle of a school year.

Getting a place is a separate question from the pass. In the government school system your child counts as an international student, which means anyone who isn't a citizen or permanent resident. For Primary 1 there's a separate registration for international students, in a set window each year, with results months later. Older children apply through the education ministry's admissions exercise for international students, which involves tests held in Singapore. Either way, admission isn't guaranteed, because citizens and permanent residents come first and placement depends on vacancies.

Fees in government schools are set by nationality, with a separate rate for international students. International and private schools run their own admissions and fees, and you apply to them directly. If a local place matters to you, it's sensible to apply for one and hold an international school offer as the fallback. Either way, start early. In practice, school places are often a tighter constraint than the pass itself.

Renewals, birthdays and keeping passes alive

Family passes don't run on their own clock. Each one lasts as long as your work pass, or as long as the period your employer requests, whichever is shorter.

Your employer can apply to renew a Dependant's Pass up to six months before it expires. Renewing early doesn't cost you any days, because the renewed pass starts when the current one ends. Miss the expiry date and it becomes a fresh application. Renewals are assessed against the eligibility rules in force at the time, so the salary test applies again, and the ministry says plainly that renewals aren't guaranteed.

Birthdays matter too. The Dependant's Pass is for unmarried children under 21, so a child approaching 21 needs a plan of their own. That's usually a Student's Pass if they're still studying here, or a work pass if they've found a job. The Long-Term Visit Pass only picks them up if they have a disability.

Changes such as a new address or new passport details have to be notified to the ministry, so tell HR when they happen rather than at renewal time.

If your job ends, or you change jobs

Nobody likes planning for this, but it's worth knowing before you arrive. Your family's passes are tied to your work pass. When your employer cancels your Employment Pass, every family pass linked to it is cancelled at the same time, and the ministry can't reinstate them.

A few things follow from that.

• Ask for short-term visit passes. When your employer cancels a pass, it can request a short-term visit pass that gives the holder up to 90 days of legal stay. Ask for one for each family member still here, not just for you, so nobody overstays while you pack.
• Work linked to the Dependant's Pass ends too. A letter of consent or a Dependant's Pass work permit is cancelled along with the pass. A spouse on their own Employment Pass or S Pass isn't affected, because that pass doesn't hang off yours.
• The employer pays for the trip home. When a Dependant's Pass is cancelled, the employer has to buy the holder an air ticket home with check-in luggage. The exception is if the holder agrees in writing to pay it themselves.

Changing jobs is more forgiving, as long as it's sequenced well. There's no transfer, so your new employer applies for a new pass for you. The ministry doesn't cancel your old pass automatically when the new one is approved; your current employer does that. Because your family's passes end with the old pass, line up their new applications with your new pass before the old one is cancelled. That's our reading of how the rules fit together, not a published procedure. Confirm the order with your new employer, and get both HR teams talking about dates.

On an S Pass, EntrePass, Personalised Employment Pass or ONE Pass

Most of this guide assumes an Employment Pass. The other passes work in a similar way, with a few differences.

• S Pass. The same S$6,000 fixed monthly salary applies for a spouse and children. The S Pass minimum salary sits well below that, so you'd need to be paid well above your own pass's minimum. Approved dependants have two months, not six, to arrive and get the pass issued.
• EntrePass. The test is about your business rather than your salary. To bring a spouse or children, you need to meet at least one of the ministry's criteria. One is annual total business spending of S$100,000 with one local employee. Another is having raised more than S$2 million for a business. For parents, it's S$200,000 of annual business spending and two local employees. You apply yourself.
• Personalised Employment Pass. You apply for your family yourself. A married spouse and children go on a Dependant's Pass, while a common-law spouse, stepchildren and parents go on a Long-Term Visit Pass. Processing takes up to about six weeks, so the ministry suggests applying once your own pass is approved.
• Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass. The family list mirrors the Employment Pass. The difference is work: a spouse on a Dependant's Pass, or a common-law spouse on a Long-Term Visit Pass, can work on a letter of consent.

What to sort before you sign

If you only take one thing from this page, make it this list. Work through it while you still have room to negotiate.

• Check the fixed part of your salary against S$6,000, or S$12,000 if your parents are coming. Bonuses don't count.
• Ask who files the family applications and who pays the fees.
• Ask your employer to file for your family once your own pass is approved, not before.
• Start the slow documents now: custody papers, the other parent's consent letter, a notarised affidavit for an unmarried partner.
• If your spouse wants to work, look at their own pass options early. Don't assume the Dependant's Pass covers it.
• Look at school places alongside the passes, not after them.

How Locallista helps

For most families this is a process your employer runs, on published rules, with an answer in a few weeks. You don't need anyone to make it happen. Where outside help earns its fee is at the edges. A common-law partner with no certificate to show. A stepchild whose other parent lives in another country. A refusal your employer's HR has never dealt with. Or a spouse trying to work out which work pass they could realistically get.

Locallista is a directory of English-speaking local service providers in Singapore. Every business is screened before it's listed and reviews are phone-verified, so the ranking reflects real expat experience rather than who paid the most. It's free to browse and free to get in touch. If your case has one of those edges, start with English-speaking immigration lawyers in Singapore. For other paperwork, browse legal, financial and administrative help, or the whole Singapore directory.

Frequently asked questions

What salary do I need to bring my family to Singapore?

You need a fixed monthly salary of at least S$6,000 to bring a spouse or children, and at least S$12,000 to bring your parents. It's your own salary that counts, not the household's. Only basic pay and fixed allowances are included, so a bonus or commission won't help you clear the bar.

Can my spouse work in Singapore on a Dependant's Pass?

Not on the pass alone. A spouse who wants a local job needs their own Employment Pass, S Pass or a work permit linked to the Dependant's Pass, and the employer applies for it. The letter of consent now only covers business owners who meet the ministry's criteria. The ministry says working remotely for an overseas employer or overseas clients doesn't need a work pass.

Can I bring my parents to Singapore on my Employment Pass?

Yes, on a Long-Term Visit Pass, if your fixed monthly salary meets the higher bar the ministry sets for parents. Your employer applies, and the proof of the relationship is your own birth certificate with their names on it. Like every family pass, it only lasts as long as your work pass does.

Can I bring a partner I'm not married to?

Yes, if yours is a common-law relationship recognised under the laws of your home country. Your partner goes on a Long-Term Visit Pass rather than a Dependant's Pass. You'll need a common-law marriage certificate, a joint affidavit notarised in your home country, or a letter from your embassy acknowledging the relationship.

Does my child need a Student's Pass to go to school in Singapore?

Not while they hold a valid Dependant's Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass. They can enrol in any school for full-time, non-religious study. If that pass expires or is cancelled partway through, they'll need a Student's Pass to carry on. A place in a government school isn't guaranteed, because citizens and permanent residents come first.

What happens to my family's passes if I lose my job?

They end with yours. When your employer cancels your Employment Pass, every family pass linked to it is cancelled at the same time, and the ministry can't reinstate them. Ask your employer to request short-term visit passes when it cancels, so everyone still in Singapore has time to leave or line up a new pass.

How long does a Dependant's Pass application take?

For families of Employment Pass and S Pass holders, the ministry says most applications get an outcome within three weeks, though some take longer. Approval comes as a letter that also works as an entry visa. Dependants of Employment Pass holders then have six months to arrive and get the pass issued.