Dependant's Pass and Long-Term Visit Pass: family status, work rules and the Letter of Consent

Eligibility requirements

• The sponsor holds an Employment Pass or S Pass, earns a fixed monthly salary of at least S$6,000 on their own account (household income is not combined), and is sponsored by an established, Singapore-registered company, normally the employer.
• Dependant's Pass: a legally married spouse, and unmarried children under 21 including legally adopted children.
• Long-Term Visit Pass: a common-law spouse, unmarried step-children under 21, unmarried handicapped children aged 21 and over, and, where the sponsor earns at least S$12,000 a month, parents.
• EntrePass holders sponsor family only once the business meets MOM's spending and local-hiring thresholds or the founder meets an alternative track-record test; ONE Pass, PEP and Tech.Pass holders sponsor under the criteria published for those passes.
• Family members of an Employment Pass holder admitted as an overseas intra-corporate transferee under the WTO GATS or an FTA are generally not eligible for a Dependant's Pass or LTVP unless the applicable FTA specifically provides for them.
• Working: since 1 May 2021 a Dependant's Pass holder who wishes to work needs an Employment Pass, S Pass or a DP-Work Permit obtained by an employer. A Letter of Consent is available only to a DP holder who is a sole proprietor, a partner or a company director with at least 30% shareholding, whose business employs at least one Singaporean or PR earning at least the Local Qualifying Salary with CPF contributions for at least three months.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Passports, marriage certificate and children's birth certificates, with official translations where not in English, and evidence of adoption where relied on.
• For a common-law spouse, step-children or handicapped adult children, the additional relationship and medical evidence MOM requests for the LTVP.
• The sponsor's employment contract and payslips showing the fixed monthly salary, and the employer's details.
• For a Letter of Consent as a business owner: ACRA records showing the sole proprietorship, partnership or 30% directorship, and payroll and CPF records for the qualifying local employee.
• For a DP-Work Permit or Employment Pass for a dependant: the employer's application and the dependant's qualifications and job details.

How to apply

1. 01

   Check the sponsor's salary against the threshold

   The S$6,000 figure is the sponsor's own fixed monthly salary. A couple cannot combine incomes, and allowances do not count.

2. 02

   Apply with or after the sponsor's pass

   Family passes are usually applied for by the employer or appointed agent alongside or after the main pass. EntrePass founders must first meet the business thresholds.

3. 03

   Decide early how a dependant will work, if at all

   A spouse who intends to work needs an employer to apply for an EP, S Pass or DP-Work Permit, or must qualify as a business owner for a Letter of Consent. This changes the family's planning and should be settled before arrival.

4. 04

   Arrange schooling and healthcare

   Dependants may study in Singapore. Local school places for international students depend on MOE's admissions exercise and availability; private health insurance is the norm for pass holders, who are outside MediShield Life.

5. 05

   Keep the passes aligned

   A dependant's pass ends with the sponsor's pass. When the sponsor changes employer, the family's passes must be reissued with the new EP; calendar each expiry separately.

After approval & family planning

• A Dependant's Pass holder who obtains an Employment Pass or S Pass must meet the prevailing criteria, including COMPASS for an EP, and their DP is cancelled when the work pass is issued; they are then no longer dependent on the main pass holder.
• A DP-Work Permit is open to any nationality with no minimum salary, is tied to the DP's validity, is exempt from the six-monthly medical examination and security bond, but is subject to the employer's quota and a levy.
• A business-owner Letter of Consent is renewable only while the business continues to employ at least one qualifying local. Unpaid charitable volunteering does not require a work pass.
• Dependants may be included in the sponsor's PR application. Sons who obtain PR as dependants become liable for National Service.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Where a participant relocates with family, the spouse's independent work-pass eligibility and the children's schooling and NS position should be assessed alongside the participant's own route. Family capacity is part of what a genuine assignment is measured on. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• The 2021 change means a trailing spouse's career cannot be assumed. Employers who relocate a family should assess the spouse's own work-pass eligibility, including COMPASS, as part of the move.
• An ICT-route Employment Pass can leave the family without any dependant pass. Where family accompaniment matters, the employer should consider a standard EP under the Fair Consideration Framework instead.