Singapore immigration
The Dependant's Pass brings your family here. It does not let them work.
The Dependant's Pass covers the spouse and children of an eligible pass holder. The rule most families discover too late is that it carries no right to work, and that the route that once solved this closed in 2021.
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The Dependant's Pass allows the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of an eligible Employment Pass or S Pass holder to live in Singapore. It is issued by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and sponsored by the pass holder, who must earn a fixed monthly salary of at least S$6,000. The pass is tied to the sponsor's own pass and expires with it. A Dependant's Pass does not permit employment: since 1 May 2021 a holder who wishes to work must obtain a work pass of their own, applied for by an employer, because the Letter of Consent route was withdrawn for Dependant's Pass holders apart from a narrow exception for some business owners. Immigration Express advises families on sponsorship eligibility, on the work question before it becomes urgent, and on the longer path to Permanent Residence.
Most families plan the working adult's pass carefully and treat the family's passes as paperwork that follows. That order causes the two difficulties we are most often asked to resolve afterwards: a spouse who assumed they could work and cannot, and a family member who falls outside the Dependant's Pass criteria entirely and has no status at all.
Both are straightforward to plan for and painful to fix retrospectively. We would rather set the position out honestly before a family commits to the move, including where that means saying the arithmetic does not work.
Who can apply
Who may be sponsored, and by whom.
The sponsor's salary decides eligibility and the relationship decides which pass applies. Family outside these categories needs the Long-Term Visit Pass instead.
Legally married spouses
The spouse of an Employment Pass or S Pass holder earning at least S$6,000 a month. The marriage must be legally recognised.
Unmarried children under 21
Including legally adopted children, and children born within the marriage.
Sponsors meeting the salary threshold
A fixed monthly salary of at least S$6,000. Below that the Dependant's Pass is not available, whichever pass is held.
Families outside these categories
Common law spouses, unmarried stepchildren under 21 and unmarried handicapped children aged 21 and above fall under the Long-Term Visit Pass instead, at MOM's discretion.
Parents
Parents are not eligible for a Dependant's Pass at all. Where a sponsor's salary is high enough a Long-Term Visit Pass may be possible, and beyond that the position is genuinely limited.
Both sides
What it offers, and what it requires.
Most consultancies publish only the first list. We publish both, because the second materially affects the decision and we believe you should know it before you submit rather than afterwards.
What the pass gives your family.
The right to live in Singapore
For as long as the sponsor's own pass remains valid.
School enrolment
Children on a Dependant's Pass may enrol in school here, though placement in a government school is subject to availability and priority sits with citizens and Permanent Residents.
Multiple-entry travel
Family may enter and leave for the validity of the pass without separate visas.
A basis for the family's longer-term plans
A period of residence together as a family forms part of what ICA weighs if a Permanent Residence application follows later.
What families most often get wrong.
It does not permit work, and the old workaround is gone
Since 1 May 2021 a Dependant's Pass holder who wants to work needs their own work pass, sponsored by an employer, subject to a narrow exception for some business owners. The Letter of Consent no longer covers them.
It lives and dies with the sponsor's pass
If the sponsor's employment ends the family's passes are cancelled with it. There is no independent status.
The salary threshold excludes most S Pass holders
S$6,000 sits well above the S Pass qualifying salary, so for many families the pass is simply not available.
Parents cannot come on this pass
This is among the most common and most difficult conversations we have, and we would rather have it early than let a family plan around an assumption that does not hold.
How it works
From first conversation to outcome.
Confirm the sponsor's eligibility
Fixed monthly salary against the S$6,000 threshold, and the pass held.
Map every family member to a pass
Dependant's Pass, Long-Term Visit Pass, or nothing available. Far better known now than on arrival.
Settle the work question first
If a spouse intends to work that is a separate work pass application, and it should be planned before the move rather than after it.
Prepare the relationship documents
Marriage and birth certificates, with translation and legalisation where they were issued abroad.
Plan the sequence
Applications are usually made alongside or after the sponsor's own pass, and school placement often sets the real timetable.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions about Dependant's Pass
What salary do I need to sponsor a Dependant's Pass?
A fixed monthly salary of at least S$6,000. This is the threshold for Employment Pass and S Pass holders alike, which in practice puts the Dependant's Pass out of reach for most S Pass holders, since it sits well above the S Pass qualifying salary.
Can my spouse work on a Dependant's Pass?
Not on that pass. Since 1 May 2021 a Dependant's Pass holder who wishes to work must have a work pass of their own, applied for by an employer in the ordinary way. The Letter of Consent that previously allowed this was withdrawn for Dependant's Pass holders, apart from a narrow exception for some business owners. It does remain available to Long-Term Visit Pass holders sponsored by a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident spouse, which is a different pass and a different situation.
Can I bring my parents to Singapore on a Dependant's Pass?
No. Parents are not eligible for a Dependant's Pass. Where the sponsor's salary is sufficiently high a Long-Term Visit Pass may be possible for parents, and beyond that the options are genuinely limited. We would rather set that out plainly than let a family plan a move around an assumption that will not survive contact with the criteria.
What happens to my family's passes if I change jobs?
The Dependant's Passes are cancelled with your own and must be applied for afresh by your new employer once your new pass is issued. The practical consequence is a gap that needs managing, particularly where children are enrolled in school, and it is worth raising with a new employer during negotiation rather than afterwards.
Can my children study in Singapore on a Dependant's Pass?
Yes, children on a Dependant's Pass may enrol in school. Placement in a government school is subject to availability and priority goes to citizens and Permanent Residents, so many families on Dependant's Passes use private or international schools. School placement is usually the longest lead time in a family relocation and is worth starting early.
Is this the right moment for you to apply?
Please request a complimentary assessment, and a consultant will respond within two business days with a considered view of your position.
Criteria and fees are set by the Singapore authorities and are revised from time to time. Please confirm the current position directly.
Immigration Express is a private consultancy and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) or any Singapore government agency. All application outcomes are decided solely by the relevant authorities.