Singapore immigration
The Long-Term Visit Pass, and which authority decides yours.
The Long-Term Visit Pass covers family who fall outside the Dependant's Pass. Two different authorities issue it under the same name, on different criteria, with different consequences. Knowing which one applies to you is the whole starting point.
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The Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) allows a family member who falls outside Dependant's Pass criteria to live in Singapore long term. Two authorities issue it. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) issues the LTVP to the foreign spouse and unmarried children of a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issues the LTVP to the common-law spouse, unmarried stepchild under 21, or unmarried handicapped child aged 21 and above of an Employment Pass or S Pass holder. The LTVP+ is a longer-validity pass available only to the foreign spouse of a Singapore Citizen, typically where the marriage has lasted at least three years or there are Singaporean children. Unlike a Dependant's Pass holder, an LTVP or LTVP+ holder sponsored by a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident may work on a Letter of Consent issued by MOM. Immigration Express advises on which pass applies, on LTVP+ eligibility, and on the route from an LTVP towards Permanent Residence.
One name covers two quite different passes, and the confusion is not the reader's fault. An ICA-issued Long-Term Visit Pass held by the spouse of a Singapore Citizen, and a MOM-issued Long-Term Visit Pass held by the common-law partner of an Employment Pass holder, share a label and almost nothing else: different authority, different criteria, different validity, different rights to work.
The practical point is that the ICA route carries something the Dependant's Pass no longer does. A Long-Term Visit Pass holder sponsored by a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident can work on a Letter of Consent, and a Pre-approved Letter of Consent allows some holders to have that permission in hand before they start looking for a job. Very few firms explain this, and it changes what a family is able to plan for.
Who can apply
Which pass applies to you.
Start with who is sponsoring you. That determines the authority, and the authority determines everything else.
Foreign spouse of a Singapore Citizen or PR
An ICA-issued Long-Term Visit Pass. The usual position for a spouse who is not yet a Permanent Resident, and the route to the LTVP+.
Foreign spouse of a citizen, longer standing
The LTVP+ is available only to spouses of citizens, typically where the marriage has lasted at least three years or there are Singaporean children. It carries longer validity and longer renewal.
Unmarried children of a citizen or PR
Where they are not eligible for Permanent Residence or citizenship in their own right, an ICA-issued Long-Term Visit Pass may apply.
Common law spouse of a pass holder
A MOM-issued Long-Term Visit Pass, at MOM's discretion, where a Dependant's Pass is unavailable because the relationship is not a legal marriage.
Stepchildren and handicapped children
An unmarried stepchild under 21, or an unmarried handicapped child aged 21 or above, of an Employment Pass or S Pass holder, through MOM.
Parents of a pass holder
Where the sponsor's salary is sufficiently high, MOM may grant a Long-Term Visit Pass to parents. This is discretionary and the threshold sits substantially above the Dependant's Pass one.
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 allows.
Long-term residence without Permanent Residence
A settled basis to live here while a Permanent Residence application is premature, pending, or has not succeeded.
The right to work, on a Letter of Consent
An LTVP or LTVP+ holder sponsored by a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident may work once MOM issues a Letter of Consent. This is the material difference from a Dependant's Pass.
A Pre-approved Letter of Consent
Some eligible holders may obtain permission to work before finding a job rather than after, which removes the difficulty of applying for roles with no right to accept one.
Longer validity on the LTVP+
The LTVP+ is issued for three years and renewed for up to five at a time, against one or two years for the ordinary pass.
A step towards Permanent Residence
For the spouse of a citizen or Permanent Resident, time held on a Long-Term Visit Pass forms part of the residence history ICA considers.
What to understand before relying on it.
It is a visit pass, not residence
Despite the length, this is permission to remain rather than a form of residence. It is renewed at the authority's discretion and it can be refused.
It depends entirely on the sponsor
The pass rests on the relationship and on the sponsor's status. Where the sponsorship ends, so does the basis for the pass.
The LTVP+ is for spouses of citizens only
A spouse sponsored by a Permanent Resident is not eligible for it, however long the marriage has lasted. This is a common and disappointing misunderstanding.
The Letter of Consent is not automatic
It is a separate MOM application with its own conditions, and some professions require additional documentation. Holding the pass is not the same as holding permission to work.
How it works
From first conversation to outcome.
Establish who sponsors you
Citizen, Permanent Resident or work pass holder. This decides the authority, and everything that follows from it.
Identify the right pass
LTVP or LTVP+, and whether the application is made to ICA or to MOM.
Assess the work position
Whether a Letter of Consent, or a Pre-approved Letter of Consent, is available in your circumstances.
Prepare the relationship evidence
Marriage and birth certificates, translated and legalised where issued abroad, and evidence of a genuine and subsisting relationship.
Plan the longer route
Whether and when Permanent Residence becomes realistic, and what would strengthen it in the meantime.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions about Long-Term Visit Pass
What is the difference between an LTVP and an LTVP+?
The LTVP+ is available only to the foreign spouse of a Singapore Citizen, typically where the marriage has lasted at least three years or there are Singaporean children. It is issued for three years and renewed for up to five at a time, against one or two years for the ordinary pass, and it carries better access to healthcare subsidies. A spouse sponsored by a Permanent Resident is not eligible for the LTVP+, however long the marriage has lasted.
Can an LTVP holder work in Singapore?
Yes, where the holder is sponsored by a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident and MOM issues a Letter of Consent. This is the significant difference from a Dependant's Pass, whose holders lost the Letter of Consent route in May 2021. A Pre-approved Letter of Consent is also available to some holders, which allows permission to work to be obtained before finding a job rather than after it.
Is the LTVP issued by ICA or by MOM?
Both, depending on who sponsors you, which is the single most confusing thing about this pass. ICA issues it to the spouse and unmarried children of Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. MOM issues it to the common-law spouse, unmarried stepchild under 21, or unmarried handicapped child aged 21 and above of an Employment Pass or S Pass holder. The criteria, the validity and the work rights all differ, so establishing which applies is the first thing to settle.
Does an LTVP lead to Permanent Residence?
It carries no entitlement, but for the spouse of a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident it is the usual position from which a Permanent Residence application is eventually made. ICA assesses holistically, and the length and genuineness of the marriage, the sponsor's circumstances and the family's ties here all matter. We would give you a candid view of the timing rather than encourage an early application.
My Permanent Residence application was refused. Can I stay on an LTVP?
Often yes, where you are the spouse of a citizen or Permanent Resident, and it is frequently the sensible position to hold while circumstances strengthen. A refusal of Permanent Residence is not a refusal of the Long-Term Visit Pass; they are different applications against different criteria. We would look at both together and advise on whether reapplying, appealing, or simply waiting serves you best.
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.