Bringing Family to Singapore: Who Can Join You

If you are moving to Singapore for work, one of the first questions is simple: who can come with me? The answer depends on which pass you hold and how much you earn. This guide walks through who qualifies, whether they can work, and how schooling fits in — with the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) current rules.

It starts with your salary

To bring family on a Dependant’s Pass (DP), you must hold an Employment Pass or S Pass and earn a fixed monthly salary of at least S$6,000. This is assessed on your own salary alone.

Who can come, and on which pass

Family members fall into two groups: those who get a Dependant’s Pass, and those who can only get a Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP).

Which family members qualify for which pass. Source: MOM.

Married children, and children aged 21 and over, are not covered as dependants — they would need their own work pass to live and work here.

Can your family work?

This is where the rules tightened. Since 1 May 2021, a Dependant’s Pass holder who wants a job must get their own work pass — an Employment Pass, S Pass or Work Permit, for which the employer applies. A Letter of Consent (LOC) now only covers a DP holder running their own registered business.

Schooling for your children

A child who holds a Dependant’s Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass can enrol in school in Singapore on that pass, for as long as the pass is valid. A child who does not hold one of those passes needs a Student’s Pass to study here — and so does any child joining an approved religious school, even on a DP or LTVP.

• International schools generally admit children directly, based on the school’s own places and process.
• Local (government) schools admit foreign children through the AEIS centralised test, subject to vacancies, and most add a Mother Tongue Language.

How to apply for family passes

Your employer (or an appointed agent) submits a separate application for each family member, either together with your work-pass application or afterwards. MOM asks for documents proving the relationship — a marriage certificate for a spouse, and the birth certificate naming the parents (or the adoption order) for a child; anything not in English needs an official translation. MOM processes most applications for dependants of EP and S Pass holders within three weeks (about four weeks for ONE Pass families), so apply once your own pass is approved rather than leaving it to the last minute before the family travels.

If your work pass ends

Family passes are tied to your pass. A DP or LTVP cannot outlast the main pass, and if your pass is cancelled — because you change jobs or leave — every family pass under it is cancelled too and cannot be reinstated.

What this means for your move

• Confirm your own fixed monthly salary clears S$6,000 (and S$12,000 if you want to bring parents).
• If your spouse will work, check whether your pass lets them use a Letter of Consent or requires their own work pass.
• Sort your child’s pass and school place early, and remember both depend on your main pass staying valid.

For the salary and points rules behind the main pass, see the Employment Pass guide and the S Pass guide. The Dependant’s Pass and working on an LOC page has the full detail on who can work.

General information only, from MOM, with the date each figure was checked. We are not an immigration agent; the final decision on any pass rests with MOM. Confirm the current rules on the official MOM page for your own case.