also called family visa · dependant visa
A visa allowing family members to join a main visa holder abroad.
A dependent visa lets family members join the main visa holder in a country. The big question it turns on is whether it lets a partner work, and that varies a lot by country. Because a household often needs two incomes, that single detail can decide whether a move actually makes financial sense.
You accept a role abroad and bring your partner on a dependent visa, assuming they will find work once you arrive. In this country the dependent visa does not permit them to work, and suddenly the whole move rests on one income you had not planned to stretch that far.
Whether it lets a partner work varies by country and can determine if a move is financially viable.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
A dependant is the family member, usually a spouse or child, that a main visa holder is allowed to bring and be responsible for.
A dependent visa is the visa that lets them join, and a dependant pass is the long-stay pass issued to them on the strength of the principal holder's status, common in Malaysia and similar systems.
A new term lands on this site every day, and the email is how you get it the day it lands. No digest, no roundup, no pitch. One term, what it means, and what it costs you to get it wrong.
Unsubscribe in one click, any time. We do not sell or share your address.