Can Chefs Bring Family? Dependant Rules in Six Countries

When you recruit a chef from Japan, one question comes up late in almost every interview: "Can I bring my family?" For chefs in their thirties and forties with a partner or children, the answer often decides whether they apply at all. Yet whether the family can come, and whether the partner can work, is decided mostly by the type of visa and the salary, not by the restaurant.

This guide sets out the family rules in six major markets, as far as they could be confirmed from official sources in September 2026, and the points a restaurant should settle before it advertises. Where something could not be confirmed, we say so.

1. Family is part of the job offer

Whether a chef can bring family belongs in the benefits section of the job ad, for three reasons.

• It changes who applies. If family cannot come, applicants are limited to single people and those willing to live apart from their family, and experienced chefs with families may not apply.
• It changes the pay design. In countries such as Singapore, where bringing family depends on a salary floor, the salary itself decides whether the family can come.
• It affects retention. Chefs living apart from their families tend to decide to go home sooner. Retention is covered in keeping Japanese chefs abroad.

2. Six countries compared

For the visas most often used to hire chefs, here is how family members and the partner's right to work compare.

3. United States: E-2, O-1, H-2B

The US has no visa made for chefs. Japanese restaurants mainly use E-2, O-1 and H-2B, and each treats family differently.

E-2 (treaty investor)

According to the State Department, the spouse and unmarried children under 21 may apply for visas to accompany or join the principal. A spouse has to show a marriage certificate.

The partner's right to work needs care. The federal regulation (8 CFR 274a.12(a)(5)) says an E-1 or E-2 worker may be employed only by the treaty-qualifying company, and that this employment authorization does not extend to dependents. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) publishes separate guidance on work by E and L spouses, but its website could not be reached while this guide was being prepared, so the current position could not be confirmed. If the spouse's ability to work is part of your offer, check with an immigration attorney. E-2 in general is covered in the E-2 visa guide (Japanese).

O-1 (extraordinary ability)

Under 8 CFR 214.2(o), the spouse and unmarried minor children of an O-1 worker are entitled to O-3 status for the same period and on the same terms. However, neither the spouse nor a child may work unless granted employment authorization.

H-2B (temporary non-agricultural workers)

The spouse and children may come as H-4, but the regulation states that H-4 status does not confer eligibility for employment authorization incident to status. The route to work authorization for H-4 spouses applies only to some spouses of H-1B workers, not to families of H-2B workers.

4. Canada: the spouse's work permit depends on the job

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), in guidance updated on 12 June 2026, the spouse or common-law partner of a foreign worker can get an open work permit (one not tied to an employer) if the principal:

• works in any TEER 0 (management) or TEER 1 (professional) occupation, or
• works in one of the selected TEER 2 or TEER 3 occupations, and
• in either case, has a work permit valid for at least 16 months after IRCC receives the spouse's application.

Chefs (NOC 62200, TEER 2) and Cooks (NOC 63200, TEER 3) are not on the list of selected occupations. Since 21 January 2025, dependent children are no longer eligible under this measure. The exception is a worker who has applied for permanent residence through an economic programme: IRCC says family members can then qualify whatever the occupation, as long as the permit is valid for at least 6 more months.

In practice, if you bring in a chef through an LMIA, the spouse will normally need a separate work permit of their own. The LMIA process is covered in LMIA and work permits for cooks in Canada (Japanese).

5. United Kingdom: chefs can rarely bring family

In the UK, Chefs (SOC 5434) are classed as a "medium skilled" occupation. Government guidance says a Skilled Worker in a medium skilled job generally cannot bring family unless, for example, they have been continuously employed in the UK in a medium skilled job since before 22 July 2025.

Chefs are on neither the Immigration Salary List nor the Temporary Shortage List, so new overseas sponsorship of chefs is effectively closed. Where family can still apply for a chef you already employ, they must show funds: £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each additional child. The UK situation is covered in hiring for Japanese restaurants in the UK after 2025 (Japanese).

6. Australia, Singapore, Malaysia

Australia: family members can work

According to the Department of Home Affairs, the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) lets you include your partner, dependent children and certain other family members as secondary applicants, and the family can live, study and work in Australia. Family members cannot be added after the application is lodged; those joining later apply separately as subsequent entrants. If the chef plans to bring family, discuss it before the first application. The visa as a whole is covered in Australian visas for chefs (Japanese).

Singapore: S$6,000 a month is the line

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), a Dependant's Pass (for a legally married spouse and unmarried children under 21) is available to Employment Pass or S Pass holders earning a fixed monthly salary of at least S$6,000. It is based on the worker's own salary, not household income.

For reference, MOM's occupational wage survey (June 2024) puts the median gross monthly wage for chefs at S$3,850. At typical pay, a chef cannot bring family. If family is part of the offer, the salary has to be designed at a fixed S$6,000 a month or more. For the spouse to work, an employer has to apply for an EP, S Pass or Dependant's Pass Work Permit for them.

Malaysia: now open to Category III

Under the Immigration Department's new expatriate policy, EP applications submitted on or after 1 June 2026 in Category III (basic monthly salary RM5,000 to RM9,999) can also include dependants. The Dependant Pass covers the spouse and children under 18; children aged 18 to 25 and common-law spouses fall under the Long-Term Social Visit Pass. The salary test uses basic salary only, excluding allowances and bonuses. Details are in Malaysia's 2026 EP changes (Japanese).

7. What the restaurant should decide

Even where the rules allow family, whether a chef can actually bring them depends on your terms. Settle these points before you advertise.

Family or single status

Some restaurants assume single status for reasons of housing or cost, even where family is allowed. Either is fine, but say it in the job ad. Telling a candidate late that family "wasn't expected" leads to declined offers and early resignations.

Which costs you cover

• Flights for family members (on arrival and for home leave)
• Housing size (single or family)
• Visa fees for family members
• Health insurance (whether family is included)
• School fees (if you do not pay them, say so)

Flights and housing are covered in designing housing and relocation costs (Japanese).

When the family joins

It is common for the chef to go first and bring the family once housing and daily life are settled. But in some countries, such as Australia, the process differs depending on whether family members are included in the first application. Agree the timing with the chef before the visa application.

Paperwork on the Japanese side

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Japanese nationals who set up a residence abroad and stay three months or more must file a residence registration (在留届, zairyu todoke) with the local embassy or consulate (Passport Act, Article 16). It helps to remind the chef to include family members.

For pay and benefits as a whole, including family, see pay design for chefs working abroad (Japanese); for country visa comparisons, see work visas in Asia (Japanese).

General information, not legal or immigration advice. Content was checked against official government information as of 22 September 2026. Whether family members can get visas and work depends on individual circumstances, so confirm with the relevant authority or an adviser before applying.