When one person in a family takes a job abroad, the rest of the family usually follows on a dependant visa: a spouse's permit, a child's permit, sometimes a separate entry permit sponsored by the worker. These files are thick with marriage certificates, birth certificates, salary slips and tenancy contracts. Flights are hardly ever on the list, and yet "do we need a ticket?" is one of the first questions families ask us.
This guide answers it country by country, using the official pages for the five places Indian families most often join a worker: the UK, the US, Canada, Germany and the UAE. Where an official page says nothing about flights, we say so. Where a reservation genuinely helps, we explain when. By dependant we mean a spouse or child moving to live with the worker; a short visit to see them is a different visa, covered in our family visit guide.
Dependant visas and flights: key facts
| Destination and route | Official position on documents |
|---|---|
| UK Skilled Worker dependants | Funds of £285 for a partner, £315 for one child, £200 for each further child; relationship evidence. No flight listed.[1] |
| US temporary worker families | Spouse and children may apply in the same category; wait for the visa before buying flights.[2] |
| Canada spouse open work permit | Worker in TEER 0 or 1 (or eligible TEER 2/3); permit valid 16 more months. Dependent children no longer eligible under this measure.[3] |
| Germany family reunion | National visa; checklist lists marriage papers, A1 German, spouse's permit. No flight; insurance requested shortly before grant.[4] |
| UAE (Dubai) family sponsorship | Resident's salary AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 with housing; attested marriage and birth certificates. No ticket listed.[5] |
Do dependants need a flight ticket to apply?
In the five systems above, no. A dependant visa is permission to live somewhere, usually tied to the worker's own permit, so the officer looks at three things: is the relationship real, is the worker's status valid, and can the family be supported? A return date has no part in that test.
The US is the clearest about it. The State Department's temporary worker page tells applicants, family members included, that neither fixed travel plans nor tickets should come before the visa itself.[2] Nothing we read anywhere else contradicts that advice for dependants. If a visa centre or agent asks for a ticket that the official checklist does not mention, ask them which line of the checklist it is for.
What do dependant checklists ask for instead?
| Destination | Dependant route | Key documents | Flight wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Skilled Worker dependant | Relationship evidence; funds held 28 days[1] | None[1] |
| USA | Same category as the worker (e.g. H-4 with H-1B) | Proof the worker can support the family[2] | Don't buy tickets first[2] |
| Canada | Spouse open work permit | Worker's occupation and permit length[3] | None[3] |
| Germany | Family reunion national visa | Marriage documents, A1 German, spouse's residence permit[4] | None[4] |
| UAE (Dubai) | Entry visa for residence, family sponsorship | Employment contract, salary certificate, attested certificates[5] | None[5] |
UK: dependants of a Skilled Worker
Partners and children can apply to join a Skilled Worker, subject to some recent limits. GOV.UK says the family needs £285 for a partner, £315 for one child and £200 for each additional child, held for at least 28 days in a row, and gives a worked example: £600 to bring a partner and one child.[1] Each person must provide evidence of their relationship to the worker, and a family linking code can connect the applications. From outside the UK, a decision usually comes within 3 weeks.[1]
Check eligibility before anything else. GOV.UK now restricts dependants for care workers and senior care workers, and for jobs listed as "medium skilled", unless conditions such as continuous employment since a cut-off date apply (11 March 2024 for care roles, 22 July 2025 for medium-skilled roles).[1] A flight booking will not help a family that does not qualify, and a family that does qualify does not need one. For the worker's own visa, see our work visa guide.
USA: H-4, L-2 and other derivative visas
US temporary work categories let the family follow the worker. The State Department puts it simply: "Your spouse and unmarried, minor children may also apply for the same visa category as you to accompany or join you", with the Q-1 cultural exchange category as the exception.[2] The same page says you must show you can financially support your family in the United States.[2]
The travel advice applies to everyone in the family: an approved petition does not guarantee a visa, so final travel plans and tickets wait until the visas are issued.[2] At the interview, families bring marriage and birth certificates and the worker's petition approval; the consulate's own instructions list the exact documents. Our US visa guide covers the interview more broadly.
A practical note for H-4 families. The spouse and children often interview at the same time as the worker, or later at the same post. If the worker has already moved, it is the dependants' own interview, and the worker's current employment evidence matters more than any itinerary.
Canada: spouse open work permits after the 2025 changes
Canada's rules for working spouses tightened in January 2025, and IRCC's eligibility page was last modified on 12 June 2026.[3] Under the high-skilled worker measure, the worker must be in "any high-skilled occupation at the Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category 0 (management) or 1 (professional)", or an eligible TEER 2 or 3 occupation, and the worker's own permit must be valid "for at least 16 months after we receive your spouse or common law partner's open work permit application".[3]
Children are treated differently: IRCC says a dependent child is "no longer eligible for an open work permit under this measure".[3] Children usually come as visitors or students instead. The eligibility page does not mention flights. For visitor applications, IRCC's visitor visa page suggests including flight details, which is where a reservation can fit;[6] our Canada visa guide explains that case.
Germany: family reunion with a worker
Joining a spouse who works in Germany means a national visa for family reunion. The German Embassy in Dhaka's checklist, dated July 2026, gives a good sense of what German missions ask for: your passport and forms, your spouse's registration certificate and German residence permit, a copy of their passport, birth and marriage documents, and an A1 German certificate (with exemptions explained separately).[4] There is no flight booking. Travel health insurance "valid on arrival in Germany has to be submitted shortly before the visa will be granted".[4]
Timing is the bigger issue. The same embassy estimates a minimum of about 8 months for family reunion, because the file goes to the immigration authority in Germany.[4] Indian applicants use the German Missions in India checklist, which can differ in detail and in timing. Check your own mission's page. Either way, booking flights before the visa is pointless when the wait is measured in months. Our Germany visa guide covers the short-stay side.
UAE: family sponsorship by a resident
In the UAE the worker sponsors the family from inside the country. GDRFA Dubai's service for an entry visa for residence without work under family sponsorship lists the requirements: a photo, a passport copy valid for at least 6 months, the employment contract, a salary certificate for government, semi-government and free zone employees, an attested birth certificate, a certified marriage contract, and a no-objection letter from the father if the wife is the sponsor.[5] The conditions add that the resident's salary must be AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 with housing provided, and that a resident may sponsor sons up to 25 years old.[5]
The visa fee is AED 200 plus 5% VAT, with extra charges if the family member is already in the country.[5] No ticket appears in the requirements. This is different from a visit visa for a relative, where ICP lists a return travel ticket; our UAE visa guide covers that. Once the entry permit is issued, the family flies in one way and completes medicals and Emirates ID inside the UAE.
Is a one-way flight fine for dependants?
Yes. A spouse or child travelling on a residence-type dependant visa is moving to live with the worker, so a one-way flight is the normal booking. The visa or entry permit itself is the proof that you may stay. Airline check-in staff look for that document, not for a return flight.
Three small things go wrong more often than flights do:
- Names. A child's ticket must match the child's passport exactly. Don't drop a middle name because it is not on the parent's passport.
- Entry deadlines. Some permits must be used within a fixed window. Buy the ticket once you see the dates on the visa.
- Insurance start dates. Germany asks for insurance valid on arrival.[4] Match the policy start to the flight.
Visiting the worker before the dependant visa comes through
This is where most of our dependant customers actually need a reservation. The family visa takes months, so the spouse applies for a short visit visa to spend a few weeks with the worker in the meantime. That is a visitor application with its own rules, and visitor checklists often do ask about flights. For a UK visit, the Home Office rates flight bookings as adding little,[7] many Schengen checklists list a flight reservation, and ICP's visit visa for a relative names a "Return Travel Ticket".[8]
Say your husband started work in Frankfurt in March and the family reunion visa is expected around autumn. You can apply for a Schengen visit visa for three weeks in July, with his invitation and a return reservation for those dates. You must be honest in that application that a family reunion case is pending. The visit has to be a genuine visit with a return, and the officer will want to see that. Our family visit guide and Schengen guide cover those checklists.
| Situation | Visa type | Reservation useful? |
|---|---|---|
| Moving to live with the worker | Dependant / family reunion | No; book one way after the visa |
| Short visit while the dependant case is pending | Visitor visa | Often, if the checklist mentions flights |
| Children visiting in school holidays | Visitor visa | Often; one booking for all travellers |
| Visiting a worker in the UAE | Relative visit visa | Ask the sponsor; ICP names a return ticket |
Step by step: flights for a family joining a worker
- Confirm the family is eligible, for example under the UK's care and medium-skilled limits or Canada's TEER rules.
- Collect relationship proof: attested marriage and birth certificates, with translations.
- Get the worker's documents: permit, contract, salary evidence, registration or tenancy.
- Apply without flights unless your mission's checklist names one.
- If visiting meanwhile, use the visitor checklist and a reservation where it fits, and be open about the pending case.
- After the visa, buy one-way tickets in each passport name, inside any entry deadline.
- Arrange insurance from the arrival date where required.
A reservation for the visit in between
For a visitor file, we place the whole family under one PNR that the airline's website can display. Because nothing has been purchased, it carries nobody onto a plane. Each airline sets its own hold, which lasts up to 2 weeks; we would order it three or four days before the appointment.
Every family member is priced individually, with no extra for a return; trips with several stops are counted in two-leg blocks, while hotel stays are priced by stay and by guest. Allow about 10 minutes for delivery; Razorpay processes UPI, cards and netbanking. See prices, how visa reservations work and how to verify a PNR.
Visiting while you wait?
All of you on one booking for the visit, ₹699 or $9 a head, children included.
A reminder: the visa outcome is never ours to promise, and dependant or residence files did not list flights on any official page we read.
Frequently asked questions
Does an H-4 visa need a flight ticket?
No. The State Department lets spouses and unmarried minor children apply in the worker's category and advises against final travel plans or tickets until the visa is issued. Bring the relationship documents and the worker's evidence instead. After the H-4 is stamped, book a one-way flight in each traveller's passport name.
My wife is joining me in the UK as a dependant. Should she show a return ticket?
No. GOV.UK's dependant section asks for relationship evidence and the funds (£285 for a partner) held for 28 days; there is no flight on it. She is moving to live with you, so a return date would not match the application. Check first that your job allows dependants under the current rules.
Can our children get a Canadian open work permit with my spouse?
Not under the high-skilled worker measure. IRCC says dependent children are no longer eligible for an open work permit there, although family members already in Canada may be able to extend existing permits in some cases. Children normally come as visitors or students.
How long does German family reunion take?
It varies by mission. The German Embassy in Dhaka gives a minimum of about 8 months, because the file is checked by the immigration authority in Germany. Other missions publish their own estimates. Check your own mission's checklist and don't buy flights until the visa is issued.
Do I need a ticket for a UAE family residence visa?
GDRFA Dubai's family sponsorship requirements list the employment contract, salary certificate, attested certificates and passport copies, not a ticket. The worker needs a salary of AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 with housing. Once the entry permit is issued, the family flies in one way and completes the residence process inside the UAE.
Can I visit my husband abroad while our dependant application is pending?
Often yes, on a visitor visa, but treat it as a separate application. Follow the visitor checklist, show a genuine return, and declare the pending dependant case honestly. A return reservation for the visit dates is useful where the visitor checklist mentions flights.
Other guides that families find useful: the worker's own work visa rules, fiancé routes for couples not yet married, working holidays, internship placements, the UK application guide, a country-by-country requirements table, and the DummyTicketPrice home page.
Sources
All sources last checked: October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: your partner and children.
- U.S. Department of State, Temporary Worker Visas.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Open work permits for family members of foreign workers: who can apply (modified 12 June 2026).
- German Embassy Dhaka, Information for visa applicants for family reunion (PDF, July 2026).
- GDRFA Dubai, Issuing an entry visa for residence without work: family sponsorship.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, How to apply for a visitor visa.
- GOV.UK, Home Office, Visit the UK: guide to supporting documents.
- Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), Issuance of a Visa.
Related: flight reservation for visa · dummy ticket price · requirements by country · how to verify a PNR.