Tuvalu · family
Family Reunion or Family Support — Permit to Enter and Reside
By Sam Parks · Last reviewed:
Guidance updated 15 November 2026. Full-review date shown above.
A family reunion/support purpose with actual relationship, purpose and financial evidence; no automatic work or nationality grant.
- Processing time
- No current purpose-specific decision deadline or complete online filing service was verified. Obtain the actual receiving-office and purpose evidence instructions from the Principal Immigration Officer.
- Government fees
- Published regulation 7 family reunion/support charges are $100 principal and $50 per dependant. Confirm current applicability, currency and assessed charges; this is separate from nationality registration fees.
- Typical duration
- A Permit to Enter and Reside under regulation 3 is for a maximum stay of one year. Extensions use Form 4 and are discretionary. Regulation 4(5) allows no more than three extensions in any five-year period unless the Minister, acting on Citizenship Committee advice, certifies national interest. Filing does not itself extend an expiring permission.
- Required support
- Actual family purpose and financial capacity or resident support
- Leads to permanent residency
- No
In short
A family reunion/support purpose with actual relationship, purpose and financial evidence; no automatic work or nationality grant. Guidance updated 15 November 2026. Costs, application stages and eligibility conditions are set out with their sources below.
Cite this: https://visaatlas.org/visas/tuvalu/family-reunion-support-permit#answer
What is the Family Reunion or Family Support — Permit to Enter and Reside in Tuvalu?
Actual family purpose and financial capacity or resident support. Confirm the actual legal basis, conditions and authority instructions. Indicative government fees are Published regulation 7 family reunion/support charges are $100 principal and $50 per dependant. Confirm current applicability, currency and assessed charges; this is separate from nationality registration fees; indicative processing time is No current purpose-specific decision deadline or complete online filing service was verified. Obtain the actual receiving-office and purpose evidence instructions from the Principal Immigration Officer; typical duration is A Permit to Enter and Reside under regulation 3 is for a maximum stay of one year. Extensions use Form 4 and are discretionary. Regulation 4(5) allows no more than three extensions in any five-year period unless the Minister, acting on Citizenship Committee advice, certifies national interest. Filing does not itself extend an expiring permission. This route does not lead to permanent residence.
Primary guidance checked with Tuvalu Government — official legislation on 15 November 2026.
Overview
The actual purpose is family reunion or family support under regulation 3(1)(f). Establish the family relationship and proposed support or reunion. Form 3 section 10 asks for purpose, supporting letters/notices, stay and funds or support. General financial capacity or resident Form 6 support does not establish a universal employer-sponsorship requirement. Each person’s actual grant, duration and activity conditions must be checked. The family link does not automatically establish permission to work, permanent residence or citizenship. The public immigration texts are the 2022 revisions, with later legislation considered where relevant. They identify legal purposes and forms, but a complete current online immigration service, modern receiving-office instructions and individual assessed charges were not verified. Confirm the actual legal basis, activity conditions, documents and assessed charges with the Principal Immigration Officer before relying on travel, work or continued stay. Legal PDFs are guidance, not online filing services.
Additional sources
Primary source
Immigration Act — entry, permitted activity, visitor limits and appeal provisions ↗ · Tuvalu Government — official legislation
Link last verified:
Primary source
Official Tuvalu legislation index — revision and later-law context ↗ · Tuvalu Government — official legislation
Link last verified:
Eligibility
Typical criteria
- ✓The actual purpose is family reunion or family support under regulation 3(1)(f). Establish the family relationship and proposed support or reunion.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
- ✓Form 3 section 10 asks for purpose, supporting letters/notices, stay and funds or support. General financial capacity or resident Form 6 support does not establish a universal employer-sponsorship requirement.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
- ✓Each person’s actual grant, duration and activity conditions must be checked. The family link does not automatically establish permission to work, permanent residence or citizenship.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
Common blockers
- !The stated purpose is used to conduct a different activity without permission.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
- !A form, support letter, principal applicant’s grant or payment is treated as the individual’s issued permission.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
- !Expiry, renewal limits or actual grant conditions are ignored.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
Typical evidence
- ·Form 3 in English or Tuvaluan, signed by the applicant or, for an applicant under 18, a parent or guardian; passport or certificate of identity and two passport photographs.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
- ·Evidence of the actual permitted purpose and financial capacity, or a resident sponsor’s Form 6; further information requested by the officer.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
- ·For an intended stay of more than one year, regulation 4(2) requires medical Form 7, radiological Form 8 and police reports from every jurisdiction where the applicant lived for more than one year in the past five years. Scheduled notes use different age/duration wording and some incorrect form numbers. Obtain current instructions for each applicant, including exactly one-year stays and children.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
- ·Good health and character, compliance with the Act, and an outward-bound ticket or the repatriation bond assessed by the Principal Immigration Officer.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
- ·Actual family/relationship and reunion/support evidence, letters or notices, stay and financial/support arrangements requested by the officer.Tuvalu Government — official legislation ↗
Application pathway
Check the route fit
Identify the actual purpose and obtain current Principal Immigration Officer instructions before travel or starting the activity.
Build the evidence pack
Prepare Form 3, purpose and financial/support evidence, and the applicable identity, health and character documents.
Submit through the official channel
Submit through the instructed receiving office and pay the assessed charges; do not treat a legal PDF or fee payment as an application approval.
After approval
Observe the actual grant, activity and expiry conditions. Seek any extension or change of permission before relying on it.
After approval: prepare for your next step
For Family Reunion or Family Support — Permit to Enter and Reside, use the actual decision and the issuing authority’s instructions to establish what has been granted. A successful application, permission to enter, permission to work and a residence document are not interchangeable.
- 1. Check the decision. Confirm the name, passport, status granted, start date and any next action. Resolve an error with the authority before relying on the document for travel or employment.
- 2. Establish the travel step. Read any entry window, activation, collection or in-country registration instruction. For an extension or change of status, do not assume leaving the country is required or safe while a further step remains pending.
- 3. Confirm what you may do. Check the conditions for your own permission, including work, and keep evidence of the qualifying relationship. The principal applicant’s conditions may differ.
- 4. Organise the household. Check each accompanying person’s permission separately, then arrange healthcare, accommodation, access to money and the relevant local registrations. A tax number or bank account does not by itself prove a right to work.
- 5. Keep the ongoing conditions visible. Record the actual expiry, renewal process, permitted absences and any duty to report changes. An initial grant does not automatically establish permanent residence or citizenship.
Official application links
Where to actually go next
These are the official pages to use for this route. Open them before preparing documents: the forms, fees, appointment systems, and sponsor steps can change without warning.
- Official guidanceApplicantImmigration Regulations — 2022 revision, purposes, fees and scheduled forms ↗
Check this specific purpose, its fee and scheduled forms; obtain current authority filing instructions.
Tuvalu Government — official legislation · verified
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Related routes
Enter and Reside — Choose the Actual Permitted Purpose
Choose the actual business, employment, study, research, cultural/religious, family, accompanying-person or Minister-approved purpose before applying.
Employment Permit to Enter and Reside
An employment-purpose residence permit requiring actual employer sponsorship and employment approval, separate from the contract and labour-law requirements.
Business Permit to Enter and Reside
A discretionary business-purpose residence permit for up to one year, with separate investment approval, registration and local licensing where required.
Frequently asked questions
Does this permission automatically allow any employment or business?+
No. The actual purpose and conditions control; check any additional activity or employment permission separately.
Is employer sponsorship always required?+
The general framework permits financial-capacity evidence or resident Form 6 support. This is distinct from Form 5 employer sponsorship for an employment case. The actual purpose evidence still matters.
What remains to confirm?+
No universal fixed income threshold, unrestricted dependant work right or automatic nationality entitlement was verified. For an intended stay of more than one year, regulation 4(2) requires medical Form 7, radiological Form 8 and police reports from every jurisdiction where the applicant lived for more than one year in the past five years. Scheduled notes use different age/duration wording and some incorrect form numbers. Obtain current instructions for each applicant, including exactly one-year stays and children.
Need tailored advice?
We do not provide legal advice. For an application that depends on your exact circumstances, consult a regulator-listed immigration advisor.
Find a regulated advisor in TuvaluHow we verified this
We check every figure on this page against the primary government source, record the date it was last checked, and re-check it on a regular schedule. Rules change, so always confirm time-sensitive details with the official source before you rely on them. Visa Atlas is an information-only publication and does not give legal advice.
Primary source: Tuvalu Government — official legislation
Last checked: 15 November 2026