Visitor

A visitor or guest is a person who comes to your fort at random, to stay at a location. Initially, you will receive only about three visitors for each location, who are all curious about the location they are visiting. When they leave, they may bring back word of what your place is like, attracting more visitors. This may benefit your fort, for example by providing social contacts for your dwarves, or enlisting soldiers. However, if you prefer having a dwarf-only fort (save for the prisoner elves and goblins), you should make sure they do not leave alive.

Types of visitors

• Guest: will come to relax, and only provides social contacts and may perform in your inn. After they finish their tasks, diplomats may stay a while as guests.
• Scholar: will come to study, which includes reading books and discussing scientific topics with other scholars (including other visitors and your own dwarves), and may write books in your library.
• Mercenary: will come to get enlisted into the military. They will either petition for long-term residency or relax, and when you accept them, they can be added to any squad (note that they cannot be squad leaders) and will follow any order the squad receives. They are attracted by your inn.
• Performer: as the name suggests, will come to perform in your inn. They will tell stories, dance, make music, or recite poetry. They do this for fun, and will not ask anything in return. They may petition for long-term residency.
• Monster Hunter: monster hunters visit inns to hunt monsters within the caverns. Once they are granted long term residency they will occasionally go down into the caverns on their own to hunt. As of 0.42.4 they might be bugged as nobody other than Toady has reported seeing them, but supposedly their requirements for arrival are having opened the caverns.

Note: This page was written by two people so far, so there may be more types of visitors not listed here.

Residency petitions

Sometimes, a visitor may come with the intent to stay in your fort on the long term. All types of visitors can do this. When a visitor petitions for residency, they will meet up with your mayor. You will have the final say about whether the visitor will become a resident.

When you accept them, they will be added to the list of civilians in your fort as if they were a migrant. Their needs, preferences, and thoughts will be visible to them as normal, but they will not be able to have labours or occupations assigned. Aside from the reason why they came to your fort (such as performing in your inn), they may take brief breaks and do stuff in other locations in your fort.

After about 2 years in your fort, the visitor may then apply for citizenship, and accepting will allow them to have labors in your fort. They still will not be able to have occupations. Mercenaries will never apply for citizenship.