Every year millions of foreign nationals come to Canada for tourism visits, employment, or family reunification. Many asylum seekers also resort to Canada for its high refugee acceptance rate. All in all, the number of foreigners coming to Canada temporarily or seeking immigration is significantly higher than that of other countries.
Therefore, those looking to visit or move to Canada must know about the letter of invitation. A key element of Canadian immigration, a letter of invitation, is a document that establishes the legitimacy of your visa application and visit purpose. Immigration officers overseeing an application often pay special attention to letters of invitation to determine the authenticity of an application.
In this blog today, we’ll explain the importance of a letter of invitation and the way forward to drafting a solid invitation letter for yourself. Take a look below to decode one of the most important elements of the Canadian immigration system.
What is a Letter of Invitation?
A letter of invitation is written by a Canadian permanent residency (PR) holder, citizen, or organization/business. This letter entails information about a foreign national whom the PR holder, citizen, or organization is keen to invite/sponsor to Canada. The letter also addresses the purpose of the visit, the duration of stay, and the sponsoring person or organization’s financial readiness to take the financial responsibility of the incoming foreigner.
The letter proves the legitimacy of a visit and helps immigration authorities determine the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored person. A top lawyer in Toronto can help you in drafting a strong and concise letter of invitation to invite your spouse, family, employees, or refugees to Canada.
Significance of Letter of Invitation
A letter of invitation is a vital part of any visa or immigration application. Here are some of the ways a letter of invitation helps different cases of immigration.
Spousal Sponsorship
Spousal sponsorship refers to the immigration stream through which Canadian citizens and PR holders invite their spouses, dependent children, common-law partners, or conjugal partners to Canada. Spousal sponsorship is one of the most popular ways of family reunification in Canada.
By writing a letter of invitation for a spousal sponsorship application, the sponsoring person helps prove the genuineness of a relationship and their readiness to financially support the person they’re inviting.
Visit Visa
32 million people visit Canada on short-term visits. Those visiting Canada for short-term visits such as tourism, business, or job hunting must also incorporate a letter of invitation from a person or organization in Canada. This letter establishes the authenticity of a visit, the purpose behind it, as well as the incoming person’s legitimacy.
Employment Visa
If a person lands a job in Canada, their employer provides a letter of invitation that is attached to the visa application. This letter outlines the employed person’s details, their new job designation, and an argument that supports why the person is the best fit for the employment given to them.
Refugee Claims
In the case of refugee appeals, a letter of invitation is referred to as a letter of support. A letter of support is written by an organization that seeks a visa for an asylum seeker on humanitarian grounds. The letter of support discusses the plight of the refugee seeker, the threats to their life in their native country, as well as the sponsoring organization’s readiness for financial and other obligations.
Immigration Appeals
If an immigration application is refused the first time, lawyers in Toronto recommend attaching a letter of invitation with the immigration appeal. An appeal is a process through which an applicant can contest the decision of refusal and ask the Canadian immigration authorities to review their case. A compelling letter of invitation can help in the reversal of refusals for some applicants.
Writing a Compelling Letter of Invitation
Whether you’re an applicant or a sponsor, writing a compelling letter of invitation is a prerequisite to the success of your immigration process. Here are some pointers to consider when looking to draft a strong letter of invitation.
Hire a Top Immigration Lawyer
Immigration lawyers in Toronto are the go-to sources for immigration and visa applicants. This is because immigration lawyers have years of experience, attention to detail, and understanding of the legal terms that can help your letter of invitation stand out. The first thing to do when writing a letter of invitation is to hire a top lawyer in Toronto.
Provide Detailed Documents
Alongside a strong letter of invitation, you must also provide extensive documents to further strengthen your application. As a sponsor, you must provide financial details, employment history, and accommodation details to showcase your financial readiness. To prove the legitimacy of relationships in spousal sponsorships, you must provide relevant documents that prove a relationship between you and the sponsored individual.
Be As Elaborative as Possible
Other details are required for common-law and conjugal partners, where a marriage certificate does not exist to support the claim. Mutually-owned properties, photographs of holidays, airline tickets, or conversations over different mediums must be attached to the letter of invitation to strengthen the claim of a relationship.
Draft a Strong Letter
With the help of a competent immigration lawyer in Toronto, you can draft a strong letter of invitation that covers all the aspects required by the authorities. Make sure to go over inadmissibility clauses in Canadian immigration to know whom you cannot sponsor in Canada. For everyone who is allowed to visit or immigrate to Canada, a strong letter of invitation is a key component for successful immigration.
Initiate Your Immigration Process Today!
Canada has a lot to offer to immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. If you’re among those aspiring to move to Canada and build a new life, then contact us at Nanda and Associate Lawyers for immigration consultancy and letters of invitation assistance.
Our Toronto-based law firm has top-notch immigration lawyers, spousal sponsorship lawyers, and refugee lawyers. Book a consultation to discuss your immigration case today.
