Obtaining an employment letter from your employer is an important piece of documentary evidence to include in all immigration application forms; however, depending on which visa you are applyinh for, the employment letter serves a different function, and is scrutinized on different content.
Employment Letters for PR Applications
For Permanent Residence applications under economic immigration categories (EE, PNPs, AIP, RNIP, Home Care Worker Program etc), the purpose of your Employment letter is to verify the details of your work experience that you had submitted in your Express Entry/Expression of Interest, initial application. In this case, the Employment letter serves as a piece of documentary evidence that would help prove the work experienced you claimed in the initial application stage to be genuine.
Therefore, your Employment Letter for PR applications under Economic Immigration categories must include:
- Official letterhead of the company and include their website and contact information
- Include your full name (as per your passport)
- Date range of employment (at least one year to qualify for CEC)
- Hours worked- must be full time (greater than 30 hours/week)
- Paid- include your wage
- NOC code and position name
- Duties performed!! The most important part of your Employment letter for an Express Entry PR application are the duties of your work experience. Don’t “copy-paste” this from the NOC! Instead, re-word the duties listed in your NOC code as per Statistics Canada.
- Include the supervisor’s name and contact information
- Signature of supervisor
Yes, people’s PR applications have been refused because their letters of employment did not meet IRCC standards. Letters of Employment for Express Entry PR applications are called: Employment Reference Letters for PR Applications.
Along with your Employment Reference letter, applicants should provide past paystubs, T4s, and NOAs (notice of Assessments) to prove their employment details, and their status as compliant tax payers.
Employment Reference letters with job duties should also be used for work permit applications, both initial, LMIA work permits and Bridging Work Permits as these letters serve as supporting evidence of your work experience and role in your current position. In these immigration applications the importance of NOC duties are not as important as in Employment letters for Economic Immigration PR applications.
Employment Letters for Other Immigration Applications
The purpose of employment letters for Spousal Sponsorship, or to accompany TRV applications as supporting evidence to accompany letters of invitation for your family members’ TRV applications are to confirm a minimum amount of income necessary for the application.
For Spousal Sponsorship and TRV applications, officers want to see that the sponsor or inviter has more income that the necessary Low Income Cut Off for the amount of people in their household they are responsible for, including themselves.
For example, in the above link to the Low Income Cut Off for a household of 4 in a Canadian metropolis of over 500,000 people is to $47,827/year in 2023. There is an increase of $1,400/year, bringing the 2026 Low Income Cut Off for a family of 4, living in a city of 500,000 residents or more to $52,027.
The purpose of including your employment letter, paystubs, NOA, and even bank statements is to show that you earn more than the LICO, and can afford to fulfill the terms of the undertaking,in regards to Spousal Sponsorship, or be able to finally provide for your guests, in regards to an invitation letter for a family member’s TRV.
How to Request an Employment letter from your HR Department or Boss
It is important to tell your HR department or boss the specific information you want included in your employment letter. Writing an email, or handing them a hard copy request with a bullet point list of what you will need on the employment letter is very useful. If you are working with an immigration consultant or lawyer, they should be providing you with a list of information that is necessary for the letter.
Give notice to your employment of your need for an employment letter as soon as you receive your ITA, or PNP nomination in order not to miss your deadline to submit your PR application. Give your employer a deadline. A span of one week should be enough to fulfill an employment letter request.
Employment letters serve as important documentary evidence much of the eligibility criteria and points the applicant receives from their EE profile or EOI, and is not to be taken lightly. Applicants should take care to provide their employer with clear instructions to craft a qualifying employment letter, and should take the time to review the letter when received.
At Arsheen Immigration, we take pride in holding our clients’ hand through the many hoops and loops of Canadian immigration for temporary and permanent resident stauts, until they achieve the ultimate success of becoming a Canadian citizen.