NAFTA How to Draft an Employment Reference Letter

Draft an Employment Reference Letter (NAFTA)

Regardless of whether you are a business professional, a business visitor or otherwise, if your intention to travel to Canada is business related, it would be extremely wise to provide a letter of reference from your employer.

When completing an employment reference letter, there are a couple of factors you should consider which should appear on your employment reference letter. These factors will satisfy an officer that you meet the requirements of your intended purpose in Canada as well as help facilitate that entry.

The factors that you should include in your employment reference letter are as follows:

• intended purpose in Canada
• duration of your stay
• any accommodations or travel itinerary
• your employment background
• how do you meet the qualifications of your intended purpose in Canada

Intended Purpose in Canada

In describing your intended purpose in Canada, you should be certain you meet the criteria for the category under which you are applying. As previously mentioned, business visitors and business professionals have unique criteria and requirements that will need to be satisfied by an officer reviewing your case as this will most likely have been a port of entry if the extremely prudent they have a father and concise arguments to avoid any sort of delay or concerns which will need to be addressed by an officer. Regardless of your intended business purpose in Canada, you’ll have to be temporary in nature.

Duration of Your Stay in Canada

As mentioned, business visitors and professionals typically enter Canada on a very temporary basis and purely for the purposes of completing an intended business purpose in Canada. For example, if you’re attending a conference or seminar, your stay in Canada should reflect only the specific dates. An officer has the discretion to either reduce or increase these dates as they see fit. Having documentation to help demonstrate that the two will be required to be present in Canada will help satisfy an officer of the reasonableness of your request.

Accommodations and Travel Itinerary

Along with the package you will be compiling for the immigration officer to review a port of entry, it would be wise to include the pertinent details for this documentation in your letter. This will help create an overview of your case for the officer as well as connect the dots to help satisfy any questions that they might have. Further, having such documentation will help demonstrate that your stay is temporary in nature.

Employment Background

Getting a brief synopsis of your experience with your current company as well as your position title and the summation of the duties, will help demonstrate that you have significant ties to your home country.  It will also prove that your intention is temporary in Canada, as you have full-time employment to go back to at the end of your stay.  The letter can also state that you are needed to travel for a meeting or conference.

Qualifications

Along with demonstrating your work experience or position with your current company, you should also indicate in your letter how you meet the qualifications of for your intended purpose in Canada.

Other Things to Remember

Your letter should be on company letterhead with all the pertinent details of your employment, such as address and contact information. It should be signed and dated by your supervisor or someone more senior than yourself.