Have you been planning on visiting Canada? Well, considering how utterly beautiful Canada is, one has to admit that wanting to visit Canada is indeed a great idea! Hold on! Are you planning on immigrating to Canada and becoming a citizen there? That is a great idea too! Why? First of all, Canada offers an excellent standard of living! The quality of life is simply impeccable!

Moreover, a country that offers free healthcare and free education for the children of its citizens and immigrants up to the age of eighteen is undoubtedly a great country to live in! Did you know that even after the age of eighteen, if children of Canadian citizens and immigrants wish to pursue education in Canada, the government provides discounts for that?

The crime rate is meagre, which means living in Canada is peaceful! Forbes has consecutively listed Canada as one of the best countries to live in! So, considering all the things that Canada has to offer, it is understandable if one wants to immigrate to Canada!

However, assuming you have already decided to immigrate, we are here to talk about one of the aspects necessary to immigrate to Canada! We are here to discuss an invitation letter you will need to visit or immigrate to Canada!

So, what is an invitation letter?

If you are planning on visiting Canada, when you go to get your VISA processed, the VISA officer might ask you for an invitation letter. To put it in simple words, an invitation letter is a signed letter from someone you know well in Canada inviting you to Canada for a visit! Now, there are a few things about the invitation letter that one should understand well! Whoever writes the letter does not become legally responsible for you after you reach Canada! However, the person writing the letter should write it in good faith and keep all the promises they make! It is essential to tell the truth in the invitation letter and abide by everything that they mention in the invitation letter! 

Now, having a letter of invitation in your possession does not guarantee you getting a VISA to Canada! The VISA officers will assess the person visiting Canada based on their VISA application letter, letter of explanation and other documents! The VISA officers will evaluate you and see for themselves if you meet the terms of Canadian immigration laws!

The invitation letter is more of a plea, a request! It serves as a request from the person writing the letter to let you enter the country! It also serves as a guarantee, from the person writing the letter and inviting you to Canada, that you are not giving any false information about yourself and your intentions of visiting Canada to the consulate! The letter also serves as other guarantees, like you will not be staying in the country post the expiry of your VISA and that the person writing the letter can support you financially in case you are not able to do that yourself!

Besides all the other documents, the invitation letter also serves as a document that can strengthen your case for the VISA officers. This means that the invitation letter becomes further evidence for the consulate to give you a VISA to go to Canada!

Who can write an invitation letter?

The invitation letter must be written by someone you know well in Canada! It could be anybody from your family, including your family, parents, siblings, spouse, children and any other family relation. A close friend living in Canada could also be the one writing a letter of invitation for you to come to Canada.

If you are going to Canada for some business-oriented reason, your business partner could also be the one writing the letter of invitation! There are a few requirements for the person who will be writing the invitation letter! What are those?

The person writing the invitation letter will have to be a citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.

The person writing the invitation letter cannot be an illegal immigrant or have legal status in Canada! In order to have a positive impact on the Canadian consulate’s decision to give you your VISA, the person writing the letter should have a good standing and reputation and a good source of income that can support your stay in Canada if you are not able to afford it by yourself! 

What information is required to be mentioned in the invitation letter?

There is a lot of information in the invitation letter that one needs to mention! As you can guess, it is not just an invitation letter; it also serves as a document that strengthens your ground to get a VISA from the VISA officers! 

The person inviting you to Canada will have to mention the following details about you:

• Your full name,
• Date of birth,
• Address and telephone number,
• Your relationship with the person inviting you to Canada,
• The purpose of your trip,
• How long do you plan to stay in Canada,
• Where you plan to stay and how you plan to manage your expenses
• At what point do you plan to leave Canada

The person will also have to include information about themselves, including:

• Their complete name,
• Date of birth,
• Address and telephone number in Canada,
• Their job title,
• Whether they are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident,
• a photocopy of a document proving their status in Canada, such as
• Canadian birth certificate, if they were born in Canada,
• A Canadian citizenship card, if they are a naturalized citizen, or
• A copy of their PR card or their IMM 1000 proof of landing, if they are a permanent resident,
• Details of their family, such as names and dates of birth of their spouse and dependants (this is mandatory for the parent and grandparent super visa), and
• The total number of people living in their household, including people they sponsored whose sponsorship is still in effect (this is mandatory for the parent and grandparent super visa).

For the parent and grandparent super visa only, they must also provide:

• a written and signed promise of their financial support for their parents or grandparents for their entire stay in Canada, and
• Proof that their income meets or is above the low-income cut-off (LICO) for the total number of people, including the visiting parents or grandparents.

Well, that is all there is to an invitation letter! Whoever you ask to write the invitation letter for you, make sure that they understand your need and requirement and why you are planning to go to Canada!

If you have had a long-lasting relationship with the person, it could be beneficial, as they would know you as a person and write the letter in a way that becomes extremely convincing for the VISA officers! 

Well, now that you know about the invitation letter, go ahead and complete your first step toward your plan to visit Canada!