Inviting a relative to visit you in Canada

An invitation letter is not a legal undertaking and it does not bind you, but it is read carefully. It has to name you, your status, your address, the dates, and what you are covering, and it has to be backed by your own documents.

What your letter has to contain

Your full name, date of birth and address in Canada. Your status: citizen, permanent resident, or the permit you hold and its expiry. Your relationship to the applicant. The dates of the visit and where they will stay. What you are paying for. The number of people in your household.

What to enclose

Proof of your status, proof of your address, and where you are contributing financially, your bank statements, your notice of assessment or your employment letter. Some families also include a statutory declaration, which is not required but does no harm.

The balance problem

Close family in Canada is weighed against ties at home, so a strong invitation makes the ties reason more important rather than less. The application still needs the applicant's employment, dependants and property documented. Do not let the invitation carry the whole file.

How this works here

Open the case, add your documents, share the link. We draft the invitation, and the readiness report tells both of you which side of the balance is still thin.

Start the case, then share it

You can open the case, pay for it and add your own documents, then send the link to your relative so they can add theirs. One purchase covers the case whoever pays.

Answer five questions and see which grounds look weak. Free, no email.

Why are you going?

The purpose has to be one the visa permits, and the rest of the application has to match it.

Who is paying for the trip?

Money that is not yours has to be evidenced by the person whose money it is.

What do you do at home?

This is the tie the officer weighs most heavily, and the one most often left unevidenced.

What is your travel history?

Travel you completed and returned from is the single most useful thing you can show.

Review, £29

We read your documents, check every ground, tell you exactly what is thin and what would fix it, and write the cover letter, the sponsor letter and the employer letter from the facts you gave. One re-run included within 30 days.