Business visitors: How to write a letter of invitation

Canadian companies must write a letter of invitation when they host business visitors from abroad. Business visitors can be existing or potential buyers, investors, trade show or conference visitors, partners, or employees or partners coming for training at the company’s facilities.

A letter of invitation does not guarantee that a visa will be issued. Visa officers assess applicants to find out if they are eligible to visit Canada. Some visa offices may need these letters to be notarized. Contact the Canadian visa office of your visitor’s country to find out if this is required.

If your Canadian company is inviting a visitor, a representative of the company should write the letter. Some firms have specific people who sign letters of invitation. Your company should send each visitor two originals of the letter of invitation, one for them to submit when applying for their visa and one to present when they enter Canada.

Be sure to leave enough time for your visitor’s visa to be processed. See Application processing times in the Related Links section at the bottom of this page to find out how long it may take to process a visa.

The letter must include information:

• about the person being invited
  • complete name
  • date of birth, if known
  • the company represented and the person’s position
  • the person’s address and telephone number (both work and home)
  • your company’s relationship to the invitee and your business history together
  • whether you know the visitor personally, and if you are related
  • the purpose of the trip (if part of a longer-term project, please provide context)
  • the length of time the person will be visiting your company in Canada
  • accommodation and living expenses that your company will cover and
  • the date the person intends to leave Canada, if known.

• about the person extending the invitation
  • complete name
  • job title and position in the company
  • address and telephone numbers in Canada and
  • work email address.

• about the company extending the invitation
  • complete name of the company
  • headquarters address
  • the address of all company facilities being visited
  • the company’s website address, if available
  • the company’s date of registration/incorporation and
  • a short description of the firm’s business line.

To see a list of countries and territories whose citizens need a temporary resident visa to enter Canada, see Do you need a visa? under the Related Links section at the bottom of this page.

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Related Links

• Do you need a visa?
• Application processing times