06/04/2021
What is a Letter of Reference?
To be clear, a letter of reference for SINP/IRCC is different from the kind of reference letter you might use when you apply for job. Your letter of reference needs to verify that you worked for an employer for the amount of time you claimed to, and that your position matches the NOC code you’ve chosen.
The letters of reference that you provide let the visa officer reviewing your application calculate how much work experience you have. The quality of your letter of reference can have a huge impact on your application. If the visa officer isn’t convinced that your letter of reference is genuine, or if it’s missing some information the officer needs to assess the validity of your work experience, they may reject or refuse your application altogether.
For SINP, do not mention multiple positions within the same company, try to focus on one NOC. Don’t submit a letter of reference where you held multiple positions at the same time, this will create conflict in the NOCs and you may get ineligibility letter.
The Ideal Letter of Reference
How your letters of reference are formatted can make a big difference to the success of your file. The letter needs to be formal, and the more information it includes about the company issuing it, the better. Ideally, a letter of reference should:
• Be written on company letterhead
• Be signed by the responsible officer/supervisor
• Have the responsible officer/supervisor’s name and job title printed beneath the signature
• Include the company’s contact information
• Be stamped with the company’s official seal (if applicable)
• If possible, have the business card of the person signing it attached
If your letters of reference don’t have these things, it might be a red flag to the visa officer that the employer issuing the letter is not genuine.
There are also specific things that an ideal letter of reference should include:
• Your official job title
• The dates of your employment
• Your salary per week/month
• Your average hours per week/month
• A detailed list of your employment duties.
The most important part of your letter of reference is the detailed list of your employment duties. It has to include your daily tasks and responsibilities, and should make up most of the content of the letter. Remember, the visa officer is not necessarily familiar with your industry, so make sure you avoid industry specific abbreviations or terms. Your duties should be listed clearly and concisely.
The list of employment duties is how the visa officer confirms that you’ve chosen an appropriate NOC code. Every NOC code has an associated lead statement and list of duties. It doesn’t matter if your official job title doesn’t match up with a job title associated with your NOC code, as long as your employment duties match the lead statement and duties.
That said, it’s suspicious if your letter of reference matches the NOC description exactly. The visa officer might believe that your letter of reference was created for the purposes of matching the NOC, rather than being an actual record of your work experience. In that case, the letter is considered “self-serving”, fraudulently obtained for immigration purposes, and not eligible for processing.
