The short answer
Some official checklists ask for a letter that explains your trip: a letter from your employer, an invitation from a host or event organiser, or a letter from whoever is paying. A letter supports your application by explaining the facts. It does not guarantee approval, and it only helps if it is true, consistent with your other documents and signed by someone who can stand behind it. StudentFlow does not provide templates that claim to satisfy an authority, because only the authority's own page can say what it accepts.
What the official pages say
- The UK's guide to supporting documents says applicants may provide a letter from their employer on company headed paper, detailing their role, salary and length of employment. It also says that, for a business event or conference, a letter of invitation from the organiser should be provided, and that for intra-corporate visits an employer letter should confirm the purpose.
- Canada's page on letters of invitation says a letter does not guarantee that a visa will be issued, that the writer must tell the truth, and that writing one does not make the writer legally responsible for the visitor. It lists the details a letter should include about the invited person and the writer, such as the purpose of the trip, where the person will stay and how they will pay.
- For Australia and Germany, read the checklist or procedure on the official page for your own route (linked below) rather than reusing a letter written for another country.
What these letters usually contain
Employer letter: your name and role, the employer's name and contact details, the purpose and dates of the trip, who is paying for travel and stay, and confirmation that you return to your job. It is signed by someone with the authority to sign, on the company's headed paper.
Invitation letter: the host's or organiser's name and contact details, your details, the event or meeting and its dates, where you will stay and who covers costs.
Who writes what
Ask your manager or HR for the employer letter, and your host or the organiser for the invitation. Give them the facts: full name as in your passport, passport number only if the official page requires it, dates, address of the stay and the official wording the checklist uses. Do not ask anyone to write something that is not true.
Checklist
- To do: The official checklist for your route, open in front of you
- To do: Employer letter requested, with role, dates, purpose and who pays
- To do: Invitation requested from the host or organiser, if the checklist mentions one
- To do: Names, dates and addresses copied exactly from your passport and itinerary
- To do: Letters signed on headed paper, with contact details that work
- To do: Copies stored in your document vault
- To do: Every letter reads consistently with the others
Common mistakes
- Using a generic template. A letter that promises a result or quotes rules it cannot know is a warning sign.
- Inconsistent facts. A different job title or dates between letters can raise questions.
- An invitation that implies work. If the activity is not allowed on your route, no letter fixes that.
- Leaving it to the last minute. Signatories travel and companies review letters.
- Paying someone to write a letter that guarantees approval. Nobody can.
Things that change
Checklists are updated, and accepted documents differ by route, country and time. If your authority changes its wording, your letter should follow it.
Verify before you act
Read the UK's guide to supporting documents, Canada's letter of invitation page, Home Affairs visa finder and the Federal Foreign Office page on visas for Germany. For advice on your case, speak to your employer's team or a licensed adviser.