Canadian Letter of Invitation
Get your documents notarized from the comfort of your home. We bring legal expertise to you in the most convenient and affordable way.
Who Needs an Invitation Letter?
Invitation letters for Canadian visas include information about you and your visitor. Axess Law’s notary publics write a Canada visitor visa letter of invitation for you. Canada welcomes international and U.S. citizens who want to visit or work or study temporarily in Canada. U.S. visitors require only a passport or frequent traveller NEXUS card to enter Canada for brief stays. International visitors from outside the U.S. may be asked for a letter of invitation when they apply for a visa in their country of origin. You can assist their application by providing a notarized letter of invitation, addressed to the head of the Canadian embassy or consulate in their country.
You should only provide invitation letters to family, relatives, friends, or acquaintances you know well enough to vouch for. Invitation letters are not a guarantee of admission. Visas may be denied if the traveller you are inviting:
- has committed a crime or made security threats (in Canada or elsewhere)
- has family members who are inadmissible to Canada
- participated in human or international rights violations, such as while in the military
- has health issues that may require treatment while here
- is unable to support themselves
- lies about or misrepresents why they are visiting Canada
- violates Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
How It Works
01
Book Your Appointment
Click on ‘Get Started’ to submit your details. Our client care team will contact you shortly to schedule your appointment with the lawyer
02
Meet Your Lawyer
During your virtual or in-person appointment, our notary public will verify your identity using a valid government-issued photo ID.
03
Get Your Documents
The process is completed within 5-10 minutes, in which we will verify your signature and put our official seal on the document.
Documents We Need
When you want to notarize a letter of invitation, bring the following to your online video call or in-person appointment with an Axess Law Ontario notary public:
- Driver’s license
- Canadian passport
- Ontario photo card
- Canadian citizenship card with photo
- PR card with photo.
Visitors to Canada are required to show evidence they can support themselves or that their host will assist them financially. Include information such as if you will provide food, accommodation, or other financial support for your visitors. Proof a foreign national visiting, working or studying in Canada has a place to stay can include:
- a rental contract
- title to a property they own or co-own where they will stay
- acceptance letter to a residence where they plan to study
- or letter from an employer who will provide housing.
Bring an Itinerary of the places you plan to travel to with your visitor and approximate dates. Indicate if you plan to take days off from your work or studying to visit with your guest.
How Do I Write an Invitation Letter for Visas?
When you visit Axess Law, your notary public will prepare a sample letter of invitation for Canada that includes your visitor’s: arrival and leave dates, complete name and date of birth, relationship to you, address and phone number, reasons for being in Canada, length of stay, accommodation plans, and financial arrangements.
Be ready to provide originals or certified true copies of your Canadian birth certificate, citizenship card, PR card for permanent residents, or IMM 1000 proof of landing.
Travel Restrictions
Due to COVID-19, non-essential travel to Canada may be restricted to foreign nationals who are exempt, traveling for compassionate reasons, or visitors who are immediate or extended family members of Canadian citizens, someone registered under Canada’s Indian Act, or permanent residents.
Bring a valid visitor visa or electronic travel authorization (eTA) and a 14-day mandatory quarantine plan. Extended family members require written authorization from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Visitors entering for compassionate reasons need written permission from The Public Health Agency of Canada.
Tips for Personalizing Invitation Letters
Write the letter yourself, but only if you can do so in good faith. Signing any document on behalf of a person you don’t personally know is risky.
Tell the truth
Explain how you know the person
Keep promises you make
Don't let others force you to sign
What Our Customers Say About Us
I used this Law Firm for their notary public services. Given the social distancing required for COVID-19, their service was provided online in a virtual environment with digital completion of forms and application of signatures. It was surprisingly easy, effective and convenient.
★★★★★ 5/5
Our experience with Axess Law has always been great! Jaz has been the one helping us with our notary needs and as always, he's prompt and we are in and out in a few minutes! If you need a last minute notary need you should go to axess law because they are reliable and friendly as well!
★★★★★ 5/5
Quick and easy service. Explained the process in simple terms and is really affordable compared to what I thought it might be. I really recommend this to anyone needing Notary Services.
★★★★★ 5/5
I needed to do notary and true copies of several documents and this place is just fantastic! It has really flexible hours and some nice deals for multiple documents that other places don't have. Sonia D. was the one who helped me both times that I went and she was so quick that now I understand the "law made easy" logo, it is true!
★★★★★ 5/5
Had to quickly get some documents notarized and Axess Law provided a seamless virtual customer experience. Highly recommend them!
★★★★★ 5/5
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Convenient Appointments
Axess Law gives you the choice of booking an online or in-person appointment. Our lawyers are available 7 days a week, at times convenient for you. We can meet in person, by phone, email, or via a remote video call. In addition to these, there are 5 Axess Law offices located across the Greater Toronto Area – all with onsite parking or easily accessible by public transit.
Some FAQs
Invitation letters must be honest, written in good faith, and signed. Having your letter notarized beforehand by an Ontario notary public prevents delays in case a foreign visa officer requires an official copy.
Email a scanned copy of the letter if a notarized original is not required. Otherwise, mail the notarized original by registered post or courier it to the person you are inviting. Visitors submit this letter with their application at their local Canadian embassy or consulate when they apply for a visitor visa (or temporary resident visa, as it’s sometimes called).
Foreign nationals need a valid passport to affix the visa to, photos and fingerprints for biometrics, return tickets to their home country, and proof of financial support. Passports from Somalia, the Czech Republic that are non-machine readable, the Republic of South Africa if temporary, or Venezuela if provisional are not accepted.
Visitors must declare if they are bringing $10,000 or more in cash or other currency, such as stocks, bonds, or GICs, into Canada. You are not legally responsible for your visitor while here, but include in the letter if you are offering a place to stay or financial aid. Canadian immigration officers in their home country will assess if they have sufficient funds to travel. The amount needed depends on how long they stay and whether you or someone else will provide food and accommodation or they will pay their own expenses.
A valid visitor visa or eTA is needed if your visitor plans to leave Canada and return. A visitor visa is valid until its expiry date, to a maximum of six months. Visitors can extend their visas while in Canada. Apply at the nearest Canadian embassy for a visitor record before the visa expires. Axess Law remote notaries can video conference with you from anywhere in Ontario to complete the paperwork.
Visitors who apply for extensions but whose visas expire are allowed to remain in Canada until they receive a decision. If extended, they will receive a visitor record (keep this to show immigration officials) if asked and notice with a new travel expiry date. They must leave Canada immediately if the extension is denied.
Visitors who decide they want to live in Canada can apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. They may apply while in Canada, but only if their visitor visa hasn’t expired. Applications can take months or years to be processed. Unless your guest qualifies for express entry, it is unlikely they will be approved for permanent resident status (called PR) during their visit.
Visitors who marry a Canadian citizen or permanent resident must leave when their visitor visa or visitor record expires. While their spouse can sponsor them to immigrate to Canada, marriage to a Canadian is not a guarantee of immigrant or permanent resident status or Canadian citizenship.