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Most people applying for a study permit cannot answer these questions, which is unfortunate.
The Letter of Explanation is one of the most important things you can submit with your study permit application.
A good letter of explanation can make the difference between your application be approved or denied.
Yet there are people applying for Study Permits that do not even know what one is. Don’t be one of them!
Please go through this free lesson. We know that once you realize that there is more to submittinga Study Permit application that going online and filling in forms, you will want to get the rest of the course.
While most of what you will submit to IRCC will be forms and copies of things like passports, cedulas, bank statements, etc., there is one document that you must create yourself – The letter of explanation! While it is not specifically required for an application for a temporary residence permit (tourist visa) it is necessary for a study permit.
The letter of explanation, also referred to as a letter of intent, is an extremely important part of your application. To understand why, consider that IRCC uses sophisticated software to review information submitted on their forms and as a result, very little of what you submit in these forms is actually looked at by a real person.
This document is read and reviewed by the examiner assigned to your application and because of this it is vitally important that you express in the letter the essential information to support your visa or permit application. It is so important that how you prepare your letter of explanation may make the difference between getting your application granted or denied.
At our consulting company, ViajeaCanada, we have experienced cases where after an application was initially denied, and upon reapplication was granted, where the only change in ANYTHING submitted was the letter of explanation. This document is that important!
Given that the letter of explanation is important, you should understand how to go about preparing such a letter, what it should contain, and just as importantly, what it should not include.
First, let’s review a little the underlying principles that IRCC is required to follow in determining whether to approve or deny an application for a visa or permit.
A review of the procedures and instructions given to IRCC staff shows that when assessing a visa application they should consider:
– whether upon expiration of their visa they will remain in Canada illegally
– whether the stated purpose of visit or study is legitimate in terms of their personal situation.
– if applying for a study permit, whether the proposed study program is realistic for the applicant
– the applicant’s ties to their home country and family
Since these are the factors that we know IRCC will be looking for, it is important to address them in your letter of explanation. How you discuss them in your letter is important because Canada does not make use of personal interviews for most visa applications. This means that the only things that an examiner will ever see or consider in deciding whether to approve or deny a visa application, are the forms provided by IRCC and your letter of explanation.
With these principles in mind, let’s talk about how to put together a good letter of explanation. We have prepared a sample Letter of Explanation for you to refer to as we discuss the important parts of such a letter.
First, the letter should be well organized and divided into logical parts. Avoid a long rambling letter where you talk in once sentence about your family and in the next how much you would like to visit Canada, and then delve into your work history.
We recommend dividing the letter itself into several separate and distinct sections, within which everything is related to the subject of the section. For example, at ViajeaCanada we always use as a first section
We begin with this section for two reasons. First, many times the information you provide in this section will be used in later sections. Second, and more important, by providing your personal information at the beginning of your letter, you can more quickly introduce yourself to the examiner and establish yourself in their mind as a person instead of an application number.
In this section you should identify yourself, let the examiner know who you are!! It should include information about your background… where have you lived most of your life, information about your marriage (if you are married), your children and your other family members. One of the factors that IRCC looks at in examining your visa application is the nature and extent of your family ties in your home country. While there is another section, later in which to elaborate on this, if you have a large extended family, especially if they all reside near you, it is to your advantage to discuss that in this section.
The next section is devoted to your education and employment history. This section is fairly straightforward in that here you explain your education, fields of study, and work history. But again, there are a few things to watch for. First, the application form for your visa or study permit asks for similar information. Obviously, what you state here regarding your education and employment must match what you put on your form. Second, here you can embellish and emphasize aspects of your background in a way that will support your stated purpose of visiting Canada which is the next section.
The third section is one that is specifically mandated by IRCC in its practices and procedures instructions, and that is the purpose of your proposed study program.
Properly completing this section is absolutely critical!
Remember, that one of the factors that an examiner will consider is the stated purpose of your visit and whether or not it makes sense from a logical and practical perspective.
In some cases, such as where an applicant has little or no work experience and is seeking to pursue basic undergraduate education in Canada after high school, this is not so complex. But in other situations, such as where the applicant already has a degree and seeks an advanced degree, or has been working and is seeking education in a different field, it can be more difficult. In these cases you absolutely must show a logical, plausible and realistic relationship between your prior education, your work history and your proposed program if study in Canada.
What does this mean?
Examples may be helpful.
Consider that if an applicant has a degree in electrical engineering, and has been offered a management position, going to Canada to study business administration would probably be accepted as a logical and reasonable educational goal.
On the other hand, if you have that same electrical engineering degree and state that you are wanting to go to Canada to study agricultural techniques for example or some other program completely unrelated to your work or previous education, the examiner is far less likely to approve your visa or study permit.
Not only is it important for you to define a realistic and compatible relationship between your chosen program of study together with you prior education and work experience, but you also need to show how you will put to use what you will have learned upon returning to your home country. We discuss this issue in depth in the lesson on “Selecting Your Study Program”.
This is something that cannot be emphasized enough. One of the main criteria affecting the decision to approve or deny your application will always be the likelihood that at the end of your stay you will return to your home country or remain in Canada illegally.
If you do not properly set forth the intended purpose of your studies, you can expect to receive a letter from IRCC, something like this:
I am not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay as stipulated in Section 216(1) of the IRPR based on the purpose of your vist.
You are welcome to reapply if you feel that you can respond to these concerns and can demonstrate that your situation meets the requirements. All new applications must be accompanied by a new processing fee.
In order to avoid this kind of denial of your application, you should emphasize the ways in which your selected program of study will work to your advantage in your home country. Consider the example given above. It is perfectly logical for someone with a science or technical degree, who wants to advance to management, or form their own business, to want to learn more about business administration. Likewise, if you have a degree, it is logical to want to obtain and advanced degree.
Finally, before you even began the process of applying for a study permit you should have received a letter of acceptance from the school that you plan to attend. You should refer to that letter of acceptance and even though it will be uploaded separately as part of the application process, you should always attach a copy to your letter of explanation.
The next section of the letter of explanation concerns your finances. Canada requires that you demonstrate adequate financial resources to pay for the study program you have chosen as well as to pay normal living expenses. The application form for the study permit (or temporary resident permit) simply asks for a total amount of funds available. Consequently it is important that in this section you provide detailed information not only as to the amount and value of any assets that you have, but also describe them in detail. Of course you must be able to document any assets that you list with bank statements, property records or other documents.
We suggest you do this in the form of a spreadsheet or table. This table should include sections showing liquid assets (cash, checking and savings accounts), any stocks or bonds, automobiles and real estate. You can also show, in order to improve the financial picture amounts that you can put on credit cards or other loans. IRCC recognizes that in order to advance one’s education, it may be necessary to borrow at least a portion of the necessary funds.
How much do you need to show? Obviously the more you can show, the better. While IRCC regulations do not actually specify a minimum amount, the general guideline is that you should have, in addition to the tuition for the program that you select, $10,000 per year for the primary applicant (the person that will be studying), and additional $4,000 for a couple, and $3,000 for each family member after that.
The funds that you need to demonstrate must be liquid. That is in the form of bank accounts, certificates of deposit, and readily marketable securities. In other words, money that you can access quickly and easily, as opposed to something that you would have to sell and that either might be difficult to sell, or take a long time.
In addition to the provable funds, it will also be helpful if you can show additional assets. For example, owning a house or apartment is always a big advantage. First, it shows that you are financially stable, and second, owning real estate in your home country is always a strong indicator to an examiner that you intend to return there. After all, someone that owns valuable real estate in their home country is less likely to simply abandon it in order to overstay a visa in Canada.
The final section concerns family ties. A guiding principal that examiners are directed to consider is whether or not a person in Canada on any kind of temporary visa will depart Canada when it expires. They are directed to consider a number of factors, and one of those are the family ties an applicant has in his or her home country. While you might have had an opportunity to refer generally to your family in the first section, in this section if you do have significant family ties, or even business relationships, it is in this section that you should elaborate. Definitely emphasize any and all relationships with people that would induce you to return following your studies. Elderly parents that might require care, involvement in a family business, especially a long established one, grown children who will not accompany you to Canada….. all these convey to an aexaminer the sentiment that while you want to go to Canada to study, when you are finished, you will be anxious to return home.
Now the disadvantage here is if you have no family. If your parents are deceased or do not live near you. If you have no siblings, or other close relatives. Those factors may work against you. The guiding principle here is to include this section if it can help you, but if it cannot, or may even harm you, just omit it completely.
We have told you what to include in your letter of explanation. It is just as important to know what not to put in it.
First, avoid any language or statements that would suggest to the examiner that you intend to stay in Canada permanently.
This can be a confusing and delicate issue. First, the reality is that the whole purpose of applying fora study permit is to eventually become a permanent resident, and ultimately perhaps a citizen of Canada. And too, even IRCC recognizes that applying for a study permit may be done along with an intent to eventually receive permanent residence. They refer to it as “dual intent”. The IRCC website specifically states:
“Having 2 intents (1 for temporary residence and 1 for permanent residence) is legitimate.”
At the same time, an examiner is directed to consider whether an applicant is likely to leave Canada at the end of their study program if an application for permanent residence is denied, or will simply remain in Canada regardless. It is not clear from the instructions how an examiner is supposed to make that determination. Consequently, it is to your advantage to simply avoid the issue and avoid any statements that would suggest that your intent is to move to Canada, regardless of the outcome of your studies or any application for residence.
In preparing your letter of explanation you should focus on being clear, concise and objective. The letter of explanation should not ramble on for pages and pages of vague language that in effect says very little. Never forget that the examiner is human too, so avoid boring him with paragraph after paragraph of meaningless verbiage.
While it is of course to your advantage to make yourself appear well qualified, do so objectively. For example, when it comes to describing your work history, avoid endless strings of adjectives that may sound impressive but in the end, say nothing.
Here is an example – it is taken from an actual letter where an applicant describes his employment:
“I am employed with X company, a leader in deploying new and innovative developments in an evolving information technology…..”
While it may sound flowery, statements like this in reality say absolutely nothing. No matter how many times you read it, you have no idea what this applicant actually does. Examiners at IRCC are not stupid and they will quickly recognize this kind of language for what it is… meaningless gibberish as an attempt to use big words that in reality mean absolutely nothing.
Here is more wording from an actual proposed letter of explanation that will show you what to avoid:
“I want to update my knowledge for a better professional development. Since I have finished my global business studies more than 20 years ago, I would like to refresh my knowledge and combine it with the experience that I have gained during these years of professional development. Also, I consider it important to gain a critical understanding of the elements of global business and support this with a cultural orientation to Canada.”
What does this really say? What does this communicate to an examiner?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
Instead, you should outline specific goals and ways in which your proposed study program will help you reach those goals.
Likewise, avoid unnecessary wording in describing yourself, your history, your family and where you live.
Here are some examples of things to avoid and better ways of expressing the same thing for an examiner in your letter of explanation:
“I am married to my wonderful, devoted husband, “H”, for twenty wonderful years. We have three wonderful, intelligent children, x,y and z.”
I am married to “H”. We have been married for twenty years, and have three children, “x, y, and z”.
The examiner only needs to know that you are married, and that if you have children, how many and their ages. The rest is simply time-wasting language that will not in any way improve the likelihood that your application will be approved.
Another example:
“I live in my beautiful and wonderful country of “C”, where I have lived all my life, enjoying the exciting culture and history of my country as well as its natural beauty.”
The examiner will not care and will not appreciate their time being wasted with this kind of flowery language.
Simply state:
“I live in “C” where I was born and have lived my entire life.”
The second sentence in reality tells the examiner everything that matters, so why ramble on needlessly.
Of course, as with all documents, the letter of explanation must be in English. We recommend that if you need to get it translated that you have it done by a translator. Translation programs like Google Translate are far from perfect and it makes no sense to spend the time and effort to prepare a thorough Letter of Explanation, only to have it come across as unprofessional because of a poor translation.