What should an Express Entry reference letter include?

Company letterhead with address, phone and email; your name; every position you held with dates; hours worked per week; annual salary and benefits; your main duties; and the name, title and signature of your supervisor or HR officer. Use one letter per employer and check your personalized document checklist for anything extra.

Is an experience letter the same as a reference letter for Canada PR?

Yes. IRCC's Express Entry page calls it "a reference or experience letter from an employer". The name doesn't matter, the contents do. Many standard experience letters only confirm dates and title, so ask for hours, salary, benefits and duties to be added.

Can my manager sign the reference letter instead of HR?

Yes. IRCC's lists accept the name, title and signature of your supervisor or of the company's human resources officer. What matters is that the person can confirm your work and can be contacted. A colleague at your own level is not enough.

Should I copy the NOC duties into my reference letter?

No. IRCC wants to see that you performed the lead statement and most of the main duties of your NOC, but the letter should describe your real job in your own words. A letter identical to the NOC text looks generic. If your real duties don't match, choose a better NOC.

Do I need a reference letter for every job?

You need proof for every job you claim in your profile, whether for eligibility or for CRS points. Jobs you list only for your personal history don't need one, but every job you count as work experience does.

Does work experience in French help my CRS score?

Work experience and French are separate CRS factors, and they can combine. Strong French can add a lot of points. Check where you stand with the free French level check, then see your total in the CRS calculator. Our guide on French CRS points explains how they add up.

Free template · Express Entry

Express Entry reference letter: sample, format and checklist

Q: What if my previous employer closed down?

Upload a letter of explanation in place of the reference letter, with the best other proof you have: contract, pay slips, tax records, bank statements showing salary, and a letter from your former supervisor if you can reach them.

Your reference letters are the main proof of your work experience, and work experience drives your eligibility and part of your CRS score. Here is what IRCC lists for these letters, two fill-in templates, and a final check before you upload.

Every element IRCC lists for an employer letter
Fill-in template for HR or your employer
Duties letter from a supervisor when HR won't list duties
Self-employed proof and a before-you-upload check

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PDF · free · no sign-upChecked October 6, 2026

Quick answer

An Express Entry reference letter is a letter from each employer, on company letterhead, that proves your work experience. IRCC's lists include your name, job title, dates of employment, hours worked per week, annual salary and benefits, your main duties, the company's address, phone and email, and the name, title and signature of your supervisor or HR officer. Your duties must show the NOC lead statement and most of its main duties.

Match the NOC duties without copying them word for word

IRCC's program pages say you must show that you performed the actions in the lead statement of your NOC job description and most of the main duties listed (IRCC's instructions to officers add all of the essential duties). Open your NOC 2021 profile and write each duty about your real job: your tools, clients, products and numbers. A letter that pastes the NOC text unchanged looks generic and can make an officer doubt it. If your real duties don't match the NOC you chose, the fix is a different NOC, not a different letter. Check a category draw fit with the category checker.

Employment reference letter sample (employer or HR)

For a current or former employer. Give this to HR or your manager as a draft: they must check every line, put it on letterhead and sign it. Never sign it yourself.

Replace everything in [square brackets]. Keep it on letterhead where the letter must come from an employer or a person.

[Company letterhead: company name, logo, full address, phone number, email, website] [Date: DD Month YYYY] To: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Subject: Employment reference letter for [Your full name as in passport] This letter confirms that [Your full name] has been employed by [Company legal name] at [work location: city, country] from [start date: DD Month YYYY] to [end date: DD Month YYYY / present]. Positions held: 1. [Current or last job title], from [start date] to [end date / present] Employment status: [full-time / part-time], [number] hours per week Salary: [amount and currency] per [year / month / hour] Benefits: [e.g. health insurance, annual bonus, paid leave / no other benefits] Main duties: - [Duty in your own words, matching the NOC lead statement] - [Duty] - [Duty] - [Duty] - [Duty] 2. [Earlier job title at the same company], from [start date] to [end date] Employment status: [full-time / part-time], [number] hours per week Salary: [amount and currency] per [year / month / hour] Benefits: [benefits] Main duties: - [Duty] - [Duty] - [Duty] [Your name] [is currently employed with us / left the company on DD Month YYYY]. For any question about this letter, please contact me at [direct phone number] or [work email]. Sincerely, [Signature] [Full name of signatory] [Job title, e.g. Human Resources Manager / Direct supervisor] [Company name] [Company stamp or seal, if the company uses one]

Hours and salary must match your pay slips, contract and tax records. Officers compare them.
Delete position 2 if you held only one role. Add more blocks if you were promoted more than once.
Write duties as actions ("prepared monthly financial statements for 12 client companies"), not adjectives ("hard-working, reliable").

When HR won't list duties: letter from your supervisor

Some companies only confirm title, dates and salary. A common approach is to upload that HR letter together with a signed letter from your direct supervisor that describes your duties. IRCC's lists accept a supervisor's name, title and signature, and the officer decides what the evidence proves. Upload both letters, plus a short letter of explanation, in the same file.

Replace everything in [square brackets]. Keep it on letterhead where the letter must come from an employer or a person.

[Company letterhead, if the supervisor may use it. If not: supervisor's full address, phone and email at the top] [Date: DD Month YYYY] To: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Subject: Confirmation of duties performed by [Your full name as in passport] I, [Supervisor's full name], am [supervisor's job title] at [Company legal name], [company address]. I [was / have been] the direct supervisor of [Your full name] from [DD Month YYYY] to [DD Month YYYY / present], while [he / she / they] worked as [your job title]. From my direct knowledge, [Your name] worked [number] hours per week and performed the following duties: - [Duty] - [Duty] - [Duty] - [Duty] - [Duty] I am writing this letter because the company's human resources policy is to confirm only [job title, dates and salary], as shown in the attached HR letter dated [DD Month YYYY]. You can contact me at [phone number] or [email] to confirm this information. Sincerely, [Signature] [Supervisor's full name] [Supervisor's job title] [Company name] Attached: [proof that I work or worked at the company, e.g. business card, my own employment letter or ID badge]

If your supervisor has left the company, they can still write it: they state the period they supervised you and attach proof they worked there.
Some applicants have the supervisor sign it before a notary or commissioner of oaths as a sworn statement. It is not an IRCC requirement, but it can add weight.
Keep the HR letter in the same PDF so the officer sees the dates and salary confirmed by the company.

Part-time work, several jobs or a current job

IRCC counts skilled work in hours: 1 year full time is 1,560 hours, which is 30 hours a week for 12 months. Part-time work counts if it adds up to the same total, and hours above 30 a week don't count. That's why every letter must state hours per week.

If you worked part time or held two jobs at once, get one letter per employer, each with its own hours. If your hours changed over time (for example 20 hours a week, then 40), ask the employer to list each period separately.

For your current job, the letter should say you still work there. Dates that stop in the past make it look as if you left.

Run your numbers in the FSW points calculator and the CRS calculator before you ask for letters, so you know which jobs matter.
Canadian Experience Class: self-employed time and work done while studying full time don't count.

Self-employed: what to upload instead of a reference letter

Self-employed work can count for Federal Skilled Worker selection points, but not for the Canadian Experience Class (except some physicians under a temporary public policy). There is no employer to write a letter, so you build the proof from third-party documents. IRCC doesn't publish one fixed list for Express Entry: these are the documents applicants commonly use. Follow your document checklist.

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Proof the business exists

Business registration or licenceGovernment registration, GST/VAT or trade licence showing your name and the dates.
Professional licence or membershipIf applicableIf your occupation is regulated where you worked.

Proof of the work and income

Contracts or letters from clientsClients describe the work you did for them, the dates and what they paid. This replaces the duties part of a reference letter.
Invoices and matching paymentsA sample across the whole period, with bank statements showing the money coming in.
Tax returns or tax assessmentsOne per year claimed. They show the income was declared.
Your own signed description of dutiesWritten to match your NOC lead statement and main duties, backed by the documents above.

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Before you upload: final checks

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Match your profile

Job titles and dates match your profile and applicationA month's difference between the letter and your form is enough to raise questions.
Hours and salary match pay slips, contract and taxesKeep these as backup, and upload them if your checklist asks or the letter is thin.
Duties fit the NOC code you claimedLead statement plus most main duties, in your own words.

Complete and readable

One letter for every job you claimIncluding part-time and earlier jobs at the same company.
Signed, dated, on letterhead, with contact detailsCheck the phone number and email actually work.
Translation and original in the same fileIf applicableOnly if the letter isn't in English or French.
Clear colour scan, every pageCombine pay slips or extra pages into one PDF per job so nothing gets lost.

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Reference letter dos and don'ts

Ask early. HR departments can take weeks, and your ITA gives you only 60 days to apply.
Give HR a draft built from the template so nothing is forgotten.
List each promotion as its own position with its own dates.
Keep pay slips, contracts and tax records that back up the letter.
Tell your signatory that IRCC may call or email to verify.

Don't paste the NOC description word for word.
Don't sign or stamp the letter yourself, or edit it after it's signed.
Don't claim hours or duties you can't back up: misrepresentation makes you inadmissible to Canada for 5 years.
Don't leave out hours per week or salary.
Don't use a "to whom it may concern" character reference with no dates, hours or duties.

What if you can't get a reference letter

Companies close, refuse, or stop answering. IRCC's general rule for a document you can't get is to write a letter explaining why, gather documents that support it, combine them into one file and upload it in place of the missing document. The officer may then ask for more, give you more time, accept the file without it, or decide on what you sent.

Use our letter of explanation templates (there is one for a missing reference letter) and back it with the strongest proof you have: contract, pay slips, tax records, bank statements showing salary, a letter from a former supervisor, and your attempts to get the HR letter (emails, dates).

Keep a copy

Download the PDF to print it or keep it on your phone. Prints cleanly on A4 and Letter.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Last checked against official sources on Oct 6, 2026. Rules change: always confirm on canada.ca before you submit anything.

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