What is a Letter of Explanation (and how to write one)

What is a letter of explanation or LOE?

A letter of Explanation (LOE) is simply a letter from yourself to the immigration officer who will receive your application that provides more information in any areas where the information you are providing needs some further explanation.

Should I submit a Letter of Explanation?

If you have anywhere in your application that more information on the matter would help the immigration officer move through the process of assessing your eligibility for Canadian Permanent Residency, then it helps to provide a Letter of Explanation.

For example, one of your employers may have gone out of business and you have provided letters from a range of former work colleagues and other documents to prove your work experience, it would help in this instance to provide an LOE with this information. Or if your proof of funds arrived in your account as a sudden lump sum, and it was from the sale of your car, you can provide an LOE to explain that and so on.

What should the Letter of Explanation include and look like?

The LOE should look like a normal business letter. It should have the date, a heading or headings, clear information, and be signed by you. It must be in English or French.

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Does the Letter of Explanation need to be notarized?

No. Don’t notarize your LOE, there is no need, it is just a letter giving further explanation to your application where it is needed. Think of it as simply a letter from you to the immigration officer to provide the necessary information.

Where should I upload the LOE so the immigration office will receive it?

There is a section in the document upload portal where you upload your documents after your Invitation to Apply, it is titled “letter of explanation”. You can upload it here.

You also have the option to upload your letter of explanation by attaching it to the set of documents your LOE relates to. Ie. if it relates to your change of name documents, put it on the front of those related documents when you upload them. This will also be seen by the immigration office.

It is up to you, you can do either.

Can I upload more than one LOE?

Yes, you can. Some people prefer to write a separate LOE for each section that needs one, others prefer to write one LOE that covers all the matters they need to include across their entire application.

So long as the letter is clear on what it relates to, you are ok to choose either way and to upload more than one if required.

Do you have any tips on LOE’s?

Yes – the tip is that if something could be confusing or if anything in your application would be easier for the immigration officer to understand with a little more explanation, then include a LOE otherwise they will have to come back asking for more information, or worse they may form an incorrect assumption based on the lack of information and confusion created.

Also, an LOE is a statement from you, in your words, so keep it natural and ensure the language is clear and contains correct grammar.

Make sure you submit the LOE in either English or French.

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