The employment letter is the document that speaks for you in a visa package. The few lines written on it tell the consul three things at once: you have an income, you have a job, and you have a reason to come back. That is exactly why you should pay attention not to its form but to its content. Below I have written what the letter must say and which mistakes weaken an application.
What an employment letter must say
| Position | By its full name, without abbreviation |
| Date of hiring | The longer the service, the better |
| Monthly salary | In figures, with the currency shown |
| Leave dates | They must coincide with the dates of the trip |
| The return note | That they will continue at work after the leave |
| Company details | The company’s address, telephone, tax number, stamp and signature |
The most important sentence is the last one. The phrase “will continue to carry out their duties after the leave” is proof of return for the consul, and a letter that does not say it counts as incomplete. Many companies do not put that sentence in their own template, so ask for it.
The most common mistakes in an employment letter
The first mistake is mismatched dates. If the letter says the leave starts on the fifth of June while the ticket is for the second, that is noticed immediately. The second mistake is the salary not matching the amount on the bank statement. Those two figures have to confirm one another.
The third mistake is an old date; if the document was issued more than a month before the application, ask for a new one. The fourth is the language: many consulates require it in English or with a notarised translation, so clarify that in advance.
What to do if you are not working
If you are a business owner, company documents are submitted instead. A certificate of state registration, a letter from the tax authority and an account statement together perform the same function.
If you are a student, get a document from the university with your form of study and your year written on it. If you are a pensioner, a pension certificate and a bank statement are enough. For the unemployed the sponsor option works, and then the sponsor’s employment letter and financial documents are submitted.
Read more: A visa for Poland: how to book the e-Konsulat appointment and how to avoid the category mistake
When and how to get the letter
Take this document as the last part of the package, because its date has to be fresh. Tell the human resources department what it is for; an employment letter prepared for a visa differs from the ordinary form.
Keep a copy yourself, because the same information will have to be repeated in the next application. If you do not want to assemble the documents yourself, you can use a visa document preparation service. The official requirements, meanwhile, are published on the European Commission site.
In conclusion
The employment letter is a short document but one of the strongest parts of an application. Make the leave dates match the ticket, have the return sentence added, make the salary agree with the statement. To check the package together, fill in the application form.
Note: document forms vary by consulate, so check the official list before applying.
