Experience Reference Letters - Company no longer exists

[rafalh]

I have recently received ITA and I am in the process of assembling the necessary documents. I have encountered an issue related to backing up my older work experience.

I have declared 6+ years of qualified experience in my EE profile with the following breakdown:
- 3.5 years at my current job
- 2.5 years at my previous job

Both positions under the same NOC.

The problem I am having is that the company that employed me before no longer exists and my manager will not be reachable at the contact details provided in the reference letter I received when I left the job. Also, I am not convinced that this reference letter fully meets the NOC Lead Statement as it was written for a different purpose at the time.

Excluding these years of experience would not affect my CRS score and program eligibility.

What is the best approach I should take to minimise the risk of having my application rejected? I realise I should have probably considered not including this experience in my EE profile in the first place, but I must admit I did not do enough research about what happens after ITA when I submitted my profile.

Thank you for all your help.

 

[ChocoHagela]

Since you have >3 years at your current job you wont have much issues:

You have 2 options

1) Show both under employment and give a separate LOE stating you cant obtain previous employer experience letter.
2) Show current job under employment and previous job under personal history.

I think option 1 would be better since it would match with EE profile.

 

[Islander216]

Do you have at least a letter of service for your previous job which confirms your position and the dates you were employed there? That would be at least something which confirms this experience, even if it doesn't meet the threshold for the reference letter.

In any case, as it doesn't affect your points i don't think it will make a difference. If you can't obtain a reference letter at all just state that in your cover letter with your application.

 

[mawaismushtaq]

It’s not your mistake that company is closed now , you did work and got experience and are timely claiming it hence you need to show as much as proof possible to convince IRCC.
you can show following your prove this :-

-Salary slips
-Bank Statements showing salary from employer
-if you were an expatriate, visa stamps on passport if company sponsored you like it happens in Dubai/UAE
-Statutory declaration from senior manager or to whom you reported at work or any colleague who can write a statement saying you were employed in this role.

Im sure after this many proofs there will not be any further need for any more proofs , hope this helps

 

[rafalh]

Do you have at least a letter of service for your previous job which confirms your position and the dates you were employed there? That would be at least something which confirms this experience, even if it doesn't meet the threshold for the reference letter.

In any case, as it doesn't affect your points i don't think it will make a difference. If you can't obtain a reference letter at all just state that in your cover letter with your application.

I have quite comprehensive records related to my previous employment. My main concern is that the contact details on the company documents are no longer valid as the company has been closed since.

Should I highlight this issue on the cover letter?

 

[Islander216]

Sure, highlight in the cover letter. Just say you are disclosing this work experience for the sake of completeness, but you can't provide documents because the company has shuttered.

It shoudn't affect your application.

 

[MelanieL]

I have this issue too. I have provided as much documentation as I can, including letters from my past manager and a colleague, payslip, my salary slips, emails, and a phone list from the organisation. Explain everything in a letter and provide as much proof as you can. But if they don't accept it they hopefully won't reject your application, they just won't give you the points for that job and it sounds like you might have enough work experience and points if this does happen

 

[rafalh]

I have this issue too. I have provided as much documentation as I can, including letters from my past manager and a colleague, payslip, my salary slips, emails, and a phone list from the organisation. Explain everything in a letter and provide as much proof as you can. But if they don't accept it they hopefully won't reject your application, they just won't give you the points for that job and it sounds like you might have enough work experience and points if this does happen

Would you attach the Letter of Explanation as Cover Letter in the PDF file related to the employment?

 

[rafalh]

I have this issue too. I have provided as much documentation as I can, including letters from my past manager and a colleague, payslip, my salary slips, emails, and a phone list from the organisation. Explain everything in a letter and provide as much proof as you can. But if they don't accept it they hopefully won't reject your application, they just won't give you the points for that job and it sounds like you might have enough work experience and points if this does happen

Should I attach the Letter of Explanation as Cover Letter in the PDF file related to the employment?

 

[MelanieL]

Should I attach the Letter of Explanation as Cover Letter in the PDF file related to the employment?

Yes have the letter as the first page if the pdf document, explaining the situation and using bullet points write down all of the evidence you are providing. I ended up getting my PR so it worked for me