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Business visa invitation letters: what the host must put in writing

If you are the traveller, forward this page to your host. The invitation letter for a business visa is written at their desk, not yours. Your job is to tell them what the consulate looks for, and to make sure the letter from your own employer says the same thing.

What the official lists ask for

There is no single format. Each authority describes the letter in its own words, and the Schengen list, one mission's checklist and the UK guide show the range.

Schengen states in general

Annex II of the EU Visa Code lists supporting documents that may be requested for business trips. The Code describes the list as non-exhaustive:

  • an invitation from a firm or an authority to attend meetings, conferences or events connected with trade, industry or work
  • other documents which show the existence of trade relations or relations for work purposes
  • entry tickets for fairs and congresses, if appropriate
  • documents proving the business activities of the company
  • documents proving the applicant's employment status in the company

German missions in India

The checklist for a Schengen visa for business turns that into specifics. It asks for an invitation letter from the business partner, in German or English, that answers two questions. What activities are planned? And what is the business relationship between the inviting and the sending company? The checklist gives examples: the same group, one company supplying the other, and what exactly they trade with each other.

The same checklist has more for the host:

  • If the inviting company arranges accommodation, it should confirm this in the invitation letter.
  • For consultancy services, a confirmation letter from the German client is asked for.
  • If you have further appointments elsewhere in the Schengen area, a signed invitation letter from that business partner is needed too. It is written on company letterhead and mentions the purpose of travel, the itinerary and your personal data.

A detailed schedule of business meetings is asked for only when the stay is longer than 30 days.

United Kingdom

In the UK, a short business visit is made as a Standard Visitor. Certain business activities are allowed if you are not paid by a UK-based organisation or client to do them (GOV.UK, visit on business). The UK's guide to supporting documents suggests papers that show what you will be doing, the reason for the visit and whether any costs are being met. It mentions letters from inviting or sending organisations.

The guide singles out two kinds of trip. If you are attending a business event or conference, you should provide a letter of invitation from the organiser. If you are visiting to work with UK-based colleagues, a letter from your employer should confirm it. Where that involves working with clients, the employer should confirm that this is not the main purpose of the visit.

Five questions a useful invitation answers

Put the three sources side by side and the same questions keep coming up. The grouping below is ours, not an official format. The host should answer each in a sentence or two, on letterhead, signed by someone with the authority to invite.

  1. Who is inviting? Company name, registered address, and the name, designation, telephone number and email of a contact person. The Schengen application form asks for the inviting company's name and address and for a contact person's details, so the letter and the form should match.
  2. Who is invited? Your full name as in the passport, passport number, designation and employer.
  3. Why? The activities planned, in plain terms: contract negotiation, a supplier audit, product training, a named trade fair. Then the relationship between the two companies.
  4. When and where? The dates of the visit and the cities or sites involved.
  5. Who pays? Which costs the host bears and which stay with your employer or with you. If the host is arranging accommodation, the letter says so.

A letter that says only "for business discussions" answers none of the five. Ask the host to name the meeting, the project or the event. The host should state only what it knows. Your return to your post in India is for your own employer's letter to confirm, not the host's.

The other half: your employer's letter

The invitation is read together with a letter from the company that sends you. The German checklist asks, in all cases, for an original signed covering letter from the company in India on its letterhead, along with the company's certificate of incorporation, GST registration and proof of company registration. What that letter should contain, and who signs it, is covered in employer NOC and leave letter for a visa.

Write the two letters with the same dates and the same description of the work. If you own the business, you are both sender and traveller. For company owners the German checklist asks for the certificate of registration of the company, including its GST registration number.

Fairs, conferences and client sites

The purpose decides which paper leads. For a trade fair, the Visa Code's list includes entry tickets alongside the invitation. For a conference in the UK, the organiser's letter is the one the guide names. For a visit within your own group of companies, the German checklist wants the relationship between the two entities spelled out.

Long assignments at a client's site are a different matter. For international staff exchange or contracts for work and services, the German checklist lists an approval of the Federal Employment Agency. The UK says you need a work visa for paid or unpaid work outside its list of visitor activities. If your trip looks like that, read tourist visa or business visa before anyone drafts an invitation.

Where these letters go wrong

These are our observations, not an official list.

  • The host's dates and your employer's dates differ by a day or two.
  • The cost line in the letter contradicts what you declare on the form.
  • The signatory cannot be reached on the number given.
  • The letter invites "a delegation" without naming the people in it.
  • The letter describes meetings that are not actually planned.

The last one is not a drafting slip. An invitation has to describe a real visit. Do not ask a business contact for a letter to cover what is really a holiday. The trip you describe on paper should be the trip you take.

If a relative or friend is inviting you, the letter is a personal one, covered in sponsor and invitation letters for visitor visas.

For a business trip, GoVisaX can assist with reviewing the documents required for your application. See our business visa page, or corporate travel if your company sends staff abroad regularly.

Sources

GoVisaX is a private visa facilitation service, not an embassy, consulate or government authority. Visa decisions rest solely with the issuing authority. Requirements change, so confirm the current rules with the official source before you apply.

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