Proof for cash salary paid for foreign work experience!!

[Akshay9512]

Hi everyone,

I have Indian work experience and I was paid in cash back then, what documents will I require to provide in my PR application ? I inquired about receipt or register entry but company doesn’t have that to provide. They are ready to provide salary certificate. Can anyone guide me with this question!?

 

[PR2024-25]

Do you have tax documents?

 

[Akshay9512]

No my income was below the tax bracket and also it was paid in cash so not needed to do any sort of documentation. But my company can provide a cash certificate to state that I was paid x amount in cash while working there on company letter head. will that work ?

 

[PR2024-25]

Hard to say. I mean all reference letters are required to set out salary.

 

[Akshay9512]

What do you mean by Reference letter !?

 

[PR2024-25]

What do you mean by Reference letter !?

This:
a reference or experience letter from the employer, which

• should be an official document printed on company letterhead (must include the applicant’s name, the company’s contact information [address, telephone number and email address], and the name, title and signature of the immediate supervisor or personnel officer at the company),
• should indicate all positions held while employed at the company and must include the following details: job title, duties and responsibilities, job status (if current job), dates worked for the company, number of work hours per week and annual salary plus benefits

 

[Akshay9512]

Yes I have this letter on company letter head and I want ask that will this be enough ?

 

[PR2024-25]

Hopefully

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

No my income was below the tax bracket and also it was paid in cash so not needed to do any sort of documentation. But my company can provide a cash certificate to state that I was paid x amount in cash while working there on company letter head. will that work ?

Your employer pays ESIC when you are below the tax bracket and you should be able to show ESIC documentation.

 

[PR2024-25]

Your employer pays ESIC when you are below the tax bracket and you should be able to show ESIC documentation.

How do you get that?

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

How do you get that?

OP is from India. He should have a ESIC card and a registration certificate (if his job was legit). There's further ESIC contribution history. IRCC is quite unaware of how to handle this, but any query that says "cash + no tax bracket" should be heavily scrutinized with ESIC (or equivalent of it in the applicant's country) to prove it. If there's no tax, no bank deposits, no resignation email, no joining/offer letter email, etc - the work experience wasn't as an employee. It was at best a self-employed situation.

Given that there's a massive amount of fraud in EE with cash based jobs that have no real backing, this should be a center stage for IRCC to scrutinize these claims.

 

[daivion]

This:
a reference or experience letter from the employer, which

• should be an official document printed on company letterhead (must include the applicant’s name, the company’s contact information [address, telephone number and email address], and the name, title and signature of the immediate supervisor or personnel officer at the company),
  
  
• should indicate all positions held while employed at the company and must include the following details: job title, duties and responsibilities, job status (if current job), dates worked for the company, number of work hours per week and annual salary plus benefits
  
  
  That’s exactly why I’ve always been a bit skeptical about getting paid in cash. It might seem convenient at first, but when you need to prove your income, like for immigration, it becomes a lot more complicated. Bank transfers are just easier to track, and everything is right there in the app if you ever need a proper statement. Over time, I’ve made it a habit to keep notes of any side income too. Who paid me, how much, and when. That includes some freelance work I used to do and also a bit of extra money I earned through online casino games. It was one of those things that started as a hobby but turned out to be a way to earn something on the side. It made me realize how important it is to use platforms with fast withdrawals. To better understand payout processing times among Polish online casinos, I referred to https://plkasynaonline.com/szybkie-wyplaty-w-kasynie-online/ for a clear comparison. The reviews also highlighted a few casinos that stood out for their fast and easy-to-follow payout procedures, which really helped when I needed to keep things clear for financial or official purposes. In some cases, even small winnings required me to document transactions and withdrawals, especially when I wanted to include everything in my overall income record. I treated it no differently than any other irregular income, keeping confirmations, timestamps, and banking history to ensure it could be referenced if needed. This turned out to be surprisingly useful when preparing documents for official use, especially since every amount, even modest ones, had to be explained clearly. Since then, I’ve tried to stick with things where the money is easy to explain. Whether it’s a job, a side hustle, or something occasional, having a clear record just makes everything easier if you need to show proof later.

That’s really helpful, thanks for laying it out so clearly. I’m working on getting a letter like this from a past employer where I was paid in cash, but I’m not sure they’ll be willing to include all of that detail, especially the salary part. Has anyone submitted something similar with partial info and still had it accepted by IRCC? Just trying to figure out how flexible they are in practice.

 

[CanGoldDigger]

That’s really helpful, thanks for laying it out so clearly. I’m working on getting a letter like this from a past employer where I was paid in cash, but I’m not sure they’ll be willing to include all of that detail, especially the salary part. Has anyone submitted something similar with partial info and still had it accepted by IRCC? Just trying to figure out how flexible they are in practice.

You need to have a proof that you were paid for your work. It's quite a strict requirement.

 

[daivion]

You need to have a proof that you were paid for your work. It's quite a strict requirement.

Thanks for the response, I appreciate you taking the time to explain.