Why use SIM to instruct a
new visa application?

25 February 2022

Smarter Immigration Manager (SIM) is Smith Stone Walters’ one-stop shop for immigration management. Our unique case management system provides our clients and partners with on-demand access to a secure online portal exclusively designed to make it simpler and more efficient to run immigration programmes of any scale.

Over the coming weeks, SSW will be publishing a series of short guides to showcase the key benefits and functionalities of our bespoke immigration software. To kick things off, we have started with one of the most common actions our clients will perform on SIM: instructing SSW caseworkers on a new visa application.

SIM not only allows for real-time reporting on active and completed immigration cases, it also affords SSW clients the ability to instruct (digitally) on new visa applications.  A process that has historically been completed over email is upgraded through the use of SIM. Below is a brief guide to the benefits of using SIM to instruct on new visa applications.

Who can use SIM?

An organisation can nominate any number of users within SIM. Users will have their own login details and can login simultaneously across the globe in any web browser. This is particularly advantageous for global immigration programmes where there may be numerous HR or Global Mobility teams involved.

A user can have one of three levels of access:

• An ‘administrator’ is able to raise any new visa application and view all historic applications in the portal. This role would normally be reserved for senior HR team members.
• A ‘basic user’ can still raise new visa applications, but they are only able to view historic applications that they have raised themselves. This would most commonly be an access level given to a junior member of the HR team or an intern, where past confidential data should be kept hidden.
• A ‘correspondance user’ is kept in the loop on important updates on the case (key correspondence) but they cannot login to SIM. This would commonly be an access level reserved for line managers not heavily involved in visa process, but who still need to know when a new team member might be joining the business.

Why use SIM to instruct a new visa application?

In instructing a new visa application visa SIM, an organisation has a clear audit trail back to who raised the instruction. Instructions are quick and easy to raise, and SSW is able to provide training on the process.

Basic questions, such as where the applicant is currently based and the type of role they are coming to fulfil are asked, which will help your SSW caseworker begin work on your application. SIM allows for any supporting documents to be uploaded, such as a job description or passport copy, but does not mandate any specific documents. At any stage in this instruction process the progress can be saved as a draft. This is particularly useful when instructing on multiple visa applications at once.

A user will see when the request has been picked up by SSW and actioned. Likewise, they can then see who is dealing with the case and the latest updates on it. The requests are sent through to the client team at SSW, meaning that if the usual contact is on annual leave or absent, there will always be a team member on hand to pick up on the new instruction.

This means of raising a visa request is not only quick, but also highly secure. There are no emails, no attachments and thus the risk of data loss is removed. There is a clear audit trail in the system of who raised a request and SSW will receive an instant notification allowing us to start work on the case straight away.

Want to learn more?

Whether you are already a regular user of SIM, or you are a new client and want to find out more about the system, SSW is here to help.

We offer full training on how to use SIM, and your SSW Account Manager is on hand to help you and your business harness its full potential. To find out more, please contact us today.

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