Hold-ups with the immigration process could become a thing of the past following the launch of an online questionnaire form and work permit status system.

The two new services have already been implemented by Government and are available online now after a pilot scheme was tried out on the likes of ACE, BF&M, and the Bank of Bermuda, The Royal Gazette can exclusively reveal.

A memo outlining the innovative system by assistant chief Rozy Azhar addressed to the Association of Bermuda International Companies, the Bar Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Employers' Council, Hotel Association, Human Resources Association and international Business Association was leaked to the Gazette.

The new system was confirmed at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce's restaurant and nightclub division, yesterday. In the past, work permit applications have taken anything up to the best part of a year to be processed, but the new services should enable the Department of Immigration and employers to speed that up.

The document reads: "We are certain that this website will improve our communication with your members and make the staff in the Department of Immigration more accountable to our customers.

"It will also identify the instance when we cannot process an application because we are waiting for additional information from the employer."

The questionnaire form, which can be found at www.igf.gov.bm, allows the employer to complete as much of the form as they can, save the information and then forward it via email to their prospective employee.

It eliminates the need for employers to send paper forms by post to their prospective staff members for completion before they start the application process, ensures that the form has been completed correctly and provides a checklist of items specific to the type of permit for which the application is being made. But, although the form can be saved electronically as a PDF, it cannot be submitted electronically yet. There are plans to address that feature in the future.

From a security point of view, within the email there is an application number and a URL which includes a series of characters that are unique to an employer's application, ensuring that no other person other than the recipient of the email is able to access that particular form.

The form is also intuitive in that it has two options at the bottom of the section allowing the user to save information if they want to complete it at a later date and to select one or more permit types, and as a result, will be presented with the sections to be completed.

Meanwhile, it has a restriction in place that, if all the required fields are not filled in, the form cannot be printed until the missing sections and fields are filled in, and the user can partially fill in a form and save the information and complete the form at a later date by selecting the URL in the email and typing in the applicable section number.

Finally, it enables the user to access help text to show how the fields in question should be filled in if they are unsure, and when the form is printed, a checklist relevant to the permit type selected will be printed with the form.

The work permit status website allows employers to review the status of their application online, providing the current status for all work permit applications in progress as well as recently completed applications.

From this site, users can also send application-related emails to the assigned Department of Immigration staff member, and to access it, employers will need a user account that has been approved and activated by the Department of Immigration.

There will be one user name per employer, for larger employers, this user name can be shared with everyone responsible for submitting and following up on work permits for that employer. Organisations will be contacted in the New Year to set up seminars for any employers who want further training on the new system, according to the letter.