Dashboard Design for Immigration
Consulting
Up Immigration Consulting is a company that helps individuals with their journey to immigrate to Canada. They specialize in services like permanent residency (PR) and visa applications, offering expert support along the way.
For this project, we focused on solving real user problems—especially the confusion and stress that can come with managing immigration paperwork and progress. The goal was to design a simple, user-friendly dashboard that helps clients stay organized, track their application status, and easily manage all required documents in one place.
The target audience includes individuals and families applying for visas or PR status—many of whom may be unfamiliar with digital platforms or navigating complex legal systems.
As the Team Lead, I guided the project from start to finish. I managed the timeline, helped my teammates stay aligned, and made sure our design met both user needs and client expectations. I also led the UX strategy, contributed to the interface design, and kept the experience focused on clarity, accessibility, and emotional ease.
This dashboard wasn’t just about function—it was about reducing stress and helping users feel more confident during one of life’s biggest transitions.
Dashboard Design for Immigration
Consulting
Client
Up Immigration
Consulting
Service
UI/UX Design
Date
Jul 2024
Tools
Figma
Photoshop
Role
Team leader
Combines UX and UI expertise to ensure both the experience and interface are cohesive, functional, and user-friendly.
Timeline
Overall: 4+ weeks
Design Timeline
Research
Strategy
Design
Phase 1: Discovery and research
🎯 Why- What is the goal?
Immigrating to a new country can be exciting—but it’s also stressful, especially when people need to manage paperwork, deadlines, and important documents. The goal of this project was to design a simple, clear, and user-friendly dashboard that helps clients of Up Immigration Consulting:
• Track their immigration application status
• Upload and organize documents easily
• Understand what steps come next
By reducing confusion and keeping everything in one place, the dashboard helps clients feel more in control and supported during their journey.
🧑💼 Who- Are we designing for?
This dashboard was designed for people applying for visas or permanent residency in Canada. Many of these users may:
• Be unfamiliar with the immigration process
• Feel overwhelmed by forms and requirements
• Use the platform on both desktop and mobile devices
So, our job was to make the experience feel clear, calm, and supportive—even for someone using the system for the very first time.
🌍 Context
Immigration can be a life-changing experience—but the process itself is often complicated, stressful, and full of paperwork. Up Immigration Consulting is a company that helps people apply for visas and permanent residency in Canada, guiding them through every step of the journey.
However, many of their clients were struggling to keep track of their documents, application progress, and deadlines. There was no single, clear place where clients could stay organized.
That’s where our team came in.
We were asked to design a centralized dashboard that could simplify the experience and support users throughout their immigration journey. This meant making something that wasn’t just functional—but also calming, accessible, and easy to use, even for clients who were not familiar with online systems.
This project challenged us to balance clarity, structure, and empathy—and deliver a tool that would help real people feel more confident in a high-pressure process.
🤔 Finding the problem
To truly understand the users’ pain points, I stepped into their shoes and imagined what it would feel like to go through the immigration process without clear guidance. Through competitor's workflow, several challenges became clear.
I felt confused and overwhelmed—not because I didn’t want to follow the process, but because I didn’t know where to start, what documents were required, or how far along I were in the process.
💬 Key Problems Identified:
• No central hub for tracking application status or next steps
• Unclear document submission process—users weren’t sure what they had uploaded or what was still missing
• Poor communication—clients often had to call or email just to get updates
• Anxiety and stress caused by uncertainty and lack of transparency
These problems made me feel lost and unsupported during an already stressful journey.
💼 Business Goals (Up Immigration Consulting)
Improve Client Satisfaction and Trust
Reduce Manual Communication Load
Increase Retention and Referrals
Stand Out in a Competitive Market
🧑💬 User Interview
To better understand the real struggles people face during the immigration process, we conducted interviews with two individuals currently applying for permanent residency in Canada. Our goal was to learn directly from their experiences—without leading or assuming—so we could uncover their genuine pain points and emotional challenges.
By listening openly and asking thoughtful, neutral questions, we were able to identify the obstacles they encountered when navigating document requirements, timelines, and communication with consultants. These insights helped shape the direction of our dashboard design, ensuring it reflects the needs of real users, not just design assumptions.
To keep our approach open and unbiased, we used broad, user-friendly questions:
Can you walk me through what it was like to start your PR application?
What part of the process felt confusing or stressful for you?
How did you keep track of your documents and progress?
Did you feel like you always knew what to do next?
How did you communicate with your immigration consultant?
If you could change one thing about this process, what would it be?
C.F
Camila (Brazil, Age 29)
Camila is a post-graduate student applying for PR on her own.
She struggled with unclear instructions, time pressure, and constantly had to contact her consultant to understand the next step. Without a clear system to track her progress or documents, the process felt overwhelming and stressful.
“I was always afraid I’d miss something. There wasn’t one place where I could just see what I had done and what I still needed to do.”
D.M
Diego (Mexico, Age 45)
Diego is applying for PR for his entire family of four. He found it difficult to manage multiple applications, keep track of who had submitted what, and stay organized. Constant back-and-forth with the consultant made the process slow and confusing.
“Managing documents for my whole family was a mess. I had to make separate folders, notes, spreadsheets… and I still worried I forgot something.”
“I just wanted a simple way to see everything—who submitted what, and what’s missing—without writing another email.”
👤 User Persona
Diego
Market Team Manager
45
Vancouver, BC
🙎 Bio:
Family-based applicant
Applying for PR for himself, spouse, and two children
Diego is a 45-year-old father from Mexico who is applying for PR for his whole family. He’s managing all four applications at once while also working full-time. He relies heavily on the immigration consultant but finds it difficult to keep everything organized.
😫 Pain Points:
• Overwhelmed by keeping track of four different applications
• Constantly double-checking with the consultant to make sure no documents are missing
• Confused by duplicate steps (e.g. same form for each family member)
• Finds it hard to know who’s at what stage in the process
• Wishes there was a way to communicate quickly without always sending emails
👨👩👧👦 Needs:
• A family dashboard view to see everyone’s progress at once
• Individual profiles or tabs for each family member
• Alerts for missing or incomplete documents
• A quick way to message or ask questions inside the platform
• Peace of mind knowing he hasn’t missed anything
Research
Strategy
Design
Phase 2_Strategy & Problem Definition
🧠 Discover Pain Points & Solutions
Discover Pain Points_01
Target user: People who want to apply for PR
- The PR application process is too complicated. Users don't know what steps to take and when they can complete their application.
- Which step should the consultant help with?
There are so many documents that an applicant needs to prepare.
- What kind of document should they prepare?
- When will they send these documents to the consultant?
How many documents need to be approved when applying for PR?
- What is the consultant’s response?
- How to organize these documents?
Solutions_01
The process bar clearly shows:
- All the process
- Which step are they now
- What is the next step?
- Clearly see when the consultant will help them
STEP 1
Assess Your Eligibility
STEP 2
Compile Necessary Documents
STEP 3
Create Your Express Entry Profile
Completed
STEP 4
Settle Application Fees
STEP 5
Submit Your Application Package
Completed
STEP 6
Await the Invitation to Apply (ITA)
Completed
STEP 7
Complete Biometrics, Medical Exam, and Police Clearance
STEP 8
Finalize and Submit Your PR Application
Waiting
STEP 9
Await Confirmation of Permanent Residence
Waiting
STEP 10
Get PR!
The upload card clearly shows:
- What documents user have to prepare
- Where to upload the documents
- When the file is completed
In Step 7 You should upload
30%
File
Upload Date
Biometrics Exam
Jul 11 2024
View
Medical Exam
Unknown
Upload Now
Police Clearance
Unknown
Upload Now
The My File page shows:
- All of the documents you need
- What consultants do
- What to upload next
STEP
FILE
DATE
STATUS
progress
Assess Your Eligibility
Six Selection Factors
09 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Compile Necessary Documents
Identification papers
10 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Compile Necessary Documents
Language test results
10 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Compile Necessary Documents
Educational credentials
10 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Compile Necessary Documents
Work experience letters
10 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Create Your Express Entry Profile
Express Entry Profile
11 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Settle Application Fees
Application Invoice
13 Jul 2024
Waiting
Payment Failed
Submit Your Application Package
Application Package
13 Jul 2024
Waiting
In Process
Invitation to Apply (ITA)
Invitation to Apply (ITA)
13 Jul 2024
Waiting
In Process
Complete Biometrics, Medical Exam, and Police Clearance
Biometrics Exam
Unknown
Upload Now
Waiting
Complete Biometrics, Medical Exam, and Police Clearance
Medical Exam
Unknown
Upload Now
Waiting
Complete Biometrics, Medical Exam, and Police Clearance
Police Clearance
Unknown
Upload Now
Waiting
Finalize and Submit Your PR Application
PR Application
Unknown
Waiting
Waiting
Await Confirmation of Permanent Residence
Confirmation of Permanent Residence
Unknown
Waiting
Waiting
Discover Pain Points_02
In which process that users need to pay?
How to pay?
If the payment failed or succeeded?
Solutions_02
The payment page clearly shows:
- How much is the visa fee, and what amount do users need to pay?
- Use red color and icons to emphasize the payment failed part.
The payment page clearly shows:
- How much is the visa fee, and what amount do users need to pay?
- Use red color and icons to emphasize the payment failed part.
My Pending Payment
Description
Amount
Amount
!
Application Processing Fee
Contact the consultant
$850
Payment Failed
2
RPRF
Before Aug. 15, 2024
$515
Make a payment
3
Biometric Fee
After you got ITA within 10 days
$85
Make a payment
Discover Pain Points_03
How to organize a family’s file?
How to check every member’s visa progress?
Solutions_03
Each family members have their own profile & process page.
Sena
Yoon
Jin
Rodolfo
Rebecca
Up Immigration Consulting
/
Process
/
My File
English
Search
Sena Ho
PR Application
Edit
Home
Process
Profile
Payment
Setting
LOGOUT
Files should be uploaded
All the documents should be in English
STEP
FILE
DATE
STATUS
Agent progress
Assess Your Eligibility
Six Selection Factors
09 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Compile Necessary Documents
Identification papers
10 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Compile Necessary Documents
Language test results
10 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Compile Necessary Documents
Educational credentials
10 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Compile Necessary Documents
Work experience letters
10 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Create Your Express Entry Profile
Express Entry Profile
11 Jul 2024
View
Completed
Settle Application Fees
Application Invoice
13 Jul 2024
Waiting
Payment Failed
Submit Your Application Package
Application Package
13 Jul 2024
Waiting
In Process
Invitation to Apply (ITA)
Invitation to Apply (ITA)
13 Jul 2024
Waiting
In Process
Complete Biometrics, Medical Exam, and Police Clearance
Biometrics Exam
Unknown
Upload Now
Waiting
Complete Biometrics, Medical Exam, and Police Clearance
Medical Exam
Unknown
Upload Now
Waiting
Complete Biometrics, Medical Exam, and Police Clearance
Police Clearance
Unknown
Upload Now
Waiting
Finalize and Submit Your PR Application
PR Application
Unknown
Waiting
Waiting
Await Confirmation of Permanent Residence
Confirmation of Permanent Residence
Unknown
Waiting
Waiting
User Testing Result
By Survey, 26 responses
“Can you understand the process of applying PR?”
0%
Don’t understand
12%
Understand
88%
Fully understand
“Can you figure out which document you should upload?”
0%
Don’t understand
12%
Understand
88%
Fully understand
“Can you figure out which document you should upload?”
12%
Confused
88%
Yes
Thank you for reading the
UP Immigration Dashboard Project
Want to work with me? Feel free to contact me!
...or just say hello on my Linkedin😄
