DATA PROTECTION
& PRIVACY RIGHTS
Visa Advice UK is registered with the ICO and takes its obligations under UK GDPR seriously. We have set out our standard Privacy Notice here, applicable to all of our clients. Contact us at any time if you have questions about how we use your personal data.
Privacy Notice
2023
Visa Advice UK uses personal information about you or others in connection with providing our professional services to clients. We do this as a Data Controller, in accordance with UK GDPR.
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We will process personal information we receive directly from you or on your behalf, or receive from other organizations in connection with our professional services to you. This Privacy Notice forms part of the Standard Terms of Service.
Types of personal information we collect
We currently collect and process the following information:
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Personal identifiers including contact details, name, email address, home or business address, date of birth, nationality and criminal record history (where applicable in pursuit of a UK visa application).
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Website usage where you are a registered contact of Visa Advice UK.
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Historical personal information including/relating to your name, identity, nationality or ethnicity, marital status, employment or self-employment, finances, academic history as required in connection with a UK visa application or Sponsor License.
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How we use the information
We use your personal information to provide our professional services to you and to maintain our relationship with you. We use it to facilitate internal business operations, analyze or monitor our business or fulfil any legal obligations.
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In addition to these general uses, we may use personal information about you if:
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It is necessary for the performance of our contract with you or our client on your behalf, as set out in our Client Care Letter and the Standard Terms of Service.
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It is necessary in connection with a legal obligation, for example where we owe a legal duty to a third party or have to comply with any legislation applicable to Visa Advice UK.
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You have provided consent to us, for example if we involve a third party in the service provision we would obtain your consent to use your personal information in connection with that.
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We consider it use of your personal information is not detrimental to you, within your reasonable expectations and necessary to fulfil our legitimate interests. This might include processing of invoices, recovering money owed to us or if we are otherwise required to use your personal information by law.
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Special category data
Visa Advice UK may need to process data defined as ‘special category’ in accordance with UK GDPR. This includes: racial or ethnic origin, health data and biometric data. We do this on the basis of the contract between us and you as a client and on the basis of your consent provided at the time the data was given to Visa Advice UK. Depending on the nature of the services being provided by us, we process special category data where it is necessary to establish, exercise or defend your immigration status in the UK, where you have made the information public already or if you have provided explicit consent (which can be withdrawn at any time in accordance with your personal data rights).
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Retention, protection and storage of personal data
In most instances, we retain personal information for as long as is required by law (6 years). After 6 years we will normally destroy personal data. We will retain your personal data for 15 years where it may be required in connection with a future immigration application in the UK. These time limits apply unless you ask Visa Advice UK to erase personal information.
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Visa Advice UK will take all commercially reasonable steps to protect your personal information, whether in physical or electronic form. This includes preventing unauthorized access from third parties. We store information in a secure system and/or area, accessible only by the owners or employees of Visa Advice UK or its own professional advisors (for example, accountants, website or system developers, etc). Should access be required by Visa Advice UK’s own professional advisors there will be a formal agreement in place with strict confidentiality obligations. We do not guarantee the methods you use to transfer data to us are secure but data received by you or on your behalf will be stored on Visa Advice UK’s secure systems at all times.
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How we share your personal information
Visa Advice UK may share your personal information with third parties in the following circumstances:
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If you have consented for us to do so
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If we have a legal or regulatory obligation to do so
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If it is necessary in connection with defending your legal rights
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If it is required as part of our professional services, including with UK government departments, overseas representatives of the UK government, translation companies, couriers, banking, payment or debt collection, insurance or information security services.
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If Visa Advice UK needs to make international data transfers in connection with the services it will take commercially reasonable steps to ensure your personal information is treated securely and with adequate safeguards in compliance with UK GDPR.
Your rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
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Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
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Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
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Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
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Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
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Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
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Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organization, or to you, in certain circumstances.
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You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.
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Please contact us at info@visaadviceuk.com if you wish to exercise any of these rights at any time.