PRIVACY POLICY

IE ABROAD PRIVACY POLICY

INTRODUCTION

At IE Abroad we understand that your privacy is important to you and we are committed to
complying with the Privacy Act and the Republic of Ireland’s Privacy Principles in relation to all
Personal Information and Sensitive Information that we collect from you. This notice describes our
Privacy and Information handling practices.

IE Abroad refers to IE Abroad International Study Advisors LTD
Company Name: IE Abroad International Study Advisors LTD
Registration Number: 645246
Company Address: 21 Eyre Square, Galway, Ireland
Date of Establishment: 1st June 2016
Website: www.ieabroad.com
Email: admin@ieabroad.com
Data Protection Officer: Brent Morris – brent.morris@ieabroad.com

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably
identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether the information or
opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Includes information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a professional or trade association or criminal record that is also personal information, or health information about an individual, or biometric information used for the purpose of  automated biometric verification or identification, or biometric templates.

This Notice outlines the following:

  • The types of Personal Information that we collect and hold.
  • How we collect Personal Information.
  • The purposes for which the information is collected.
  • The way in which we use and disclose Personal Information.
  • The steps we take to protect and secure the Personal Information we hold.
  • How individuals can access and correct their Personal Information held by us.
  • Mechanisms for complaint if you are unhappy about how we have dealt with or are dealing with your Personal Information.

THE TYPES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT AND HOLD

In the normal course of business activities we will collect Personal Information from you and this may include collecting some Sensitive Information.

The following are the types of your Personal Information and Sensitive Information that we may collect and hold:

IN DEALINGS WITH IE ABROAD

We collect personal details such as name, postal and email addresses, date of birth, contact details, residency status, education qualifications, employment history, tax file numbers, passport details, information required for visa application and lodgement (including financial and medical
information), occupation and professional memberships of individuals:

  • who enquire about study opportunities or who are applying to undertake a course of study at an educational institution, or an overseas education institution;
  • who engage our visa application services to apply for visas (including student visa and tourist visa’s);
  • who formally advise/register their interest in being engaged as consultants, or individuals who have been, or are currently, engaged as consultants on projects/programs managed by IE Abroad (or IE Abroad together with other organisations);
  • who register to participate in an event organised, managed or presented by IE Abroad , whether in its own right, or under contract for another organisation.

This may include copies of documents provided to us as proof of identity – e.g. copies of passport, proof of citizenship or photographs. It may also include Sensitive Information about individuals such as racial or ethnic origin (from information on your country of origin), and/or your health or medical information (e.g. from a medical examination required for your visa application for a visa).

If you subscribe to our website (https://www.ieabroad.com) or register your interest with an IE Abroad advisor, we will collect Personal Information such as your name, postal and email address, date of birth, contact details, country of residence, preferred study destination, occupation, and Sensitive Information such as professional memberships.

HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will only collect Personal Information by lawful and fair means. Personal Information may be collected directly from you or your authorised representative, or may be collected from a third party such as a licensee or representative authorised by us to provide services to you. You may supply
your Personal Information to us when communicating with us via social networks and other online channels, e.g. through your Facebook identity.

We do not collect Personal and Sensitive information unless the information is reasonably necessary for our business functions or activities. We will obtain your consent before collecting any Sensitive Information.

When you deal with us, you will need to identify yourself in order for us to provide our services to you, as such we do not accept the use of pseudonyms.

THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH THE INFORMATION IS COLLECTED

We collect, hold and use your Personal Information so that we can provide our services to you.

STUDENT PLACEMENT

Services in our student placement business include for example recruitment, advising, student placement, visa assistance, English language testing and training, student exhibitions and seminars.

Collection of your Personal Information allows us to:

  • Assist you to pursue the opportunity to undertake studies in an education institution outside your country; assist you in your application for a student visa for your institutions country including contacting the high commission or embassy and other organisations on your behalf to discuss your application;
  • assist you to further your career after completing your studies at an overseas education institution;
  • provide opportunities to participate in projects/programs as consultants;
  • inform and provide students, institutions and other clients of developments in the services we provide (including events and opportunities to participate in projects/programs);
  • conduct research for statistical, analytical and training purposes; manage our internal business operations and events;
    and respond to your questions.

THE WAY IN WHICH WE USE AND DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will use or disclose your Personal Information only for the purposes for which it was collected.

We will use or disclose your information for a secondary purpose only if you have consented or if you would reasonably expect us to do so or as required by law.

We may use your Personal Information for the purposes of our own direct marketing, however we will ensure you have an ability to opt out of future such communications.

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may disclose your Personal Information to overseas recipients such as education institutions located outside of your country, overseas visa agencies, SELT test centres, professional bodies and commercial organisations, or regulatory authorities when you have sought our assistance to apply
for study at those institutions or where disclosure is required for verification purposes. As such, the location of these overseas recipients would depend on the specific institutions to which you apply or where such verification is required.

Some IE Abroad IT systems and data are hosted on servers in countries outside the Republic of Ireland and we may send your information to one of those servers as part of our business. IE Abroad holds data collected to deliver student placement services in systems hosted in the USA. This
information is stored and accessed only as required to provide our services to you. Where we transfer data to offshore servers, the data is subject to use restrictions and safeguards against unauthorised access.

The information disclosed to overseas recipients consists of any information you have given us to provide the relevant services. By accepting services from us, you consent to us providing your Personal Information to the relevant overseas recipient as mentioned above and acknowledge that we are not responsible for ensuring their compliance with the APPs.

DATA SECURITY POLICY

LAWFUL PURPOSE

All data processed by IE Abroad must be done on one of the following lawful bases: consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task or legitimate interests (see ICO guidance for more information).

IE Abroad shall note the appropriate lawful basis in the Register of Systems.

Where consent is relied upon as a lawful basis for processing data, evidence of opt-in consent shall be kept with the personal data.

Where communications are sent to individuals based on their consent, the option for the individual to revoke their consent should be clearly available and systems should be in place to ensure such revocation is reflected accurately in IE Abroad’s systems.

DATA MINIMISATION

IE Abroad shall ensure that personal data are adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed.

ACCURACY

IE Abroad shall take reasonable steps to ensure personal data is accurate.

Where necessary for the lawful basis on which data is processed, steps shall be put in place to ensure that personal data is kept up to date.

ARCHIVING/REMOVAL

To ensure that personal data is kept for no longer than necessary, IE Abroad shall put in place an archiving policy for each area in which personal data is processed and review this process annually. The archiving policy shall consider what data should/must be retained, for how long, and why.

SECURITY

IE Abroad shall ensure that personal data is stored securely using modern software that is kept-upto-date.

Access to personal data shall be limited to personnel who need access and appropriate security should be in place to avoid unauthorised sharing of information.

When personal data is deleted this should be done safely such that the data is irrecoverable.

Appropriate back-up and disaster recovery solutions shall be in place.

Breach

In the event of a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data IE Abroad shall promptly assess the risk to people’s rights and freedoms and if appropriate report this breach to the ICO (more information on
the ICO website).

HOW INDIVIDUALS CAN ACCESS AND CORRECT THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION HELD BY US

You have the right to seek access to any of your Personal Information held by us unless there is a
valid reason under the Privacy Act for us to withhold the information.

Valid reasons include:

  • We have reason to suspect that unlawful activity or misconduct of a serious nature has been engaged in and giving access would be likely to prejudice the taking of appropriate action in relation to the matter; or
  • Giving access would reveal evaluative information generated within us in connection with a commercially sensitive process.

If your personal details change, or you believe the information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or out-of-date, please contact us so that we can correct our records.

Requests for access or correction to Personal Information should be made under the Privacy Act and addressed to The IE Abroad Protection Officer. All requests for access or correction to Personal Information will be responded to in writing within a reasonable period of time. As part of this
process we will verify the identity of the individual requesting the information prior to providing access or making any changes. If access or correction to your Personal Information is refused we will provide reasons for our refusal.

7. MECHANISMS FOR COMPLAINTS

We have procedures in place to deal with your inquiries or complaints.
If you have any questions about our policy or any complaint regarding the treatment of your privacy by us, please contact us at the respective addresses below.

COMPLAINTS TO IE ABROAD

IE Abroad International Study Advisors LTD
P.O Box 1465
Milnerton, 7441
Western Cape,
South Africa
admin@ieabroad.com

We will endeavour to respond to you within a reasonable time. If you are still not satisfied with the way your complaint is handled by us, you are entitled to have your complaint reviewed under the Privacy Act.