Privacy Policy

Scope:

The Privacy Policy of VFS Global Services Pvt Ltd (hereinafter referred to as VFS Global) describes how the information furnished by you as a visa applicant and user (hereinafter referred to as “User”) is collected, used, stored, transferred and made available to VFS Global’s contracting party, affiliates, governments, law enforcement agencies, authorities and other agencies. By accepting the Privacy Policy and user agreement, User expressly consents to our Privacy Policy.

Information Collection:

All information, posted, furnished and submitted by a user or users while scheduling an interview appointment online is converted into such formats as may be required and communicated to the respective Embassy/Consulate in the country of residence. The information so collected may be stored, transferred and shared by VFS Global, or any of its affiliated agencies, partners and any law enforcement agencies as would be required under law and mentioned herein. VFS Global may collect all information furnished by User, and identifiable by the passport number, portal, server, I.P address etc., which is traceable in relation to VFS Global website or in relation thereto, such as IP address, E-mail address, contact detail information and other information like transactional information of User’s online usage, IP address, log-on information and standard web log information etc.
User gives consent to VFS Global to capture audio signals / video images at the Visa Application Centre, record such captured audio signals/video images on CD/DVD or other formats or any other medium to any place whether in India or otherwise for purposes relating to the visa facilitation process

Purpose of Collection:

The predominant purpose in collecting, storing, transferring or sharing the information is to:

• Provide complete and accurate information on a User, visa applicants and applications to the Embassy / Consulate.
• Prevent misuse, abuse, mischievous intent, prohibited or illegal use and hacking by User through any means and to address any security issues.
• Customise, measure and improve our services and website content and layout.

  To transmit, stream and store audio signals / video images on real time or quasi real time basis to any place within India or otherwise in any mode including storage in the form of CD/DVD for purposes of providing visa facilitation services Visas

and generally to provide and communicate any of the above to our contracting party, affiliate/s, principal, governments, law enforcement agencies, authorities and other agencies to respond to legal requirements, protect any one’s right, property, safety or, allegation of fraud, misuse, abuse, mischievous intent or investigations.

Cookies:

Cookies are files or pieces of information that may be stored on your system or internet enabled devices when you visit the VFS Global website. Once you access the VFS Global website, you consent to our use of cookies. If you do not agree to our use of cookies, you should not use our website. If the cookies that we use are disabled, it may impact the user experience of our website. VFS Global uses cookies to make the website simpler to use. We cannot identify you personally from this information.

A few important things User should know about cookies are that:

• VFS Global offers certain features that are only available through the use of cookies.
• VFS Global uses cookies to help identify User and maintain their signed-in status.
• Most cookies are "session cookies," meaning that they are automatically deleted from User’s hard drive at the end of a session. “Persistent cookies” remain in place across multiple visits to our websites.
• User is always free to decline VFS Global’s cookies if their browser permits, although doing so may interfere with User’s use of the website.
• User may encounter cookies from any links or third parties on certain pages of the website that VFS Global does not control. For example, if User views a VFS Global page created by another user, there may be a "cookie" placed by that VFS Global page. VFS Global and its contracting parties, principals, affiliate/s, among others, do not tolerate spam. A user/users is/are not licensed, permitted, expected to add, modify, deface, hack, misuse or abuse VFS Global’s website or the contents therein. To report any issues related to spam or spoof emails to VFS Global, please address e-mails to communications@vfsglobal.com. User may not use VFS Global’s communication tools or webpage to send spam or otherwise send content that would violate our user agreement. VFS Global filters and automatically scans messages for viruses and other illegal or prohibited content before they are sent. VFS Global does not permanently store email messages sent to or by it through various formats. VFS Global does not rent or sell any email addresses to third parties.

 

User Account Information, Password & Personal Information:

User’s passport, fee receipt number, date of birth and name are key to User’s account. User is advised to exercise caution in disclosing User’s information and not to disclose the same to anyone. If User shares his/her password or personal information with others, User will be solely responsible for all actions taken in the name of User’s account. If User loses control of the same, User may lose substantial control over User’s personal information and may be subject to legally binding actions for actions taken on through their account or on User’s behalf. Therefore, if User’s password or personal information has been compromised for any reason, User should immediately notify VFS Global in writing and ensure appropriate safety and security measures.

Links to other websites:

At various points throughout the website you may be offered automatic links to other internet websites including User/Mission websites that may be relevant to a particular aspect of this website. This does not indicate that VFS Global is necessarily associated with any of these other websites. Whilst it is the intention of VFS Global that you should find these other websites of interest, neither VFS Global, nor their officers, employees and agents shall have any responsibility or liability of any nature whatsoever for these other websites or any information contained in them, none of which have been verified or endorsed by VFS Global or affiliates.

Minors:

Minors are not permitted to use the services available on our website. VFS Global does not, knowingly or intentionally, collect any personal information from any person who is a minor, and does not use the information if it comes to know that the same has been provided by a minor.

Accessing, Reviewing & Modifying Personal and Other Information:

User can see, review and change most of their personal information by logging into the website. Generally, VFS Global will not manually modify a user’s personal information because it is very difficult to verify any user’s identity or other details. User must promptly update user’s personal information if it changes or is inaccurate. Once the user submits any information, they will be able to change or remove it only up to 48 hours before the time and date of the interview. VFS Global retains personal information of users in order to comply with law, prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce the terms and conditions and take other actions otherwise permitted by law. You accord consent for VFS Global to capture audio signals / video images at the Visa Application Centre, transmit and stream the same on real time or quasi real time basis, store and/or make available recordings of such audio signals/video images on CD/DVD format or any other medium to any place whether in India or otherwise in any mode for purposes relating to the visa facilitation process.

Right to opt out:

VFS Global respects your privacy and gives you an option not to provide information or data that needs to be submitted. You can withdraw your consent that was given to VFS Global earlier. However, the same needs be communicated to VFS Global in writing.

Authenticity:

VFS Global shall not be held responsible for the authenticity or accuracy of the information provided by the User. It shall be the duty of the User to ensure that the information provided to VFS Global is accurate.

Disclosure of Information:

VFS Global may need to disclose information when required by law. VFS Global shall disclose information in good-faith when it is necessary to comply with a court order, any on-going judicial proceeding, or other legal process served on VFS Global or to exercise the legal rights or defend against legal claims. VFS Global may also disclose the information if the disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our terms and conditions. Further, in any event of a merger, or sale or re-structuring, VFS Global may transfer or assign any and all personal information to the appropriate party.

Security:

User’s information is stored on VFS Global’s servers located in India. VFS Global treats data as an asset that must be protected and uses tools like encryption, passwords, physical security, firewalls, and other security features and measures to protect its website and users personal information against unauthorised disclosure, access, misuse, abuse, hacking etc. However, sometimes third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, and other users may abuse or misuse a user’s/users’ personal information that they may collect from the website for which VFS Global shall not be liable.
Therefore, although VFS Global works very hard to protect users’ privacy, it cannot guarantee User that personal information or private communications will always remain private and secure.

General:

The contents of this Privacy Policy may be changed at any time and User will be subject to terms as applicable at the time of usage.
If at any time you believe that VFS Global has not adhered to the Privacy Policy, please inform us by e-mail at communications@vfsglobal.com and we will make all commercially reasonable efforts and steps to promptly determine and resolve the issue.