1. Who is responsible for your data
stamp-wise.com ("Stampwise", "we", "us") is the controller of the personal data described in this policy. You can contact us about privacy at visa@stamp-wise.com.
This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it and what rights you have. It applies to our website stamp-wise.com and to all our visa assistance services.
2. What we collect
Information you give us
- Identity and contact details: name, date and place of birth, nationality, sex, marital status, address, email, phone number.
- Travel document details: passport and national ID information, copies of passport pages, previous visas and travel history, residence permits.
- Application information: purpose and dates of travel, itinerary, accommodation, invitation letters, family details, employment and education history.
- Financial information for the application: bank statements, payslips, tax documents, sponsorship letters, where the destination requires proof of funds.
- Photographs that meet visa photo requirements.
- Communications with us by email, phone, chat or messaging apps.
Sensitive information
Some applications require information that data protection laws treat as especially sensitive, such as medical examination results, or answers about criminal convictions in government application forms. We only collect this where the destination's application process requires it, only with your explicit consent, and only for that application. We do not collect biometric data (fingerprints or facial scans); where required, these are taken directly by the government or its visa centre.
Information collected automatically
When you use our website we collect technical data such as IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited and referring pages, using cookies and similar technologies (see section 9).
Payment information
Payments are processed by Stripe. We receive confirmation of payment and limited card details (such as card type and last four digits) but we do not see or store your full card number.
3. How and why we use it
| Purpose | Legal basis (where GDPR / UK GDPR applies) |
|---|---|
| Assessing your requirements, preparing and submitting your application, booking appointments, arranging couriers and keeping you updated | Performance of our contract with you |
| Processing sensitive information required by a specific application | Your explicit consent |
| Taking payment, issuing invoices and processing refunds | Performance of contract; legal obligation |
| Keeping accounting and tax records, and responding to lawful requests from authorities | Legal obligation |
| Preventing fraud, securing our systems, and handling complaints or legal claims | Our legitimate interests |
| Improving our website and services using aggregated analytics | Your consent (for non-essential cookies); our legitimate interests |
| Sending you service updates and, if you opt in, travel and visa news or offers | Performance of contract (service updates); consent (marketing) |
You can withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing consent for information that is required for a visa application may mean we cannot complete that application.
We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
4. Who we share it with
We share your data only where needed for the purposes above:
- Government authorities of the destination country, including embassies, consulates and immigration departments, to submit your application.
- Official visa application centres and outsourced service providers appointed by governments (for example VFS Global, BLS International or TLScontact), to book appointments and lodge applications.
- Service providers who work for us, such as cloud hosting, email, secure file storage, customer support and messaging tools, and document translation services. They may only use your data to provide services to us.
- Couriers, to collect and return passports and documents.
- Payment processors and banks, to take payments and issue refunds.
- Travel suppliers, such as insurance providers or booking services, where you ask us to arrange travel insurance or reservations.
- Professional advisers, such as accountants, auditors, lawyers and insurers.
- Law enforcement or regulators, where the law requires it or to protect our rights.
- A buyer or successor, if our business is sold or restructured, subject to this policy.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.
Once your data is submitted to a government or visa application centre, it is handled under that organisation's own privacy rules, which we do not control.
5. International transfers
Because we assist with visas for many countries and serve clients worldwide, your data will be transferred to the destination country and may be processed by our service providers in other countries. Where data protection law requires it, we protect transfers using recognised safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or the UK International Data Transfer Addendum. Transfers to a destination government for the purpose of your application are made because they are necessary to perform our contract with you.
6. How long we keep it
- Application documents (passport copies, bank statements, photographs and similar): deleted within 12 months after your case is closed, unless you ask us to delete them sooner or we need them for an active complaint or legal claim.
- Order and invoice records: kept for as long as tax and accounting laws require, usually 5–7 years.
- Correspondence: kept for up to 24 months after your last contact with us.
- Marketing preferences: kept until you unsubscribe, then only a suppression record is kept.
7. How we protect it
We use encryption in transit and at rest, access controls limited to staff who need the data, secure file-transfer tools for documents, and regular reviews of our service providers. Please send documents only through the channels we give you. If we become aware of a data breach that affects you, we will tell you and the relevant regulator where the law requires it.
8. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you and get a copy;
- correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
- ask us to delete your data;
- restrict or object to certain processing, including direct marketing;
- receive your data in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time; and
- for California residents, know what categories of personal information we collect, use and disclose, request deletion or correction, and not be discriminated against for exercising these rights.
To exercise any right, email visa@stamp-wise.com. We may need to verify your identity. We will respond within one month, or within the timeframe required by the law that applies to you. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
9. Cookies
We use strictly necessary cookies to run the website and keep it secure. With your consent, we also use analytics cookies to understand how visitors use the site, and we may use marketing cookies if we run advertising. You can change your choices at any time through the cookie settings link in the footer or your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how the site works.
10. Children
Our services are for adults. We process children's data only when a parent or legal guardian applies on their behalf, and only for that child's visa application.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new version on this page with a new "last updated" date and, if the changes are significant, we will let you know by email.
12. Contact us
stamp-wise.com
Email: visa@stamp-wise.com