Privacy Policy

Your privacy matters to us. We are committed to protecting your personal information and ensuring transparency in how your data is collected, used, and safeguarded.

This Privacy Policy explains how Pratham International ("we", "us", "our"), an India-based visa consultancy firm, collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when you use our public website and related enquiry or recruitment channels.

We aim to comply with applicable Indian law on privacy and electronic records, including:

• the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008;
• the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 ("SPDI Rules"), where applicable;
• the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act") and related rules or notifications, as and when applicable to our processing.

Read this policy together with our Terms of Use. It applies to Indian residents and international visitors who use our site or submit personal data.

This policy describes what personal data we collect, from which parts of the website, why we use it, how long we keep it, who we share it with, what cookies and similar technologies we use, and what choices and rights you may have.

It applies to information collected through our website in connection with visa consultancy enquiries, careers applications, and routine browsing. It does not replace specific contracts or engagement letters where you engage us for paid services.

When you submit our Contact form (or equivalent enquiry route), we may collect:

• Name — to identify you and handle your enquiry.
• Email address — to reply and follow up.
• Phone number — to call or message you about your query where appropriate.
• Message / query — including details you volunteer about visa or travel plans.
• Optional fields such as service interested in — to route your request.

Purpose: To respond to consultancy enquiries, provide visa-related information, arrange consultations, and communicate about what you asked for. We rely on your request and, where needed, consent implied by submitting the form after seeing this policy.

When you apply via our Careers flow, we may collect:

• Identity and contact: name, email, phone, city / location (and postal address if you provide it).
• Professional details: role applied for, referral source, current or last job title, experience, optional LinkedIn URL.
• Optional motivation text.
• Resume / CV file — employment history, education, and anything else you include.

CVs may contain sensitive personal data or information under the SPDI Rules (for example references to health or biometrics if you include them — please avoid unless necessary). We use such data only for recruitment, based on your application submission and consent checkbox where shown.

Purpose: Shortlisting, interviews, communication about hiring, record-keeping as permitted by law, and improving recruitment processes.

When you browse our website, we and partners may collect technical data such as IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, approximate region, and timestamps.

We use this for security, troubleshooting, aggregated statistics, and improving performance. Detailed cookie and analytics practices are in Section 7.

We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

• Consent: When you submit your details through our website, forms, or communication channels, you provide consent for us to contact you and process your information.
• Contractual Necessity: When you engage our services (such as visa consultation), we process your data to fulfil our obligations.
• Legitimate Interests: We may process your data to improve our services, marketing, and user experience, provided it does not override your privacy rights.
• Legal Obligations: We may process and retain your data to comply with applicable laws and regulatory requirements.

We may use trusted third-party tools and services to operate our business effectively, including:

• Marketing and advertising platforms (such as Meta/Facebook Ads)
• Analytics tools (such as Google Analytics)
• CRM systems and lead management tools
• Communication platforms (such as WhatsApp and email service providers)

These third parties may collect, process, or store your data in accordance with their own privacy policies. We ensure that all partners we work with maintain appropriate data protection standards.

Cookies are small files stored on your device that help the site remember preferences or recognise returning visits. We may also use web beacons / pixels (small invisible images) in webpages or, if we send promotional emails, in emails to measure opens and clicks — only where we use such tools.

Types we or partners may use:

• Essential — needed for basic site operation or security.
• Functional — remember preferences where implemented.
• Analytics — for example Google Analytics, to understand traffic, pages viewed, session duration, and journeys (often in aggregated form).
• Advertising / remarketing — for example Meta Pixel (Facebook/Instagram) and Google advertising products, to measure ad performance, conversions, and to show relevant ads on our platforms or third-party sites.

Remarketing tools may use identifiers tied to your browser or device. In some cases, hashed or uploaded contact lists may be used with platforms like Meta or Google to create custom audiences only where legally permitted and aligned with platform policies — for delivering our own service messaging or ads, not for unrelated third-party campaigns by those vendors on their own behalf using data we provided for processing under contract.

Managing cookies: You can delete or block cookies via browser settings; blocking may affect functionality. You may use Google's and Meta's ad/analytics controls and opt-out pages for additional choices. Embedded content (e.g. videos or social feeds) may set third-party cookies we do not control — check those providers' policies.

You can choose to disable cookies through your browser settings. However, this may affect certain functionalities of our website. We may also use tracking technologies such as pixels (e.g., Meta Pixel) to measure ad performance and improve marketing campaigns.

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share your information with:

• Trusted service providers and partners assisting in business operations
• Visa processing authorities, embassies, or government bodies (only when required)
• Legal or regulatory authorities when required by law

All such sharing is done securely and only for necessary purposes.

If you pay us online through a payment gateway or partner, card or banking details are typically collected directly by that provider. We do not intend to store full payment credentials on our web servers; we may receive confirmation metadata needed for reconciliation (such as transaction status).

Payment processors apply their own security standards and privacy policies — please read them when you pay.

Data may be processed on servers in India and, because we use global platforms (e.g. Google, Meta), may be transferred to or accessed from other countries where privacy laws differ.

By using the website and submitting information where transfer is inherent to those services, you acknowledge such processing subject to applicable law and safeguards we or vendors implement (such as contractual clauses).

We implement reasonable security practices and procedures appropriate to our nature of operations, including encryption in transit where deployed for our services, access controls, and vendor reviews.

No internet transmission or storage is completely secure; we cannot promise absolute security but work to reduce risk using commercially reasonable means consistent with the SPDI Rules framework.

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to:

• Fulfil the purpose for which it was collected
• Comply with legal, regulatory, or business requirements

Typically, we retain user data for a period of 6 to 24 months, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

We may derive aggregated or de-identified insights (for example total visitors, popular pages, or broad regional trends) that do not identify you personally.

We may use or share such information with affiliates or partners to describe our audience or improve services.

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to access the personal data we hold about you
• Right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to request deletion of your personal data
• Right to withdraw consent at any time
• Right to restrict or object to processing
• Right to data portability (where applicable)

To exercise any of these rights, you can contact us via our Contact page.

Beyond recruitment CV content, we do not intend to collect sensitive categories (such as Aadhaar, political belief, religion, health, biometric templates) through ordinary browsing. Do not upload such data unless we expressly ask for it for a legal purpose.

Processing of sensitive personal data within CVs or forms follows SPDI and DPDP requirements where applicable.

We may use automated tools and technologies to analyze user behavior, preferences, and interactions for:

• Improving user experience
• Optimizing marketing campaigns
• Providing relevant service recommendations

However, no decisions that significantly affect you are made solely based on automated processing.

Our website is aimed at adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children below the age threshold for valid consent under applicable Indian law without parental involvement.

If you believe a child provided data, contact us and we will take prompt steps to review removal where appropriate.

We oppose spam. Commercial emails are generally sent only where you have opted in, contacted us, or have an ongoing relationship that reasonably expects updates — consistent with law.

If we send promotional messages, we will provide a way to opt out (for example an unsubscribe link). You may also email us to object to marketing using contact details on our Contact page; we will honour lawful objections for future marketing.

We may still send transactional messages (responses to your enquiry, application status, receipts) without separate marketing consent where necessary.

Links on our site may lead to third parties (government portals, universities, social networks). Their privacy practices are outside our control. Review their policies before sharing personal data. We are not liable for third-party sites you choose to visit.

If you email us, we may use your address and message content to reply and retain correspondence as needed for our records and legal compliance.

For security, avoid sending passwords, full card numbers, or unnecessary copies of government IDs by unsecured email unless we instruct you through a secure channel.

Nothing in this policy limits our right to disclose information when required by law, to protect rights and safety, or as permitted under the IT Act and other statutes (including cooperation with lawful investigations).

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date.

We encourage users to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect their data.

General privacy questions may also be sent via our Contact page (subject lines such as "Privacy enquiry" help us route your message).