Privacy Policy

GI Education Overseas (referred to as "we", "us", "our" or "the Company") is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all individuals who interact with our services, including students, parents, partner institutions, recruitment agents, franchise partners and website visitors. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect your personal information in accordance with applicable Indian data protection laws including the Information Technology Act 2000 and the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules 2011.

This policy applies to all personal information collected through our website at www.gieducationoverseas.com, our mobile applications, our physical offices across India and internationally, our online counselling platforms, our email and telephone communications and any other service channels operated by GI Education Overseas.

By accessing our website, submitting an enquiry form, booking a counselling session or engaging with any of our services, you agree to the collection and use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please discontinue use of our services and contact us at privacy@gieducationoverseas.com to have your data removed.

We collect several categories of personal information depending on how you interact with us.

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

Information you voluntarily give us when you fill enquiry forms, book counselling sessions, apply for university assistance or contact us includes:

• Full name and date of birth
• Contact information including email address phone number and mailing address
• Educational qualifications and academic transcripts
• Passport details and identification documents
• Financial information for loan assistance purposes
• Test scores (IELTS TOEFL GRE GMAT etc.)
• Career goals and preferred study destinations
• Information provided in your Statement of Purpose
• Parent or guardian contact information for minor students
• Any other information you choose to share during counselling sessions

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

Data collected automatically when you visit our website or use our digital platforms includes:

• IP address and approximate geographic location
• Browser type version and operating system
• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• Referring website or search query that led you to us
• Device identifiers and screen resolution
• Cookie data and session information
• Form interaction data and click patterns

2.3 Information from Third Parties

Information received from partner institutions, universities, loan providers and recruitment agents who refer students to us.

We use your information only for legitimate purposes including:

• To provide personalized study abroad counselling and university shortlisting
• To process your university and visa applications on your behalf
• To communicate updates regarding your application status and important deadlines
• To match you with suitable scholarship and education loan opportunities
• To send you relevant information about study destinations courses and events
• To respond to your queries emails and support requests promptly
• To conduct test preparation classes and track your progress
• To verify your identity and authenticate your access to our platforms
• To improve the functionality and content of our website and digital services
• To conduct internal research training and quality improvement programs
• To comply with legal obligations and regulatory requirements
• To prevent fraud unauthorized access and other illegal activities

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information to any third party for commercial purposes.

4.1 Sharing with Universities and Institutions

We share your academic and personal profile with universities and institutions only when you have explicitly requested or authorized us to submit an application on your behalf.

4.2 Sharing with Service Partners

We share necessary data with trusted service partners such as visa processing agents, education loan providers, test preparation partners and accommodation services strictly to fulfill the services you have requested.

• Visa and immigration consultants
• Education loan banks and NBFCs
• Language test preparation centers
• Accommodation and forex service providers
• Travel and insurance partners

4.3 Legal Disclosures

We may disclose your information when required by law, court order or regulatory authority including government agencies, immigration authorities or law enforcement when required.

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, remember your preferences and analyze website traffic.

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies — required for the website to function and cannot be disabled
• Performance Cookies — collect anonymous data about how visitors use our website to help us improve it
• Functional Cookies — remember your preferences such as language settings and form auto-fill
• Marketing Cookies — used to track visitors across websites to display relevant advertisements

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

We store your personal data on secure servers located in India and internationally with appropriate technical and organizational measures in place to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction.

Our security measures include:

• SSL encryption on all data transmissions
• Password-protected and access-controlled internal systems
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
• Staff training on data protection and confidentiality
• Two-factor authentication on sensitive platforms
• Physical security controls at all our office locations

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with legal obligations or to resolve disputes. Retention periods: Active student files for 7 years after completion of services, Enquiry data for 2 years from last contact, Financial and visa documents for 7 years as required by law, Website analytics data for 26 months.

We respect your rights over your personal data. You have the following rights:

• Right to Access — you may request a copy of all personal information we hold about you at any time
• Right to Correction — you may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information
• Right to Deletion — you may request deletion of your personal data subject to our legal retention obligations
• Right to Withdrawal of Consent — you may withdraw consent for marketing communications or non-essential data processing at any time
• Right to Data Portability — you may request your data in a structured commonly used machine-readable format
• Right to Restrict Processing — you may request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances
• Right to Object — you may object to processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes

Our services are primarily intended for students aged 16 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 without verifiable parental consent. If you are under 16, please have a parent or guardian contact us on your behalf.

If we discover that we have collected data from a child under 16 without parental consent, we will delete that data immediately upon discovery. Parents or guardians who believe their child has provided us with personal information may contact us at privacy@gieducationoverseas.com to have the data removed.

The nature of our business requires us to transfer your personal data to universities, visa authorities and partner organizations located outside India including in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Ireland, South Korea and other countries. Each of these transfers is made only for the specific purpose of processing your application or delivering a requested service.

We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for international data transfers including contractual protections with receiving parties and compliance with applicable data protection regulations.

Our website contains links to third-party websites including university portals, visa application portals, scholarship databases and partner platforms. These links are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any third-party website. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every external website you visit.

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. When we make changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify registered users by email and display a prominent notice on our website homepage.

Your continued use of our website or services after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

We welcome questions, concerns and requests related to this Privacy Policy.