Disclaimer and Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Scope
LLC Visa management service (hereinafter referred to as ‘VMS’) provides support services to the Consular Authority (hereinafter referred to also as ‘Diplomatic Mission’) concerned in relation to non-discretionary aspects of the receipt and handling of visa applications (hereinafter referred to as ‘Visa Application Services’).VMS is a commercial company authorized by the Italian General Consulate in Moscow and the Italian General Consulate in Saint Petersburg to provide Visa Application Services in the Russian Federation.
In such capacity, VMS acts in the Russian Federation as a data processor of the respective Diplomatic Mission/s and as the data controller. This Disclaimer provides summary information regarding how VMS in Russia collects, uses, discloses and manages personal information related to the visas application process and to the provision of such information to the Consular Authority concerned.
Purpose of collection, use, disclosure of Personal Information
Applicants may be required to provide certain information pertaining to them such as name, photograph, address, date of birth, telephone number, passport information, birth certificate, personal income, citizenship status, marital status, and employment details (hereinafter referred to as ‘Personal Information’. This information is collected as per the requirements of the Consular Authority concerned.
Such Personal Information may be collected, used or disclosed in order to facilitate the processing of visa applications including, but not limited to, for the following purposes:
- Process applications and travel documents received for various categories of visa;
- Respond to various inquiries on the visa application submission process in general;
- Respond to various inquiries regarding status of applications made.
Provision of Personal Information is voluntary. Please note, however, that a refusal to provide any Personal Information may limit or affect the ability of VMS in the Russian Federation to provide the requested services.
As per the directive of the Consular Authority concerned, VMS may provide various facilities for the receipt and handling of inquiries related to the visa application process in general or the status of visa applications submitted through VMS, such as call center, online tracking and e-mail.
Users making inquiries regarding the status of visa application submitted through VMS can quote contract number and date of birth to receive an update on the status of their visa application.
Users making inquiries regarding the visa application process should not ask or reveal the passport number or any other Personal Information while interacting via email with VMS. The use of the application contract number is advised instead. In case an applicant discloses any Personal Information, he will do so at his/her own risk, and VMS will not be in any manner responsible for any events of misuse. VMS shall not be responsible to ascertain the legitimacy or accuracy of the information provided by the applicant. It shall be the duty of the applicant to ensure that the information provided to VMS is accurate, complete and up to date.
It must be noted that the grant or refusal of a visa is at the sole discretion of the Consular Authority concerned; it means that the grant or refusal of a visa is a fact that fully depends on the decision concluded by the Consular Authority concerned. VMS is not liable or responsible in any manner whatsoever for any delay in processing by Consular Authority, or for the fact that a visa is granted or a visa application rejected by the Consular Authority concerned, which reserves the right to ask for further documentation and to refuse granting a visa.
Disclosure of Personal Information
VMS will not exchange Personal Information of applicants. Personal Information will only be used for the purposes of providing Visa Application Services.
However VMS may be required to disclose and share Personal Information when it is necessary to comply with a court order, or other legal, statutory or regulatory process served on VMS.
Service Provider Arrangements
VMS may make available Personal Information to third party service providers providing services such as courier delivery and SMS. Such third party service providers are given access to such information only to the extent necessary to perform their defined functions and are not authorized to use or disclose Personal Information for any other purposes. VMS discloses to third party providers of express courier services information about the applicants’ name and surname, address and phone number. Such information is not provided to the SMS service provider. All third party service providers are legally bound to comply with the security and privacy regulations established by VMS and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Short Messaging Service Disclaimer
The short messaging service is provided to visa applicants who wish to have an update on the status of their application.
The time to deliver the SMS is dependent on several factors such as upon the traffic on the mobile network; whether the applicant’s mobile phone is switched on and within reach; whether the phone of the applicant has been switched off or out of coverage over 24 hours; whether the memory of the phone is full (applicable mostly for old phones); whether the subscriber has activated an option of spam filter. As a result, VMS is not in a position to guarantee a maximum time to delivery of an SMS by the network operator.
Application Form Filling Disclaimer
The application form filling service is available to visa applicants as a paid additional service.
VMS staff inputs the information as provided by the applicant. It shall be the duty of the Applicant to ensure that the information provided to VMS is accurate, complete and up to date. VMS personnel staff inputs the information on the visa application form as provided by the applicant and cannot be held responsible for the authenticity of the information provided by the visa applicant. VMS is not involved in the process of making a decision about issuing a visa, which is at the sole discretion of the Consular Authority concerned.
Cookies
Cookies are files or pieces of information that may be stored on system or internet-enabled devices of the user, such as those utilised when the user visits a VMS website. VMS uses cookies to make its websites simpler to use. VMS cannot identify the user personally from the information represented by cookies.
VMS website offers certain features that are only available through the use of cookies.
Most cookies are “session cookies,” meaning that they are automatically deleted from the website user’s hard drive at the end of a session, i.e. when the applicant/user exits the website. However “Persistent cookies” remain in place across multiple visits to the websites of VMS.
Once a user accesses a website of VMS, the user is asked to provide consent to the use of cookies by VMS. If the user does not agree to the use of cookies, the user should not use a website of VMS. In case the cookies are disabled, it may impact the user experience on the website/s of VMS.
Retention and Destruction of Personal Information
Application packages collected by VMS from applicants will not be copied or retained by VMS. Unless otherwise mandated by the Consular Authority concerned, any other paper, hard copies, forms or other records containing Personal Information will be destroyed by a secure shredding process immediately after a passport’s return to an applicant.
VMS performs secure disposal or destruction of Personal Information on any equipment or devices used for storing such information. When disposing of equipment or devices used for storing Personal Information (such as filing cabinets, computers, diskettes, and audio tapes), VMS takes all appropriate measures to ensure the complete removal or deletion of any stored Personal Information, in order to prevent access by unauthorized parties.
Legal obligations regarding disclosure of Personal information
VMS and its third party service providers/vendors may provide Personal Information in response to a search warrant or other legally valid inquiry pursuant to a contravention of law/order, or to an investigative body, or as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law. VMS may also disclose Personal Information where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, or as otherwise permitted by law of land and EU rules and regulations.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
VMS reserves the right to make additions or modifications or alterations to these “Terms of Service” at any given time; hence applicants are advised to visit the VMS website in order to access the latest information.