Privacy Policy
Global Consultancy Services ("we," "our," or "the Company") is committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains in clear terms how we collect, use, store, and safeguard the information you provide to us when you visit our website, submit consultation requests, or engage with our education advisory services. We encourage you to read this document carefully and contact us if you have any questions.
Table of Contents
01 Information We Collect
We collect information that you voluntarily provide and information collected automatically when you use our website. The nature and scope of collection depends on how you interact with our platform and services.
Information You Provide Directly
When you complete a contact form, schedule a consultation, or reach out to us via email or phone, we may collect:
- Full name and preferred name
- Email address and phone number
- Country of residence and intended destination country for study
- Educational background, including degrees held and institutions attended
- Intended course of study and target universities or programs
- Passport nationality and visa history (where voluntarily shared)
- Financial information relevant to scholarship or funding inquiries
- Communications, notes, and documents you submit to us in connection with your consultation
Information Collected Automatically
When you navigate our website, our servers and third-party analytics tools may automatically collect certain technical information, including:
- IP address and approximate geographic location derived from it
- Browser type, operating system, and device identifiers
- Pages viewed, time spent on each page, and navigation paths
- Referring URLs and search terms used to reach our site
- Date, time, and duration of visits
This automatically collected data is used exclusively for improving website performance, understanding user behavior in aggregate, and ensuring the security of our platform.
02 How We Use Your Information
We process your personal information only for lawful, clearly defined purposes. We do not sell your information to third parties, and we do not use it for purposes beyond those described in this Policy without your prior consent.
Specifically, we use the information we collect to:
- Respond to your inquiries and schedule consultations with our advisors
- Provide personalized university shortlisting, application guidance, and visa counseling
- Prepare and review Statements of Purpose, Letters of Recommendation, and other application documents at your request
- Process applications to universities, scholarship bodies, and visa authorities on your behalf, where authorized
- Send you service-related communications, including appointment confirmations, document submission reminders, and application status updates
- Send periodic newsletters or service announcements, where you have opted in
- Maintain internal records and fulfill our obligations under applicable laws
- Analyze usage patterns to improve our website's design and functionality
- Detect and prevent fraudulent, unauthorized, or illegal activity
We rely on legitimate interests, contractual necessity, and, where required, explicit consent as legal bases for processing your data. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us at ravi@globalconsultancyservice.com.
04 Third-Party Services
In delivering our consultancy services, we may engage trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf and under contractual confidentiality obligations. We do not authorize these parties to use your data for their own commercial purposes.
These third parties may include:
- Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers that store our website data securely
- Email communication platforms used to send service notifications and newsletters
- CRM and case management software providers used to organize client consultations
- Payment processors who handle transaction data through encrypted, PCI-compliant systems
- University application portals and international student databases, where submissions are made at your explicit instruction
- Video conferencing platforms used for remote consultations (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet)
- Analytics platforms such as Google Analytics, operating under their respective privacy frameworks
We require all third-party processors to maintain adequate data protection standards, consistent with applicable privacy law. Where required under GDPR or similar regulations, we maintain signed Data Processing Agreements with these parties.
05 Data Security
We take the security of your personal information seriously. Global Consultancy Services implements a combination of organizational and technical safeguards designed to protect your data from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.
Our security measures include:
- SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our servers
- Restricted access to personal data, limited to staff members who require it for service delivery
- Regular software updates, security patches, and vulnerability assessments
- Confidentiality obligations for all employees and contractors handling client data
- Secure storage of physical documents where applicable
No method of electronic transmission or online storage is completely secure. While we implement industry-standard protections, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach affecting your rights and freedoms, we will notify you in accordance with applicable law.
06 Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods vary depending on the nature of the data and the services provided:
- Consultation records and application materials are retained for a minimum of three (3) years from the date of your last active engagement with our services.
- Financial transaction records may be retained for up to seven (7) years in accordance with tax and accounting regulations.
- Marketing and newsletter opt-in records are retained until you withdraw consent or unsubscribe, at which point they are deleted promptly.
- Website analytics data is retained in aggregate, anonymized form and does not have a fixed deletion schedule.
- General correspondence (emails, contact form submissions) is retained for up to two (2) years from the date of the last communication.
Upon expiry of applicable retention periods, your personal data is securely deleted or anonymized in accordance with our internal data management procedures.
07 Your Rights
Depending on your country of residence, you may have certain rights regarding the personal information we hold about you. We respect these rights and have processes in place to respond to requests in a timely manner.
Your rights may include:
- Right of Access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to Rectification: If your data is inaccurate or incomplete, you may request that we correct it.
- Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You may request deletion of your personal data, subject to our legal obligations and legitimate interests.
- Right to Restriction of Processing: You may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
- Right to Data Portability: Where applicable, you may request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Right to Object: You may object to processing of your data for marketing or legitimate interest purposes.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us in writing at ravi@globalconsultancyservice.com. We will respond within thirty (30) days of receiving your request. We may request verification of your identity before processing your request.
08 International Data Transfers
As an international education consultancy, our services inherently involve cross-border data flows. Your personal information may be transferred to, stored in, or processed in countries outside your country of residence, including the United States, countries within the European Economic Area, and various destination countries where our university and institutional partners are based.
Where such transfers involve countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as your home jurisdiction, we implement appropriate safeguards, including:
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by relevant data protection authorities
- Data Processing Agreements with all international sub-processors
- Transfers only to countries recognized as providing adequate protection under applicable law, where possible
By engaging our services, you acknowledge and consent to these international transfers as described above.
09 Children's Privacy
Our website and consultancy services are intended for individuals who are at least sixteen (16) years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16 without verified parental or guardian consent.
For students under 18 who seek our services, we strongly encourage parental involvement throughout the consultation process. Where a parent or legal guardian engages us on behalf of a minor, we treat the parent or guardian as the primary data subject and obtain their consent for any processing related to the student.
If you believe that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child without appropriate consent, please contact us immediately at ravi@globalconsultancyservice.com and we will take prompt steps to delete such data.
10 Policy Updates
We review and update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, applicable law, or regulatory guidance. When we make material changes to this Policy, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where feasible, notify active clients by email.
We encourage you to review this page each time you visit our website to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of our website following the posting of any revised Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.
Archived versions of previous policies are available upon request by contacting our team.
11 Contact Information
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are committed to addressing your concerns promptly and transparently.
Contact us at ravi@globalconsultancyservice.com.