Privacy policy

1. Who we are

IsraelExpat (“IsraelExpat”, “we”, “us”) helps yeshivas and seminaries in Israel, and the families of their students, obtain A/2 student visas. This policy explains how we handle personal information collected through israelexpat.com, our forms and dashboard, and by email, phone and WhatsApp.

It covers people who visit our site, program staff who enroll a program, and the parents, guardians and students whose visa applications we handle. IsraelExpat is responsible for the personal information described here. You can reach us using the details in section 15.

2. Information we collect

When a program enrolls

• The contact person’s name, email address and phone number
• The program’s name in English and Hebrew and its registration number
• The full Hebrew name of the program head
• The program’s logo and letterhead header and footer, which we use to issue the Ishur Limudim
• Whether parents or the program pay for visas

When a student visa application is prepared

An application is completed by a parent or guardian, by the student, or by program staff on the student’s behalf. Depending on the student’s situation, we collect:

• The name, email address and phone number of the person completing the application
• The student’s legal name, date of birth, country of birth, passport number and passport issue and expiry dates
• The parents’ legal names and dates of birth, the mother’s maiden name, and whether either parent is an Israeli citizen
• Family status and, where relevant, a marriage certificate
• The student’s program, whether the student is already in Israel, and the arrival date
• Whether an earlier Israeli visa application was refused
• Religious affiliation and supporting documents, only where the visa application requires them
• Uploaded documents: the passport photo page, the birth certificate, and any other document the authority requires for that student, such as an existing Ishur Limudim or a parent’s visa

Accounts

To use the dashboard you create an account with your name, email address, a username and a password. Account passwords are stored as one-way hashes. You can also choose to receive occasional updates from IsraelExpat; this is off unless you tick the box.

When you contact us or book a call

Our contact form asks for your name, email address and message, and optionally your phone number and website. If you email, call or message us on WhatsApp, we receive whatever you send. Calls are booked through a Google Calendar appointment page, where Google processes the details you enter.

Payments

When you pay by card, the card details go to our payment processor, accept.blue, which charges the card. We receive confirmation of the payment, the amount, the card type and last four digits, and the billing name, email address, postal code and country. We do not store full card numbers or security codes. The same applies when a program pays for its students.

Information collected automatically

• Technical information your browser sends, such as IP address, browser and device type, the pages you visit, the referring page and the time of your visit, recorded in server logs
• With each form submission, the IP address, browser details and the page the form was submitted from
• Information from cookies and similar technologies, described in section 12

Information we create

While handling an application we create records such as the Ishur Limudim letter, the completed visa application forms, notes about missing documents, the status of each step, payment records and a copy of the issued visa.

3. Sensitive information

Some of the information we handle is sensitive: passport numbers and other government identifiers, religious affiliation, immigration status and history, and information about students under 18. We collect it only because a visa application requires it, we limit which members of our team can see it, and we never use it for marketing.

4. How we use information

• To prepare, check and submit student visa applications to Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, and follow each one through to the issued visa
• To issue the Ishur Limudim on the program’s letterhead
• To set up and manage program accounts, rosters and dashboards, and to confirm with the program that a student has arrived before we file
• To take payments, issue receipts and keep financial records
• To tell programs and families about progress, missing documents and when a visa is ready, and to remind you when a renewal is due
• To keep files so we can handle the student’s next renewal
• To answer questions and provide support
• To protect our service, prevent fraud and spam, and keep our systems secure
• To understand, in aggregate, how the site is used so we can improve it
• To send occasional updates, only if you asked for them
• To comply with the law and enforce our agreements

5. Legal bases for EEA and UK residents

If the GDPR or UK GDPR applies to you, we rely on these legal bases:

• Contract: to provide the visa service that you or your program asked for, including payment
• Legal obligation: to keep financial records and respond to lawful requests
• Legitimate interests: to run and secure our service, keep files for renewals and improve the site, where those interests are not outweighed by your rights
• Consent: for marketing emails, and your explicit consent for sensitive information such as religious affiliation. You can withdraw consent at any time; this does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it

6. Who we share information with

We share personal information only as far as needed to provide the service:

• Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, which decides visa applications
• Agents who file applications with the authority on our behalf. Each receives the file for the student they are handling
• The student’s program. The program sees its roster, each student’s application status and arrival confirmation, and anything its own staff submitted
• The parent or guardian who completed the application, and the student it concerns
• Service providers that process information for us under our instructions: website hosting (Kinsta, running on Google Cloud), payment processing (accept.blue), email delivery, PDF document generation, spam protection (Google reCAPTCHA), site analytics (Google Analytics) and workplace tools (Google Workspace and Asana)
• Authorities, courts or others when the law requires it, or to protect rights, safety or property
• A successor organization if our service is reorganized, merged or sold, which must continue to protect the information as this policy describes

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for advertising.

7. International transfers

Our team is in Israel and our service providers operate in several countries, including the United States and member states of the European Union, so your information may be stored and processed outside the country where you live. Where the law requires it, we rely on safeguards for these transfers, such as adequacy decisions (the European Commission recognizes Israel as providing adequate protection) or standard contractual clauses.

8. How long we keep information

• Visa application files and documents: while the student is with a participating program, so we can handle renewals, and for 12 months after the student’s most recent visa expires. We then delete or anonymize them
• Program enrollment records: while the program is enrolled and for 12 months after it leaves
• Payment and accounting records: as long as tax and accounting law requires, generally seven years
• Messages to us: up to two years after we answer
• Accounts: until you ask us to close yours, or until the records linked to it are deleted

Deleted information can remain in our hosting provider’s backups for a short period until they are overwritten. We may keep information longer when the law requires it or to resolve a dispute.

9. How we protect information

• Every page and form is served over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection
• Application files are open only to the staff and agents who need them. Staff sign in with their own login. An agent receives download links for the student they are handling, and the links stop working after 7 days
• Card details are handled by our payment processor, and we do not store full card numbers or security codes
• We back up our systems regularly and keep our software up to date

No method of storing or sending information is completely secure. If a breach affects your information, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.

10. Students under 18

Some students we serve are under 18. We collect their information from a parent or guardian, or from their program, in order to apply for the student’s visa. A parent or guardian can review, correct or ask us to delete their child’s information. Our site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information directly from them.

11. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Get a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correct information that is wrong or incomplete
• Ask us to delete information, except records the law requires us to keep or information needed for an application that is still in progress
• Object to, or ask us to limit, certain uses
• Receive information you gave us in a portable format
• Withdraw consent you have given

These rights come from laws such as Israel’s Protection of Privacy Law, the GDPR and UK GDPR, and privacy laws in some US states. To make a request, contact us using the details in section 15. We may need to confirm your identity first, and we will respond within 30 days. If you are asking on someone else’s behalf, such as your child, please tell us.

Marketing: we send updates only if you opted in. Every update has an unsubscribe link, or you can ask us to stop. You will still receive messages about an application in progress.

Complaints: you can complain to Israel’s Privacy Protection Authority or, in the EEA or UK, to your local data protection authority. We would appreciate the chance to put things right first.

12. Cookies and similar technologies

• Essential cookies keep you signed in and keep forms working. The dashboard does not work without them
• Analytics: Google Analytics measures visits and form use. It sets cookies and receives your IP address. You can block it in your browser settings or with Google’s opt-out browser add-on
• Spam protection: Google reCAPTCHA checks that form submissions come from people. Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply to it
• Fonts: our pages load fonts from Google Fonts, which receives your IP address

You can control cookies in your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may stop sign-in and forms from working.

13. Other websites

Our site links to other services, such as Google Calendar for booking calls. Their own privacy policies apply when you use them.

14. Changes to this policy

We will update this page when our practices change and change the date at the top. If a change is significant, we will also tell account holders by email or on the dashboard.

15. Contact us

For privacy questions or requests, send us a message and mention privacy, or contact us at:

IsraelExpat
500 Westover Drive #10898, Sanford, NC 27330, USA
US (862) 319-8456 · Israel +972 3 376-8959