Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for iraplegalinfo.org and IRAP Help Chatbot

Last Revised: January 27, 2023

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) uses (1) the Site and (2) the IRAP Help chatbot to provide legal information to refugees and to identify individuals for possible legal support. This Policy and Terms of Use describes our privacy practices and the terms of use governing the Site and Chatbot.

Where a translation of this document conflicts with the English version, the English version will govern.

 

Privacy Policy

International Refugee Assistance Project and its affiliates share your concern about protecting your personal information online. This Privacy Policy explains how we use and maintain the privacy of personal information. We may need to change the Policy to address new issues and reflect changes on the Site, the Chatbot, or in the law. Please bookmark this page and review it periodically so that you are familiar with the most current version of the Policy. We will post all changes to the Policy here about:

• What information we gather
• How we use that information, and
• When we will disclose that information to third parties.

You can tell when we updated this Policy by checking the last revised date on the top of this page.

If you no longer want us to use your personal information as described in this Policy, please see the "Your Rights" section of this Policy. We may not be able to provide our services to you if we cannot process certain personal information.

This Policy refers to:

• International Refugee Assistance Project as “IRAP”, “we”, “us” or “our.”
• This Privacy Policy as the “Policy.”
• The IRAP Legal Info website (iraplegalinfo.org) as the “Site.”
• The IRAP Help Chatbot as the “Chatbot.”

There are two important definitions for you to understand about this Policy:

• "Personal information" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual. Examples include your name, contact information, and information relating to your immigration status.
• "Data Protection Legislation" means the laws that apply to processing of personal information and/or privacy. This includes without limitation and to the extent applicable, the UK Data Protection Act 2018, the UK GDPR and the EU GDPR.
  • "EU GDPR" means the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679).
  • "UK GDPR" means the EU GDPR as implemented in UK law following the UK's departure from the EU (as defined in the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/419).

For the purposes of the UK GDPR and the EU GDPR, the "controller" for your personal information is:

International Refugee Assistance Project

One Battery Park Plaza, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10004

This broadly means that we decide how your personal information is used. This includes deciding what information might be helpful to you based on the information that you provide to us.

 

Data Collection and Privacy. This Policy applies to personal information we collect on or through the Site or Chatbot, and personal information that we collect in other ways, such as:

• Offline
• On any other website operated by IRAP.
• Via email or through any third party application.
• From any third party. This includes through any application, content, or advertising that links to our website and any websites that this Site or Chatbot link to.
• That you provide to us so we can assist you and/or provide that information to relevant third parties to assist you.
• Through any other means and that you may otherwise provide to us.

 

Information We Collect and Track on the Site and via the Chatbot.

 IRAP collects and retains two types of personal information about Site visitors:

1. Personal information that individual visitors voluntarily provide on the Site or Chatbot, including via forms; and
2. Tracking data, which is automatically collected from every Site or Chatbot visitor.

IRAP attempts to collect only the information that we need to respond to your request. The Site does not collect your name or contact information. The Chatbot collects your name or contact information where you provide it. No user of the Chatbot is required to share information like name and contact information over the Chatbot.

Some Chatbot users will have the option to share contact information with IRAP so that IRAP can follow up with their request. If you are such a user, you are not required to share that information. If you do not provide that information, you will still be directed to any appropriate legal information. If you do not provide such information, IRAP may be unable to provide any further help or follow up with your request.

Where you choose to share such information with us, the personal information that we gather may includes:

• Your name.
• Address.
• Telephone number.
• Email address.
• Your nationality.

We may also collect certain tracking data from your use of our Site and Chatbot. This data helps us improve our services, including any services we provide to you, and helps us reach other people who might need our help. This includes:

• Information about the number and frequency of users to the Site and Chatbot.
• The Site webpages and Chatbot pathways that users visited.
• The websites that users access before and after they visit the Site and Chatbot.
• The time and duration of users’ visits to the Site.
• Information regarding the device and browser used to access the Site and Chatbot. This includes the internet software used by our users to access the Site and Chatbot.
• Users’ IP addresses and internet service providers.

IRAP attempts to aggregate the above data so that it is not tied to you in a way that is identifiable. Due to the nature of the internet, aggregating data is not always feasible. Therefore, some of this information may constitute your personal information. 

 

Information We Collect for the Provision of our Services to you.

 If you or your organisation supports one of our users in the UK or EU or is one of our EU or UK suppliers or other business partners, you or your organisation may provide us with further personal information in the ordinary course to administer our relationship. This could include business contact details to discuss our users' or our requirements, administer our relationship or to otherwise contact you. Some of this personal data may be collected from public sources, such as your or your organisation's website.

 

Legal requirements and other business purposes. We may process certain personal information in connection with our legal rights or obligations, such as if we suspect that a user maliciously accessed our Site or Chatbot.

 

Special category and criminal offence data. Under Data Protection Legislation we have greater obligations in relation to processing special category and criminal offence data. "Special category" data is defined in the Data Protection Legislation. It means any information relating to an individual's:

• Racial or ethnic origin;
• Political opinions;
• Religious or philosophical beliefs;
• Trade union membership;
• Physical or mental health or condition;
• Sex life;
• Sexual orientation; and
• Biometric information.

IRAP will only ever process any such information in very limited circumstances, such as set out below. IRAP takes our responsibilities in relation to such sensitive data very seriously. IRAP will only retain it for as long as strictly necessary and then delete such information.

• Where you choose to let us know that you have a spouse, partner or child and that reveals certain information about your sex life or sexual orientation.
• Where we suspect our Site or Chatbot is being accessed for malicious or criminal purposes.
• If you are directed to us by an EU or UK organization, foundation, association or another not-for-profit body with a political, philosophical, religious or trade union aim, and that reveals certain information or you otherwise choose to let us know.
• If you are a contact of ours at an EU or UK organization, foundation, association, or any other not-for-profit body with a political, philosophical, religions, or trade union aim, and that reveals certain information or otherwise choose to let us know.
• Where you provide us with information about your mental or physical condition because it is relevant for our services.

 

How We Use Your Personal Information. We use the information we collect to provide, maintain, and improve our services, Site and Chatbot. We may also use your personal data to:

• Respond to your submissions, requests or correspondence.
• Analyze your information to serve you in the best manner possible on our Site and Chatbot and to provide you with useful information.
• Provide you with support and information about refugee resettlement or other immigration pathways.
• Where you are a member or staff member of an EU or UK organization that assists us or our users in accessing your organization's services, communicate with you about our users and your services.
• Conduct Site and Chatbot analytics, monitor and analyze trends, usage and activities in connection with our Website, Chatbot and other services.
• Prevent malicious or criminal use of our Site and Chatbot.
• Link or combine with information we get from others to help understand your needs and provide you and them with a better service.
• Carry out any other purpose described to you at the time the information was collected or reasonably notified to you.

 

Third Parties.

We will not disclose any of your personal information to third parties, except:

• To parties who perform services for us. This includes third parties like Zendesk, Zapier, Podio, and Salesforce. More information is below under the “Third Parties that support our Site and Chatbot” section;
• To our third party partners who support us in the services we provide to you, such as nonprofits providing other legal services or humanitarian assistance;
• To other third parties who can assist you further following counselling, where we have your explicit consent to do so;
• To third parties that we need to provide our services, such as legal counsel, UNHCR, or the government immigration department where you wish to apply for immigration;
• When we believe that such disclosure is required by law;
• To enforce this Policy and the below Terms of Use;
• To protect the rights, property, security or safety of IRAP, IRAP staff, Site or Chatbot users or the public;
• To defend against a formal legal or disciplinary complaint against IRAP or a lawyer;
• To respond to an emergency; or
• As otherwise stated in this Policy.

 

IRAP will never sell your personal information. IRAP may provide certain aggregated data to other similar organizations so that we can work together to enhance and expand our services.

 

Third Parties that support our Site and Chatbot

We employ third-party service providers like Zendesk and TextIt to operate the Site and Chatbot. These third parties perform functions on our behalf. These include sending e-mail, analyzing data, and other administrative tasks. These third parties have access to information needed to perform their functions. IRAP will take reasonable steps to limit these third parties to using the Information solely to provide such services. IRAP will take reasonable steps to ensure that these third parties treat your data securely in accordance with this Policy.

 

At your request or with your consent

We may also disclose Information to certain third parties if you have requested or authorized the disclosure of such Information. You may withdraw your consent for this disclosure by contacting us using the details at the end of this Policy. We may also disclose aggregated Information that does not identify an individual without restriction.

 

Minors and Children Under the Age of 13.

Our Site and Chatbot

Our Site and Chatbot are not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under age 13 may provide any Information to or on the Site or Chatbot. If you are under 13:

• Do not use this Site or Chatbot.
• Do not provide any Information on this Site or Chatbot or through its features.
• Do not provide any Information about yourself to us. This includes your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any username you may use.

 

If you are aged 13 or older, and under the age of 18 (or the age of majority in your state or country of residence, if higher than 18) you should not use or provide information on the Site or Chatbot without parent or guardian consent and supervision.

 

Personal information collected by means other than the Site or Chatbot

Where we provide ongoing support to a user, we may collect or retain limited personal information relating to individuals under 16. This limited personal information would be in connection with that ongoing support, such as where they are a dependent on one of our users.

 

Deletion of personal information relating to children

If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at privacy@refugeerights.org.

 

Cookies and Other Electronic Technologies. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that is placed on your computer’s hard drive when you visit certain websites. We may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your access to and use of the Site. For example, we may use cookies or other technologies that:

• Allow you to navigate and use all the features provided by our Site;
• Customize elements of the layout and/or content within the Site and remember that you have visited us before;
• Identify the number of unique visitors we receive;
• Allow us to provide you with a customized experience; and
• Inform us how you use the Site, how long you spend on the Site, and your route of navigation to and from the Site. We collect this information so that we can improve the Site and learn which functions of the Site are most popular with users.

As we adopt additional technologies, we may also gather other information through other methods and update this policy accordingly.

Most web and mobile device browsers automatically accept cookies. If you prefer, you can change your browser to prevent that or to notify you each time a cookie is set. You can also learn more about cookies, including how to block and disable cookies, by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org.

By blocking or disabling cookies, you may not have access to certain features or functions of the Site.

 

Legal Basis for Processing your Personal Information

We will process your personal information on the following legal bases under Data Protection Legislation:

• Where processing such information is in our or a third party's legitimate interests and they are not overridden by your interests. For example, to communicate with you about changes to our services, and to provide, secure, or improve our Site, Chatbot or services.
• Where it is necessary for us to comply with our own legal obligations. For example, if we are required to produce reports in connection with our charitable status.
• Where it is necessary to protect your or another person's vital interests. For example, we may process your legal information if you fall ill while we are supporting you and we need to provide medical information to a healthcare professional.
• Where we otherwise have your consent to do so, such as to assess eligibility for an immigration pathway.

In the limited circumstances where we might process special category personal data, we will only do so where:

• You have given us your consent to do so, such as where you have chosen to let us know about your dependents and that reveals information about your sexual orientation.
• Where necessary for us to carry out our obligations to our staff, such as to ensure that they have a safe and positive working environment.
• Where it is necessary to protect your or another person's vital interests and you are unable to provide your consent, such as set out above.
• Where you have manifestly made that information public, such as if you are a public member of a religious or political group.
• Where we need to do so to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim, such as where we are advancing your legal claims.
• Where it is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic.

We may also process your criminal offence data where it is in our legitimate interests and we need to do so for:

• The prevention or detection of unlawful acts, fraud, terrorist financing or money laundering.
• To protect your or another's vital interests.
• In connection with a legal claim, such as where we suspect that you may have committed fraud or a crime against us, our staff, or another user.

 

Global Transfer of Data. As we are based in the U.S., any personal information you provide to us will be transferred to the US. Your data may also be transferred to and accessed by employees of IRAP who are based outside of the UK or the US and certain of our suppliers may also host your data outside of the UK and US. We may also transfer your personal information to your country of residence to use and store your personal information as described in this Policy. By submitting your Information, you acknowledge this transfer, storage or processing. Where we do transfer personal data from our systems in the UK to our systems or third parties located outside the UK, we will only do so in accordance with the applicable Data Protection Legislation:

• UK Data Protection Legislation (including the UK GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act 2018) applies and the transfer is to a country which the UK Government adequately considers and, upon completion of a transfer risk assessment, IRAP considers the laws and measures which are in place in the relevant jurisdiction to which the Information is intended to be transferred to to be sufficient (noting in particular, whether there are any laws or practices which may impinge upon the safeguards of the Standard Contractual Clauses);
• EU Data Protection Legislation (including the EU GDPR) applies and the transfer is to a country which has been assessed by the European Commission as ensuring an adequate level of protection for personal data;
• A written agreement has been entered into between the relevant parties which incorporates the "model clauses" as approved by the UK Parliament (e.g. by way of an adequacy decision, a written contract containing the European Commission standard contractual clauses, the UK international data transfer agreement or UK addendum, copies of which can be found on the UK Information Commissioner's website) to protect your personal data as required by Data Protection Legislation; or
• Where an exemption applies, such as where such transfer is made at your request.

We recognize the importance of protecting personal information. We require all our personnel, offices and affiliates to comply with this Policy, subject to their compliance with local law requirements.

 

Transfer of Information to Third Parties Upon a Sale or Change of Control. We retain the right to transfer or assign all Information if IRAP or its assets has a merger, purchase or other transaction. We would transfer your Information only if the assignee or purchaser agrees to follow this Policy and to use your Information in the same way that we were permitted to use it.

 

Security and Retention of Your Information. We take reasonable precautions to protect your Information from loss, misuse or alteration. We will only keep your Information for as long as we reasonably require. We maintain reasonable physical, electronic and procedural safeguards for your Information. There is no such thing as “perfect security” on the internet. We cannot guarantee the security of your Information.

 

Your Rights. You have certain rights in relation to your personal information. For example, you have the right to request that we erase your personal information (or part thereof) at any time. We will comply with such a request unless we have a lawful reason to keep your information (for example, to comply with our legal obligations). You also have the rights, subject to certain exemptions, to:

• See the personal information that we hold about you.
• Withdraw any consent you may have given to us to hold and use that personal information.
• Ask us to make any changes to ensure that any personal information we hold about you is accurate and up to date.
• Object to or request that we restrict our processing of your personal information.
• In some cases, ask us to transfer any personal information you have provided to us to a specified third party.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the email address below. We may not be able to provide our services to you if we cannot process certain personal information.

Ensure that any personal information you provide us with is accurate and complete. Notify us of any changes to your personal information as soon as possible so that we can update our records.

If you feel we have not handled your personal information correctly, we hope you contact IRAP first. If IRAP is not able to sort the problem, you also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office, the data protection regulator in the UK, or, in cases where the EU GDPR applies, one of the competent European data protection regulators: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en.

 

Profiling and Automated Decision-Making

Our Chatbot uses certain automated decision-making and profiling, as defined under Data Protection Legislation. This helps us assess what information might be helpful for you and whether we can help you. This helps us reach as many users as possible. It also helps us to quickly identify and inform you if we will not be able to help you. The Chatbot will ask you a series of decisions about:

• Your nationality.
• Your current residence.
• Your eligibility for potential immigration pathways. This can be based on things like:
  • Relatives in another location with whom you may be able to reunite
  • Employment that may make you eligible for immigration; and
  • Significant humanitarian need. This includes things like urgent and direct threats or a life-threatening medical condition that can be treated in another location.

We have designed the questions asked by our Chatbot to identify whether a person might be eligible for an immigration pathway in which we might be able to provide legal help. For example, we may be able to help you if you have a close relative living in another country. People who are in their country of origin may not be eligible for some pathways intended for refugees.

Please provide us with feedback about your experience with our Chatbot.

In addition, in accordance with Data Protection Legislation, you can contact us if you do not agree with the outcome from your discussion with our Chatbot. Email us at privacy@refugeerights.org and write “Chatbot Outcome” in the subject line. IRAP keeps a record of all occasions when a user contested their Chatbot outcome, discussions of these requests, and the decisions IRAP made based on those requests.

 

Other Communications. We may email Site or Chatbot users information about important developments. We will only send these communications where we have a legal basis for doing so. For example, we may remind you about your appointments with us. If you have signed up to such communications, we may also send you communications about how we or our partners can help and the types of services we/they offer. You may opt out of these emails by following instructions in the emails or contacting us using the details at the end of this Policy.

 

How You Can Update or Correct Your Information and Contact the Site. You can find out what Information we hold about you by emailing IRAP at website@refugeerights.org. If any of the data we hold about you is incorrect, you can ask us to update it. Contact us at website@refugeerights.org if you have any questions, concerns, or requests about our use of your Information, the Site, the Chatbot or this Policy.

For circumstances where the UK GDPR or the EU GDPR applies, please contact IRAP at:

 

International Refugee Assistance Project Berlin gGmbH

Dudenstr. 10, Eingang B

10965 Berlin

Germany

privacy@refugeerights.org

 

 

 

Terms of Use

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY OF THESE TERMS OF USE, DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE OR CHATBOT

About IRAP’s Services. This service and all services from IRAP are free. IRAP is independent from UNHCR, IOM, the U.S. government, and any other government. IRAP cannot approve or speed up your case.

Using this Site and/or Chatbot does not mean that IRAP is your lawyer. Using this Site or Chatbot is not a replacement for a lawyer. IRAP cannot guarantee that all of the information in this tool is completely current. This Site and Chatbot provide general legal information, not specific legal advice for your case. IRAP does not form an attorney-client relationship unless you have a signed agreement with IRAP for legal help.

 

Links to Third-Party Sites. The Site and Chatbot contain links to sites owned and operated by other parties. We are not responsible for those sites. We have no control over the privacy policies or terms of use of those sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies and terms of use of those sites prior to providing them with any information. You agree that IRAP is not responsible, directly or indirectly for any damage or loss caused by using third-party websites.

 

Ownership of Content. All text, images, graphics, sounds and software code (“Content”) on the Site and Chatbot are copyrighted property of IRAP, its affiliates or others. No part of the Content may be placed in the public domain. You may not reproduce, redistribute, publish or otherwise use by electronic or any other means any of the Content without our prior written consent.

 

Trademarks. IRAP, International Refugee Assistance Project and other marks indicated on the Site and Chatbot are the trademarks and/or service marks of IRAP or its affiliates. They may not be used or displayed without the prior written consent of IRAP or the appropriate right holder. All other trademarks, service marks and company names and logos appearing on the Site are the property of their respective owners.

 

Limitation of Liability.

The Site and Chatbot are made available to you “AS IS” without any warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory. We disclaim all warranties with respect to the Site and Chatbot to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law. This includes disclaiming implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, title, that use of the Site and Chatbot will be uninterrupted or error-free.

Except where you are accessing our services from the UK or EU or another jurisdiction where such exclusions are not possible, IRAP and its affiliates, officers, agents, partners and employees shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, resulting from:

• The use or the inability to use the Site or Chatbot and services;
• Any information or services obtained or messages received or transactions entered into through the Site or Chatbot; or
• Unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions of data.

IRAP disclaims liability for any damages including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, use, data or other intangibles, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

If you are dissatisfied with any portion of the Site or Chatbot, or with any of these terms of use, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using this Site.

Internet communication is not always secure. It is possible that the information you supply to us or your access of any information via the Site or Chatbot, even if encrypted, will be intercepted during transmission. We cannot be liable for any breach of our systems or interception of our transmission. We fully disclaim any liability associated with any claim relating to a breach of security, data or information, to the fullest extent provided under law.

 

Exceptions for users located in the UK and EU

Nothing in these terms of use will exclude or limit our liability for fraud, death or personal injury caused by our negligence or any other matter that it would be illegal for us to (or to attempt to) exclude or limit.

We will not be liable for any unforeseeable losses (being losses that we cannot foresee at the time of your use of the Site and/or Chatbot) or any losses caused by you or where you are at fault.

Our maximum aggregate liability for all damages, losses and causes of action, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise in respect of your use of our Site, shall be USD100.

 

Exceptions for users located in certain other jurisdictions

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.

 

Compliance With Laws. We reserve the right to disclose any Information to comply with any law, regulation, decree, judgment, order, subpoena or any other governmental order (“Order”) without any obligation to contest or verify the accuracy of such Order.

 

Applicable Law. Except where you are accessing our services from the UK or EU, these terms of use will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to any principles of conflicts of law. You agree that any action at law or in equity that arises out of or relates to any use of the Site and Chatbot will be filed only in the state or federal courts located in New York County. You hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action.

 

Exception for users located in the UK and EU

Your use of the Site and Chatbot is governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom or the EU member state from which you are accessing our Site and Chatbot. All legal proceedings shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

 

Events beyond our reasonable control. We will not be responsible for any failure to fulfil any obligation due to any cause beyond its control. Where we are prevented by applicable, law, regulation, government order or similar requirements from enabling the proper functioning of the Site and/or Chatbot, for example during or in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic, we will provide you (to the extent reasonably practicable) with reasonable notice in advance.

Amendments to these terms. We reserve the rights to amend and vary these terms of use at any time. We ask that you please revisit this page each time you use our Site or Chatbot so that you are aware of any updates to these terms.

Miscellaneous. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these terms of use will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If a court holds any provision of these terms of use be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of these terms of use will remain in effect. These terms of use constitute the entire agreement between us about this Site and Chatbot. These terms of use supersede and replace any prior agreements we might have between us about this Site or Chatbot. You understand that overuse or abuse of the Site or Chatbot may result in you being denied access to such facilities.

Contact us. Please contact us at website@refugeerights.org if you have any questions, concerns or requests about our use of these terms of use, the Site or the Chatbot.

 

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) provides free legal help to some refugees and displaced people.  IRAP helps some people find services and prepare refugee and visa applications.  IRAP is not part of any government, IOM, or UNHCR.  IRAP cannot grant refugee status or visas or speed up cases.  IRAP cannot provide financial help, find or pay for housing, or find jobs. All of IRAP’s help is free. No one affiliated with IRAP has the right to ask you for money or any other service. IRAP decides to help people based on their need and eligibility for immigration status. IRAP does not decide to help people based on any other social or political or religious criteria. This website provides general information about legal processes available to some refugees. It is not meant as legal advice for individual applications.  Requirements may change. Always check for current requirements from the government or agency deciding your request. If you are in a refugee emergency, we recommend that you contact the UNHCR office in the country where you live.