Privacy Policy

Ireland Study Center is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use our platform, how we use it, who we share it with and your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) and applicable data protection laws.

Please read this policy carefully before submitting an application through our platform.

1. Who we are and data controller status

Arbix Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Ireland Study Center is operated by Arbix Ltd as an international student recruitment and educational support platform. Our company is registered in the UK, and our business operations, staff, authorised counsellors and support teams may operate from the UK, Pakistan or other countries.

Ireland Study Center is an international student recruitment and educational support platform that helps students explore Irish higher education options and submit applications to Irish universities and colleges. Our platform enables students to discover university programmes, submit applications online and receive updates about their application status through our platform, CRM, email, WhatsApp or authorised counsellor support.

For the purposes of UK GDPR and EU GDPR, Arbix Ltd, trading as Ireland Study Center, is the Data Controller responsible for the personal data you submit to our platform. We determine the purposes and means of processing your data during the application process.

However, once your application data and documents are transmitted to a university of your choosing, that university also becomes an independent Data Controller of your data. Your data transmitted to a university will additionally be subject to that university's own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any universities you apply to.

2. What data we collect

When you register, apply or interact with our platform we may collect the following personal data:

• Full name and date of birth
• Email address and phone number
• Country of origin and nationality
• Academic qualifications, transcripts and degree certificates
• Passport copy and identification documents
• English language test results (IELTS, PTE, TOEFL iBT, Duolingo, LanguageCert)
• CVs, personal statements, statements of purpose and recommendation letters
• Work experience documents and employment history
• Visa history and any previous visa refusal history
• Course preferences and application details
• Application status updates and communication history
• Login credentials for your student dashboard account
• Emergency contact details
• Referral source information and counsellor or sub-agent details
• WhatsApp communications, call notes and counsellor notes where relevant to your application
• Financial, sponsor, fee payment, education bond and accommodation documents where required for admission, visa guidance or application support

We also collect non-personal technical data including browser type, IP address, device information and pages visited through cookies and analytics tools to improve platform performance.

If you do not provide the information or documents needed for an application, we may not be able to assess your enquiry, provide counselling support or submit your application to your chosen university.

3. Where we receive your data from another source

In some cases, we may receive your personal data from an authorised referral partner, sub-agent, individual counsellor, English language training school or education consultant who referred you to Ireland Study Center. This may include your name, contact details, academic background, course interests and application documents.

Where we receive your data from a third party, we will only use it for enquiry handling, counselling, application processing and related student recruitment services.

4. How we use your data

We use your personal data for two distinct categories of communication:

Transactional communications (cannot be opted out of while using the service):

• Creating and managing your student enquiry and application record
• Processing and forwarding your university applications
• Sending application status updates and offer notifications
• Communicating essential information about your application, required documents or deadlines
• Sharing your application documents with universities you apply to
• Sharing your application status with your authorised counsellor or referral partner where applicable
• Complying with legal and regulatory obligations

Marketing communications (consent required, unsubscribe available at any time):

• Sending course recommendations based on your interests
• Platform updates, new university partnerships and new programme announcements
• Newsletters and study in Ireland guides
• Course updates, scholarship information and study abroad guidance by email, phone or WhatsApp

All marketing communications include an unsubscribe or opt-out option. You can withdraw consent for marketing communications at any time without affecting your ability to use the platform or receive transactional updates about your applications.

5. Legal basis for processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases under UK GDPR and EU GDPR:

Purpose	Legal basis
Creating student enquiry and application record	Contract / pre-contract steps
Sharing documents with chosen universities	Contract / legitimate interests
Sharing application status with authorised counsellor or sub-agent	Legitimate interests / contract
Sending important application updates and notifications	Contract
Fraud prevention and platform security	Legitimate interests
Operating and improving our platform	Legitimate interests
Marketing emails and promotional WhatsApp updates	Consent
Accounting, legal and compliance records	Legal obligation

6. Who we share your data with

We share your personal data only with the following parties and only as necessary to deliver our services:

We never sell, rent or trade your personal data to third parties for marketing or commercial purposes.

7. How long we keep your data

• Active student accounts and application records are kept for the duration of your use of the platform
• Successfully enrolled student records are retained for 7 years after enrolment
• Unsuccessful or withdrawn applications are deleted after 2 years of inactivity
• Marketing consent records are kept for 3 years from the date of last consent
• Website analytics data is retained for 26 months
• You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time

Where you request deletion, we will delete or anonymise your data unless we are required or permitted to keep certain records for legal, accounting, contractual, fraud prevention, dispute resolution or regulatory reasons.

8. Your rights under UK GDPR and EU GDPR

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access — request a copy of the data we hold about you
• Right to rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to erasure — request deletion of your data in certain circumstances
• Right to restrict processing — ask us to limit how we use your data
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a structured machine-readable format
• Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent — withdraw marketing consent at any time without affecting transactional communications

To exercise any of these rights contact us at admin@irelandstudycenter.com. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are based in the United Kingdom you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

If you are based in the European Union or European Economic Area you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

9. Automated decision-making

We do not make admission decisions and we do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing. University admission decisions are made by the relevant university or college.

10. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate our website, improve user experience and understand how visitors use our platform.

Essential cookies are required for the website and platform to function, including login sessions, form security and application tracking.

Analytics cookies, including Google Analytics where enabled, help us understand how visitors interact with our website and improve our services.

Preference cookies may be used to remember your settings, filter choices and course preferences.

When you first visit our website, our cookie banner allows you to accept, reject or manage non-essential cookies. We only use analytics and other non-essential cookies where you have given consent through the cookie banner or cookie preferences tool.

You can change or withdraw your cookie preferences at any time through the Cookie Settings link on our website. You can also control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect website functionality, including login and application tracking.

11. Data security

We implement the following security measures to protect your personal data:

• SSL/TLS encryption on all data transmissions between your browser and our platform
• Password-protected access to our CRM system with role-based access controls
• Restricted staff access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
• Regular security reviews of our platform and third-party processors

In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights we will notify you and relevant supervisory authorities within 72 hours as required by UK GDPR and EU GDPR.

12. International data transfers

Arbix Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. The United Kingdom has its own data protection framework — UK GDPR — which provides a high standard of protection. The UK has also received an adequacy decision from the European Commission, meaning data transfers between the EU and the UK are recognised as providing adequate protection.

Our platform is hosted on Hostinger servers located in Lithuania, an EU member state, meaning your data remains within the EU while stored on our platform servers and benefits from full EU GDPR protections.

Because Arbix Ltd operates internationally, your personal data may be accessed or processed by authorised staff, counsellors, sub-agents or service providers located outside the UK and European Economic Area, including Pakistan and other countries. Where this happens, we use appropriate safeguards required under UK GDPR and, where applicable, EU GDPR, including contractual confidentiality obligations, data processing agreements and Standard Contractual Clauses or UK International Data Transfer Agreements where required.

You may contact us at admin@irelandstudycenter.com to request more information about the safeguards we use for international data transfers.

When your application is transmitted to an Irish university your data moves within the EU and is subject to full EU GDPR protections under that university's own data governance framework.

13. Application form privacy acknowledgement

When you submit an enquiry or application, we may ask you to confirm that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service. Marketing consent will always be requested separately and will be optional.

14. Children's data

Our platform is intended for users aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe a minor has submitted data through our platform please contact us immediately at admin@irelandstudycenter.com.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically as our platform evolves or as legal requirements change. We will notify registered users of significant changes by email and by posting the updated policy on this page with a revised date. The updated version will apply from the date it is posted on our website. Where required by law, we will ask for your consent again or notify you before making material changes that affect how we use your personal data.