This Privacy Policy explains how Study and Work Abroad (“we”, “us”, “our”) handles personal data when you use studyandworkabroad.net, studyandworkingeorgia.com and our other country websites (together, the “Websites”), your account, our messages and chat, and the services we arrange for you. One account works on all of our Websites, so this single policy applies to all of them.
We process personal data in line with the Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection and, where it applies to you, the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We never sell your personal data.
1. Who we are
The Websites are operated under the brand Study and Work Abroad by Euro Work Center IE, Tbilisi, Georgia (tax number 306518131). Euro Work Center IE is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. Where we pass your data to a university, insurer, landlord, employer or other partner so that they can provide their own service to you, that partner becomes a separate controller of the data it receives and handles it under its own privacy policy.
Contact for all privacy questions and requests: info@studyandworkabroad.net.
2. Personal data we collect
Data you give us
- Account data: name, email address, password (stored only in encrypted, hashed form by our authentication provider), phone number, country, profile photo and the account type you choose (student, apartment owner, employer, job seeker, documents or insurance provider, insurance customer).
- Study and application data: the programs and universities you are interested in, your education history, citizenship, plans and the details you enter in application, Plan My Studies and contact forms.
- Documents you upload: for example passport or ID copies, school certificates, diplomas and transcripts, photos, language certificates, admission letters and proof of funds. Upload only what is needed for the service you ask for.
- Visa, insurance and document services: information needed to prepare a visa application, an insurance quote (such as name as in passport, date of birth, coverage period and visa type) or a translation, notarisation or power of attorney.
- Bookings, listings and messages: apartment bookings and enquiries, job applications, listings and photos that owners, employers and providers publish, consultations, and the messages exchanged in your account.
- Chat: messages and attachments you send to the website guide chat.
- Communications: emails and messages you send us, and your email address if you subscribe to updates.
- Payments: if you pay for a service online, the payment is processed by our payment provider. We receive confirmation of the payment and the amount, but we never see or store your full card details.
Some documents can reveal special categories of data (for example health information for insurance or a medical program). We process such data only when you provide it for a specific service and, where the law requires it, with your explicit consent.
Data we receive from others
- Google or Telegram, if you choose to sign in with them (see section 5).
- Universities, insurers and other partners, when they reply about your application, quote or booking (for example an admission decision or an insurance quote).
Data collected automatically
- Technical data: IP address, browser and device type, pages requested, date and time, and error logs. Our hosting provider records these to deliver the Websites and to keep them secure.
- Cookies and local storage needed for the Websites to work (see section 6).
We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels or third-party analytics on the Websites.
3. How and why we use your data
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Creating and running your account, signing you in on all our Websites, and keeping your saved items, documents and messages | Performance of our agreement with you (our Terms) |
| Providing the services you ask for: admission and application support, visa guidance, insurance quotes, translation and notarisation, accommodation, jobs, consultations and support after arrival | Performance of our agreement with you; your consent where we share data with a partner you choose |
| Answering your questions by email, account messages or chat | Performance of our agreement; our legitimate interest in helping visitors |
| Sending service emails, such as sign-in links, password resets, confirmations and status updates | Performance of our agreement |
| Sending news and updates you subscribed to | Your consent, which you can withdraw at any time |
| Keeping the Websites secure, preventing fraud, spam and misuse, and fixing errors | Our legitimate interests |
| Invoicing, accounting and tax records for paid services | Legal obligation |
| Responding to lawful requests from authorities and defending legal claims | Legal obligation; our legitimate interests |
We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects. The website guide chat gives automated answers from our own published information; it does not decide on admissions, visas or any application.
4. Who we share your data with
We share personal data only as far as needed for the purpose, and never sell it or share it for advertising.
- Universities and education authorities (for example Georgia’s National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement and the Ministry of Education), when you ask us to apply or have your documents recognised.
- Insurers you choose, only after you give explicit consent for each quote request.
- Translators, notaries and other document service providers who carry out the service you ordered.
- Apartment owners, employers and service providers on our Websites, when you book, apply or send an enquiry to them. They see only what is needed for that booking, application or enquiry.
- Our technical service providers, who process data on our behalf under contract and only on our instructions:
- Supabase (database, user accounts and sign-in, secure file storage);
- Vercel (website hosting and delivery);
- Resend (sending service emails);
- our email hosting provider (our mailboxes);
- our payment provider, when online payment is available;
- Google Fonts (the Websites load fonts from Google, which receives your IP address).
- Authorities, courts and advisers, when the law requires it or to protect our rights, your safety or the safety of others.
- A successor business, if our service is reorganised, merged or sold; this policy would continue to protect your data.
5. Sign in with Google or Telegram
You can create an account or sign in with your email address, or, where available, with Google or Telegram. If you use them:
- Google: we receive your name, email address and profile picture from your Google account. We use them only to create and identify your account and to sign you in. We do not request access to your Gmail, Google Drive, contacts or any other Google data.
- Telegram: we receive your Telegram user ID, name, username and profile photo, which we use only to sign you in.
Our use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We do not use this information for advertising, we do not sell it, and we do not share it with third parties except as needed to provide the service or as required by law. You can remove our access at any time in your Google account’s security settings or in Telegram’s settings.
6. Cookies and local storage
We use only cookies and browser storage that are necessary for the Websites to work. Because they are strictly necessary, they do not require consent. We do not use advertising or analytics cookies; if we ever add them, we will ask for your consent first.
| Name | Purpose | How long |
|---|---|---|
| sb-… (authentication cookies) | Keep you signed in to your account securely | Until you sign out or the session expires |
| sw_tg_oauth | Protects a Telegram sign-in while it is in progress | Up to 10 minutes |
| sw_live_chat | Connects you to your own chat conversation | Until you clear the chat or delete your browser cookies |
| sw_terms (local storage) | Remembers that you accepted the Terms and this policy on this device | Until you clear your browser storage |
| sw_saved, sw_saved_acct (local storage) | Keeps the programs and listings you saved | Until you clear your browser storage |
When you choose to sign in with Google or Telegram, those services may set their own cookies under their own policies. You can delete or block cookies in your browser settings, but you may then be unable to sign in.
7. International transfers
We are based in Georgia, and some of our service providers store or process data in other countries, including the European Union and the United States. When data is transferred outside Georgia or the European Economic Area, we rely on safeguards recognised by law, such as an adequacy decision, standard contractual clauses or the provider’s data processing agreement. When you apply to a university or use a partner in another country, your data is sent to that country because the service requires it.
8. How long we keep data
- Account data, documents and messages: while your account is active. When you ask us to delete your account, we delete or anonymise this data within 30 days, unless we must keep part of it for a reason below.
- Chat: you can delete a conversation and its attachments at any time with Clear chat.
- Invoices and payment records: for as long as Georgian tax and accounting law requires.
- Technical logs: for a short period, for security and troubleshooting.
- Data needed for a legal claim or a request from an authority: until the matter is closed.
Partners that received your data (for example a university you applied to) keep it under their own retention rules.
9. How we protect data
All connections to the Websites are encrypted (HTTPS). Account data and documents are kept in access-controlled storage: each user can reach only their own records, uploaded files are private and opened only through short-lived secure links, and passwords are stored only in hashed form. Only people who need the data to provide your service can access it. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but if a data breach puts your rights at risk, we will inform you and the competent authority as the law requires.
10. Your rights
Subject to the conditions set by law, you have the right to:
- be informed about and get access to the personal data we hold about you, and receive a copy;
- have inaccurate data corrected and incomplete data completed;
- have your data deleted;
- restrict how we process your data;
- receive data you gave us in a structured, machine-readable format and have it sent to another controller (data portability);
- object to processing based on our legitimate interests;
- withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting processing that happened before;
- not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing.
You can update most of your details directly in your account. For anything else, email info@studyandworkabroad.net from the address linked to your account. We may ask you to confirm your identity, and we will reply within the time limits set by law. Exercising your rights is free of charge.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Service of Georgia (personaldata.ge) or, if you live in the European Union or the United Kingdom, with your local data protection authority. We would appreciate the chance to resolve your concern first, so please contact us.
11. Children
Our services are meant for people preparing for university study or work, most of whom are adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16 without the consent of a parent or legal guardian. Applicants under 18 should use the Websites with the involvement of a parent or guardian, who can contact us about their child’s data. If you believe a child has given us personal data without the required consent, please contact us and we will delete it.
12. Third-party websites
The Websites link to university websites, government portals, social networks and other sites that we do not control. Their own privacy policies apply when you visit them.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our services or the law change. The date at the top shows the latest version. If a change significantly affects how we use your data, we will tell you by email or in your account before it takes effect.
14. Contact us
Euro Work Center IE (Study and Work Abroad)
Police Lane I N5, N4a, Samgori District
0136 Tbilisi, Georgia
Serial number: B25081909
Tax number: 306518131
Email: info@studyandworkabroad.net