Terms & Conditions

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the buildmyvisa website, questionnaires, checklists, chat assistant, consultations and related services (together, the "Services"). By creating an account, submitting information or paying for any Service, you agree to these Terms.

These Terms are an electronic record under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made under it, and do not require a physical or digital signature. They are published in accordance with Rule 3(1) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

If you do not agree with these Terms, please do not use the Services.

You must be at least 18 years old and competent to contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872 to use the Services on your own behalf.

If the applicant is under 18, the account must be created and operated by a parent or lawful guardian, who accepts these Terms and gives verifiable consent for the minor's personal data to be processed, as required by Section 9 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act").

buildmyvisa is a visa-preparation assistance service for tourist and student visas. We help you understand requirements, organise documents and prepare a complete application package.

• We are not a government body, embassy, consulate, VFS Global, BLS International or any official visa authority.
• We are not a licensed immigration lawyer, and nothing we provide is legal advice.
• We do not submit applications, book appointments or pay government fees on your behalf unless expressly agreed in writing.
• Visa decisions rest solely with the relevant foreign government. We do not and cannot guarantee a visa, a processing time or an appointment slot.

Readiness scores, checklists and red flags are guidance based on the information you give us and publicly available rules at the time. Immigration rules, fees and figures change frequently; always confirm with the official source before filing.

• Provide accurate, complete and current information and documents. Submitting false or forged documents to a visa authority may be a criminal offence and can lead to refusal and bans.
• Keep your login credentials confidential. You are responsible for activity under your account.
• Use the Services only for lawful purposes and not upload content that is unlawful, infringing, obscene or harmful, or that belongs to someone else without their permission.
• Not attempt to disrupt, reverse-engineer, scrape or gain unauthorised access to the Services.

Prices for paid Services (including the ₹1,499 compliance consultation) are shown in Indian Rupees and are inclusive of applicable Goods and Services Tax unless stated otherwise.

Government visa fees, VFS/BLS service charges, IELTS or other test fees, insurance, blocked-account, translation, apostille and courier costs are paid by you directly to the relevant provider and are not part of our fees.

Payments are processed by third-party payment gateways regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. We do not store your card or UPI credentials.

• Consultations may be rescheduled or cancelled for a full refund up to 24 hours before the booked slot. Missed consultations without notice are not refundable.
• Digital Services (such as a generated checklist or completed document review) are delivered immediately and are non-refundable once delivered, except where the Service was not provided as described.
• A visa refusal by a foreign government is not, by itself, grounds for a refund.
• Approved refunds are made to the original payment method within 7–10 working days.

These terms do not limit your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.

We act as a "Data Fiduciary" under the DPDP Act for the personal data you share with us. You are the "Data Principal".

What we collect: name, contact details, passport details, date of birth, academic records, admission letters, financial and sponsor information, travel history, test scores, uploaded documents, chat messages and basic technical data (such as device and log data).

Why we collect it (purpose limitation): to create your account, generate checklists and readiness scores, review documents, run consultations, respond to chat and support requests, process payments, meet legal obligations and keep the Services secure. We will not use your data for unrelated purposes without fresh consent.

Consent: we process your personal data on the basis of your free, specific, informed and unambiguous consent, given when you sign up and when you upload documents, or on other legitimate uses permitted by Section 7 of the DPDP Act. You may withdraw consent at any time; withdrawal does not affect processing already done, but we may be unable to continue providing the Services.

Your rights as a Data Principal:

• Right to access a summary of your personal data and how it is processed.
• Right to correction, completion, updating and erasure of your personal data.
• Right to grievance redressal through our Grievance Officer.
• Right to nominate another person to exercise your rights in the event of death or incapacity.

Your duties: under Section 15 of the DPDP Act you must not impersonate another person, suppress material information, or file false or frivolous complaints.

Sharing: we share data only with service providers who process it on our behalf under contract (cloud hosting, payment gateways, email and AI processing providers), with our in-house agents who handle your request, or where required by law. We never sell your personal data. Some providers may process data outside India, only to countries not restricted by the Central Government under Section 16 of the DPDP Act.

Security and breaches: we use reasonable security safeguards, including encryption in transit, role-based access for staff and access logging. If a personal data breach occurs, we will notify you and the Data Protection Board of India as required by law.

Retention: we keep your data only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected, or as required by law (for example tax and accounting records), after which it is erased. Inactive accounts may be deleted after 3 years, with prior notice.

Children: we do not knowingly process a child's data without verifiable parental consent, and we do not track, behaviourally monitor or target advertising at children.

Our website chat assistant is automated and provides general information about our Services only. It is not a human, not legal advice, and may occasionally be inaccurate. You can ask to talk to a human at any time. Chat messages are stored to provide support and improve service quality, in line with Section 7 above.

All content on the Services — including text, checklists, scoring logic, designs, logos and software — is owned by or licensed to buildmyvisa and protected under the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Trade Marks Act, 1999. You may use your generated checklist for your personal visa application only, and may not copy, resell or redistribute our content.

You keep ownership of the documents you upload and grant us a limited licence to use them solely to provide the Services to you.

The Services link to official government portals, VFS Global, BLS International, test providers, insurers and blocked-account providers. We do not control these sites and are not responsible for their content, availability, fees or privacy practices.

To the maximum extent permitted by Indian law, buildmyvisa is not liable for visa refusals, delays, changes in government rules, loss of travel or admission, or any indirect, incidental or consequential losses. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Services is limited to the fees you paid us for the specific Service in the 6 months before the claim.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law.

You agree to indemnify buildmyvisa against claims, losses or penalties arising from false information or documents you provide, or from your breach of these Terms or applicable law.

We may suspend or terminate your access if you breach these Terms, provide fraudulent information, or where required by law. You may close your account at any time by contacting us; we will then erase your personal data except where retention is legally required.

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 and the DPDP Act, 2023, you may contact our Grievance Officer with any complaint, data request or concern:

• Name: Liza Dias
• Email: complaints@buildmyvisa.com
• Address: [registered business address, India]

We will acknowledge your complaint within 48 hours and aim to resolve it within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response on a data-protection matter, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India.

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Parties will first try to resolve any dispute amicably within 30 days. Failing that, disputes shall be referred to arbitration by a sole arbitrator under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, seated in [city], India, in English. Subject to this, the courts at [city] shall have exclusive jurisdiction. This does not limit your right to approach a Consumer Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified on the website or by email before they take effect. Continued use of the Services after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms.