Terms of Use
1. Parties and Scope
These are the terms and conditions (“Terms”) ”) that govern the relationship between you, our customer (referred to as “you” in these terms) and Newland Chase Ireland Designated Activity Company trading as CIBTvisas and VisaCentral, Company No. 641527 of Alexandra House, The Sweepstakes, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, D04 C7H2 (“CIBT”) for provision of service by CIBT. By accessing or using this website, you accept these Terms in full. If you disagree with any part of these Terms, you should immediately discontinue using this website. If you are a consumer within the meaning of any local law e.g. Consumer Contracts Regulations (“Consumer”) then additional rights may be available to you and will be specified in this document. If you are not a Consumer, you confirm that you have authority to bind any business on whose behalf you seek to purchase services. These Terms shall include certain terms specified on the relevant CIBT website for your country (“Website”) located at CIBTvisas.ie including the CIBT Privacy Policy which when taken together are exclusive in relation to CIBT services. Other general terms and conditions do not apply and do not form part of the contract between us, even if we do not explicitly reject them. The Terms are subject to change without prior notice, except that the Terms in force at the time you place or modify an order will govern the order in question. For the avoidance of doubt, mere viewing of (in contrast to ordering services from) the Website is subject to the Terms Of Website Use and not these Terms.
The primary services provided by CIBT are to help you in obtaining travel visas and other travel documentation. CIBT also offers immigration consultancy into Ireland and the provision of outbound travel visas from Ireland and the doing of all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above object. We describe documents and forms you generally need to provide to achieve these aims and then submit these documents and forms duly completed by you, to the authorities or appropriate bodies. For the avoidance of doubt, if we provide services to you, you are our customer and these Terms apply. If we refer you to any other service provider, you take responsibility for reviewing any services provided and that service provider’s terms and conditions will apply for their services. We do not accept any liability for third party services and these Terms will not apply to those services.
Our order process allows you to check and amend any errors before submitting your order to us. After you place an order, you will receive an e-mail from us acknowledging that we have received your order. If your order appears to be correct, we will notify you that we have accepted your order and begun work on it. This acceptance email is titled “Your Order Has Been Received”. The contract between us will only be formed when we send you this acceptance email.
These Terms apply to any offer and any agreement between you and CIBT and to the provision of any service provided to you by or on behalf of CIBT in respect of but not limited to the processing of visas, immigration consultancy into Ireland, outbound travel visas from Ireland, passports and/or documents for you or on your behalf. Some Terms may refer to an issuing authority, which is the body being an embassy, consulate or other agency that issue or supply the documents requested by you.
If CIBT provides you with a translation of the English language version of these Terms, you agree that the translation is provided for your convenience only and that the English language versions of these Terms will govern your relationship with CIBT. If there is any inconsistency between the English language version of these Terms and the translation, the English language version shall take precedence.
In Ireland, if you are a Consumer, you may have a legal right to generally cancel an order or contract under the Consumer Contracts Regulations during the cooling-off period of 14 working days. This means that during the relevant period if a Consumer changes his/her mind or for any other reason they decide they do not want to proceed with an order, he/she can notify the supplier of that decision to cancel the order and receive a refund. A consumer can use any written notification of cancellation to CIBT. However, because of the urgent nature of the orders placed with CIBT, and to leave a margin of safety to avoid potentially major consequences in the event of delays, CIBT starts to render the services on approval of payment and/or receipt of the full documentation, which may be before the expiry of the statutory cooling off period. The Consumer expressly authorises and accepts this. Therefore, the Consumer may not receive the benefit of the full cooling off period for orders placed with CIBT and may be liable for part or all of the fees for services provided by CIBT prior to receiving the Consumer’s cancellation notice. Moreover, visas are items prepared to the Consumer's own specifications and as such the cooling off period and right of cancellation may not apply.
2. Procedure
CIBT will endeavour to provide you with accurate information and to ensure that you obtain the visa for your trip for the date required in a timely manner. Nevertheless, you should remember that all requirements to obtain the visa (documentation, fees, time frames, etc) are calculated based on general criteria and can vary according to information provided by you such as current or previous nationality, residence, gender, age, profession, recent travel, religion etc. You should also remember that the issuing authority may change general country requirements without notice or require additional specific information from you. CIBT will try to inform you as soon as practicable of such changes.
3. Submission of documentation
You can consult the list of requisites to be met in order to process your visa on our website. To ensure that you know where your documents are at all times, you will be sent an e-mail confirming the receipt of your documents when it reaches our offices.
CIBT will only process the visa(s) indicated in your request; it assumes no responsibility for other visas required for your trip that have not been requested or which relate to stops on your trip.
By submitting one or more requests to process one or more visas to CIBT, you accept these Terms. Once your request(s) has/have been made to CIBT, CIBT shall send to the e-mail address provided by you an email with the specific conditions of the visa requested (type of visa, destination, time frame, etc.). On receipt of your documentation your requests will be validated and CIBT shall commence the procedures to obtain the visa(s). If offered, phone orders will be accepted on the day of placement and mail orders will be accepted: (a) if provided with an email address, when we email you with a ‘Confirmation Order Received’; or otherwise (b) on the first business day after receipt of the completed forms. CIBT reserves the right to refuse in its total discretion to handle any application at any time and no reason need be given.
4. Obtaining the visa
When CIBT returns your passport and documents to you, it is important that you confirm that all of the visas you need for your travel have been obtained, that visas for each country you intend to visit are valid for the dates of arrival and departure from the country/region of your visit and for the purpose and nature of your visit (tourism, business, study, etc.) You must notify CIBT immediately by email if you identify any discrepancy in your documentation.
The issue of a visa depends exclusively on the issuing authority and immigration officials in each country have the final decision to admit entry into the country or region, even when all of the stipulated requirements have been met. CIBT does not guarantee that the issuing authority will issue the visa in a timely manner and within the specified time frame; therefore, CIBT fees will be collected for the completion of procedures required for this issue. Non-refundable fares or reservations must not be purchased until all visas or immigration arrangements have been obtained.
5. Delivery
CIBT will send completed applications by DX Secure Mail unless otherwise instructed. A delivery charge will be added to your order. All third party delivery companies are subject to the conditions set by these individual companies. CIBT accepts no liability for loss or delays incurred when using third party delivery companies.
6. Additional services
CIBT may offer to provide additional services in some jurisdictions e.g. Premium Service, Digital Photo Service, Passport Replacement Service, Pre-check Service, Immigration Service, Invitation Services, Travel Visa Widget. If so, the description and relevant terms for those additional services are available on the Website via the Service Directory and are incorporated into these terms.
7. Fees
The fees for CIBT services shall be those specified on the website, including any indirect taxes (if any) that are applicable to the fees ,and other charges and fees charged by an issuing authority or any courier or delivery service, all of which must be paid by you.
Once CIBT submits a travel document request to an issuing authority on your behalf, CIBT's service fees are non-refundable.
Consular fees and availability of services are subject to change without notice. Fees and services may differ between the time the order is placed and when the ordered is completed. CIBT will endeavour to communicate said changes to the client where possible. CIBT reserves the right to select the most appropriate service available given the time constraints as indicated by the client.
All fees paid to an issuing authority by CIBT on your behalf are non-refundable. In the event that a visa or passport application is submitted on your behalf and the request is rejected for any reason, CIBT will, at your request, make an additional attempt to secure the travel document. You will be required to pay any additional fees assessed by the issuing authority and if the additional attempt is needed due to an error made by the client on a visa application CIBT may charge a £15 service fee.
Orders which are not submitted via the online order process may be charged an additional administrative fee if so specified on the Website. CIBT reserves the right to retain passports and documents until full payment is received. CIBT service fees may vary according to the number of business processing days available to procure the service. Consulate closings and holidays are excluded.
Where an Australian Electronic Visa (ETA) OR US ESTA has been requested, the fee paid to CIBT includes processing of the ETA/ESTA visa only and does not include any appeals or additional services. The cost of the ETA/ESTA application is non-refundable and should your application be refused you will not be issued a refund.
Orders cancelled prior to submission will be assessed CIBT service fees. Once the application has been submitted to the appropriate government agency full fees will apply. Additional cancellation fees may be applied for early withdrawal of the application.
8. Warnings / Disclaimers
The issuing authority will make the final determination as to the type of visa or passport, how quickly it will be issued and for what duration it will be issued. Prior to approval, the issuing authority may ask for additional documentation. The issuing authority may reject any visa, passport or other travel document application for any reason and may not provide a reason to CIBT for the rejection. CIBT does not issue visas or passports and cannot make any guarantee or assurances that any issuing authority will issue any document nor can CIBT guarantee the time required for an issuing authority to grant or reject an application. Issuing authorities may choose to grant a different type of travel document than that which the applicant has requested which may impact the purpose, validity or number of entries. As a result, non-refundable tickets or reservations should not be purchased until all the required travel documents for your trip have been secured. CIBT, in addition to the issuing authorities, reserve the right to prioritize processing according to the travel dates you provide. CIBT service fees are assessed for taking reasonable actions to foster the issuance of a requested travel documents.
CIBT will use its best endeavours to process applications for visas, passports and/or documents at the client's request. However, CIBT shall not be held responsible for nor accept any liability for the actions of any consulate, embassy, or passport office in delaying or not issuing such applications for any reason whatsoever, nor shall CIBT be held responsible for expense and/or delay arising from or in connection with: (a) incomplete application forms or (b) incorrectly or falsely completed application forms or (c) inaccurate or incomplete supporting documentation. Any expense or cost incurred by the client due to these delays or non-issuances shall not be the responsibility of, nor shall any charges be levied upon, CIBT.
In the event an ETA/ESTA is referred, CIBT will attempt to assist the traveller in procuring the relevant documents to meet the client’s desired travel plans however in any event, travel plans should not be confirmed until the traveller has secured the necessary documents to allow entry.
CIBT provides visa and passport information in good faith on the express understanding that the said information is the interpretation of any or all information provided by respective embassies, consulates or passport offices at any or all times and CIBT shall not accept responsibility or liability whatsoever for any errors and/or omissions in the information.
CIBT will endeavour, wherever possible, to process the client's visa, passport and/or document based on the instructions given and application forms submitted, although it is the client's express responsibility to ensure that the validity of the said visa/passport/document obtained includes and covers the periods of time in which the client plans to enter and leave the country or countries that the client is visiting and for the number of entries to that country and is valid for the purpose intended.
When CIBT returns your passport and documents, it is your responsibility to verify that all the visas you require for your trip have been obtained, that the visas for each country you intend to visit are valid for the entry and exit dates of your visit, that your personal details are reflected accurately, and that your passport is valid for at least six months beyond the completion of your trip. Please note that even when a visa is issued, a traveller may be denied entry since in each country the local immigration officials make the final entry decision. CIBT recommends all travellers secure a visa prior to departure and do not attempt to obtain one “on arrival”.
9. Limitation of liability
Should a passport, document or other item be lost, misplaced, damaged, delayed or destroyed, CIBT shall only be liable if it is at fault and its liability shall be limited to the basic replacement cost of that item. CIBT is not responsible for items misplaced, damaged, delayed or destroyed by a delivery service or issuing authority. Passport covers and all documents such as original bank statements, educational and birth certificates etc not requested for submission per CIBT instruction should be retained by the applicant. CIBT accepts no responsibility for the loss or damage of such documents.
CIBT accepts no liability for travellers electing to obtain on-arrival visas. To the maximum extent permitted by law, CIBT excludes or limits any direct, indirect, special, incidental, punitive or consequential loss or damage of any nature or any other type of financial loss and all statutory or implied conditions and warranties, including, without limitation, lost profits, good will or travel or holiday costs or any type of financial loss arising whether in negligence or for breach of contract or other duty as a result of:
- Use of this Website, including but not limited to any electronic mail messaging and Internet communication that may arise from, in the course of or pursuant to such use; and/or
- Reliance on the information contained in this Website (including any errors, inaccuracies or omissions in such information or any faults, interruptions or delays in connection with the Website), whether:
- Downloaded or not;
- Authorised or not.
Subject to the other provisions of this clause, our maximum liability for loss caused to you whether under contract, tort, or otherwise, shall be limited to for non-Consumers, the level of fees paid by you; for Consumers, the losses and damages up to a maximum of £250 for which CIBT is directly responsible and which can be wholly attributable to incorrect provision of service by CIBT.
Nothing in this agreement excludes or limits our liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any other matter for which it would be illegal for us to exclude or attempt to exclude our liability.
10. Claims period
You have one month after completion of work by CIBT from the date of delivery of the visa (or if not delivered, from the date of order) to inform CIBT of any claim related to CIBT services. Once the relevant deadline has passed, any rights for rectification or compensation shall expire.
11. General
These terms and conditions and any document expressly referred to in them constitute the whole agreement between us and supersede all previous discussions, correspondence, negotiations, previous arrangement, understanding or agreement between us relating to the subject matter of any contract. If any provision of these Terms does not comply with any law, then the provision must be read down so as to give it as much effect as possible. If it is not possible to give the provision any effect at all, then it must be treated as severable from the rest of the Terms. Where CIBT is unable to carry out any obligation under the contract due to any circumstance, matter or thing beyond its reasonable control (“force majeure”) CIBT shall be excused from such obligations to the extent of such prevention, restriction or interference so caused. Delay or failure on the part of CIBT in enforcing any of its rights shall not constitute a waiver by it of any of its rights or remedies. CIBT may sub-contract all or part of its obligations or assign all or part of its rights under this contract. This agreement does not create any right enforceable by a person who is not a party to it, except for any lawful successor or assignee. These Terms and all issues relating to the Website are governed by Irish law. For the avoidance of doubt, the courts of the Republic of Ireland have exclusive jurisdiction over all claims or disputes arising in relation to, out of, or in connection with these Terms, the information contained on this Website, and any use made of that information.
