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SA2Eire Data Protection and Privacy Notice

This notice explains what personal data SA2Eire collects about you, why we collect it, what we do with it, and what rights you have. We have written it in plain language so it is easy to understand. Please take a few minutes to read it.

Who we are

SA2Eire is the data controller for the personal data described in this notice. We are based in the Republic of Ireland and we provide information, coaching and community resources for South Africans relocating to Ireland.

A “data controller” is the person or organisation that decides why and how your personal data is collected and used.

For any questions about your data, contact our Data Protection Contact:

Email: admin@sa2eire.com

What this notice covers

This notice applies to:

  • our website at sa2eire.com
  • our Facebook group “South Africans Moving to Ireland”, our Facebook page SA2Eire, and our Facebook profile SA2Eire
  • our YouTube channel
  • any Telegram chats we operate
  • one-on-one coaching sessions we provide by Zoom, Skype or other video software
  • emails and other direct communications with us

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any external website or service we link to.

Laws we follow

We process your personal data in line with:

  • the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation EU 2016/679)
  • the Irish Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018
  • the Irish ePrivacy Regulations 2011
  • any other Irish or EU law that applies to us

What personal data we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

Contact details: name, email address, phone number and country of residence.

Account information for paid memberships: for each member, we hold only your name, email address, username and the date you joined. We do not hold any additional profile information for membership purposes.

Payment information: when you book a coaching session, payment is processed by PayPal. We do not store your full card or bank details. We see only confirmation that payment was received and the basic transaction details.

Information you share with us during coaching or by email: before each one-on-one coaching session, we send you a Google Forms questionnaire to gather the background needed to prepare for the session. The questionnaire collects information about your immigration situation, family composition, employment, financial circumstances, qualifications and reasons for moving. By the nature of immigration, this can include sensitive information. Once your coaching session has been delivered, the completed Google Form is destroyed and purged from our personal computer and from Google Forms. Outside of the questionnaire, you may also share information with us by email or in conversation, which we keep only for as long as we need it to support you.

Communication records: copies of emails, support messages, recorded notes from coaching sessions (only where we have agreed this with you in advance), and Facebook or website comments.

Technical data: when you visit our website, we automatically collect your IP address, browser type, device type, the pages you visit, and the date and time of your visit. We use this for security and to understand how visitors use the website.

Cookies and similar tracking: see the Cookies section below for details.

Special category data

Some information you may share with us, such as details about your health, religion, racial or ethnic origin, or family circumstances, falls into “special category data” under Article 9 of the GDPR. This kind of data needs extra protection.

We process special category data only with your explicit consent, and only for the purpose for which you shared it with us, for example to help work through an immigration scenario. You can withdraw consent at any time. We never share special category data for marketing purposes.

Children’s data

In Ireland, the age of digital consent is 16. If you are under 16 and want to use a service that needs your consent, we need consent from your parent or legal guardian. We will not knowingly collect personal data from a child under 16 without that consent. If we find out that we have collected data from a child under 16 without proper consent, we will delete it.

For paid memberships and coaching sessions, you must be at least 18 years old to enter into a contract with us.

Why we collect your data and our lawful basis

Under GDPR we must have a lawful basis for every type of processing. Here is what we do and why:

To respond to your queries by email, Facebook, or website contact form

  • Lawful basis: our legitimate interests (running our service and helping you), or steps taken before entering a contract.

To provide coaching sessions you have booked and paid for

  • Lawful basis: performance of a contract with you.

To process your payment

  • Lawful basis: performance of a contract with you, and our legal obligation to keep accounting records.

To manage your membership account

  • Lawful basis: performance of a contract with you.

To send marketing emails or newsletters

  • Lawful basis: your consent, given when you sign up. You can withdraw consent at any time.

To moderate our website, Facebook group and YouTube comments

  • Lawful basis: our legitimate interests in keeping the community safe and on-topic.

To improve our website and content

  • Lawful basis: our legitimate interests, and your consent for non-essential cookies.

To meet our legal obligations

  • Lawful basis: legal obligation. This includes tax records, accounting records, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

To protect our rights, property or safety

  • Lawful basis: our legitimate interests, where these do not override your rights.

How we share your data

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only where necessary, with the following types of recipient:

Our service providers (data processors):

  • Cartmell Communications Limited (Ireland) is our website host. Cartmell is based in Westport, Co. Mayo, and hosts our website on servers operated by Hetzner Online, one of Europe’s largest data centre operators, based in Germany. All website hosting and infrastructure data is therefore stored within the European Economic Area.
  • Our email provider. Stores and routes emails to and from admin@sa2eire.com.
  • PayPal. Processes payments for coaching sessions and other paid services.
  • Google. We use several Google services:
    • Google Forms to collect the questionnaire we send you before a coaching session. The completed form is destroyed and purged after the session.
    • Google Meet as our primary video tool for one-on-one coaching sessions.
    • Google as the operator of YouTube, where our videos are published and where you may watch or comment.
    • We may also use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website.
  • Zoom and Skype. Available as alternatives to Google Meet for one-on-one coaching sessions where needed.
  • Meta (Facebook and Instagram). When you use our Facebook group or page, your data is processed by Meta. Meta is a separate data controller for the platform itself. Their privacy policy applies in addition to ours.
  • Telegram. If you join one of our Telegram chats, your data is processed by Telegram under their privacy policy.
  • Facebook Ads. When we run Facebook ad campaigns, Meta processes data for ad targeting. We do not use re-marketing techniques. You can manage your ad preferences directly with Meta.

We have data processing agreements with our service providers where required, and we only choose providers that meet appropriate security and data protection standards.

Authorities and legal recipients:

We may share your data where we are legally required, for example:

  • to respond to a lawful request from An Garda Síochána, the courts, or another authority
  • to enforce our terms or protect our rights
  • to comply with a tax, accounting, or regulatory obligation
  • where there is a serious risk to your safety or that of another person

Aside from the above, we will not share your personal data with any third party without your consent.

International data transfers

Our website and its hosting infrastructure are based within the European Economic Area (EEA). Our website is hosted by Cartmell Communications Limited in Ireland.

Some of our other service providers, including Google (Forms, Meet, Analytics and YouTube), Meta (Facebook), Microsoft (Skype) and Zoom, are based in the United States. When your data is transferred outside the EEA, we rely on one of the following safeguards under Chapter V of the GDPR:

  • the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which the European Commission has decided provides an adequate level of data protection for transfers to US companies that are certified under the framework
  • Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, where the Data Privacy Framework does not apply
  • your explicit consent for specific transfers, where appropriate

You can ask us for more details about the safeguards in place for any specific transfer by emailing admin@sa2eire.com.

How long we keep your data

We keep your personal data only for as long as we need it for the purposes set out in this notice, or for as long as we are legally required to keep it.

As a guide:

  • Coaching session questionnaire (Google Form): destroyed and purged from our personal computer and from Google Forms once the coaching session has been delivered.
  • Coaching session payment and accounting records: up to 6 years after the session, in line with Irish tax and accounting record requirements.
  • Member account data (name, email, username, date of joining): for as long as you are a member, plus a reasonable period after closure to handle any final queries or refunds.
  • Email enquiries that do not lead to a service: up to 24 months.
  • Marketing contact details: until you withdraw consent or unsubscribe.
  • Technical data and analytics: up to 26 months for analytics; security logs for shorter periods.

We may keep some data for longer if there is an active legal dispute or if the law requires it.

Cookies and tracking

A cookie is a small text file placed on your device when you visit a website. Cookies help websites remember your preferences and understand how visitors use the site.

We use the following types of cookies:

  • Essential cookies: needed for the website to work, such as login and basic security. These do not need consent.
  • Analytics cookies: to understand how visitors use our site so we can improve it. We ask for your consent before setting these.
  • Marketing cookies: to measure the effectiveness of our advertising. We ask for your consent before setting these.

When you first visit sa2eire.com, you will see a cookie banner letting you choose which cookies to accept. You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the cookie settings link on our website, or by managing cookies in your browser. You can also block all cookies in your browser, but parts of the website may not work properly if you do.

Marketing

We will only send you marketing emails or newsletters if you have given us your consent. Every marketing email we send includes an unsubscribe link, and you can withdraw consent at any time by clicking it or by emailing admin@sa2eire.com.

We do not share your contact details with any third party for their own marketing.

When we run Facebook ad campaigns, we use interest-based targeting through Meta, but we do not upload our own customer lists for re-marketing.

Automated decision-making and profiling

We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you. Any decisions about your situation are made by a human.

How we keep your data secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. These include:

  • encryption in transit (HTTPS) for our website
  • secure passwords and access controls for our team
  • agreements and security checks with our service providers
  • backup and recovery procedures
  • staff awareness of data protection responsibilities

No system is ever fully secure. If a personal data breach happens that puts your rights at significant risk, we will notify the Irish Data Protection Commission within 72 hours and contact you directly without undue delay where required by law.

Your rights

Under GDPR you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right to be informed. This notice explains how we use your data.

Right of access. You can ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to rectification. You can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete information we hold about you.

Right to erasure. You can ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances, often called the “right to be forgotten”.

Right to restrict processing. You can ask us to pause our processing of your data while we investigate a query or dispute.

Right to data portability. Where we process data based on your consent or a contract, you can ask us to send you a copy in a structured, commonly used electronic format, or to send it directly to another service provider where this is technically possible.

Right to object. You can object to processing where we rely on legitimate interests, and you can object to processing for direct marketing at any time.

Right to withdraw consent. Where we process data based on your consent, you can withdraw consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdrew consent.

Right not to be subject to automated decision-making. As noted above, we do not use this kind of decision-making.

How to exercise your rights

To exercise any of these rights, email admin@sa2eire.com. We may need to verify your identity before we act, to make sure we are not giving your information to someone else.

We will respond within one month of receiving a valid request. If your request is complex or you make several requests, we may extend this by up to two further months. If we need to extend, we will let you know within the first month.

Most requests are free of charge. We may charge a reasonable fee, or refuse a request, where the request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive.

Right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to make a complaint to the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC):

Data Protection Commission 6 Pembroke Row Dublin 2 D02 X963 Ireland

Email: info@dataprotection.ie Phone: 01 765 0100 or 1800 437 737 Website: www.dataprotection.ie

We would always prefer to hear from you first, so we have a chance to put any issues right.

Sale or transfer of the business

If SA2Eire is ever sold, merged, or restructured, your personal data may be transferred to the new owner as part of the business assets. The new owner will be required to use your data in line with the terms of this notice. Where the law allows, we will let you know if this happens.

Updates to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. The version posted on sa2eire.com is always the current one. Where we make significant changes, we will let you know by email or by a clear notice on our website. We recommend you review this page from time to time.

Changes will only apply going forward, not retroactively.

Contact us

For any questions about this notice or about your personal data, contact:

Email: admin@sa2eire.com

Last updated

This notice was last updated on 4th MAy 2026.