Ghana.GOV is the centralised digital services and payment platform of the Government of Ghana (“Government”). Ghana.GOV is operated by Digital Gov Limited. By using Ghana.GOV, you authorize us to collect, store and process your personal information on behalf of the Government of Ghana (“Government”). This privacy policy is meant to help you understand the personal information we collect, how we collect, store, process and share it, on behalf of the Government.
COLLECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
Personal data are collected from Data Subjects during the ordinary course of the continuation of The Consulate’s relationship with Data Subjects, such as when applicants communicate verbally or in writing with the Consulate, by means of documentation or the Consulate’s online systems (as the case may be), apply for visa or any other consular maters. This includes information obtained from People’s Republic of China, Republic of Ghana and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
Submitting personally identifiable information through this website or emails is voluntary, but by doing so, the Data Subject is giving The Consulate permission to use the information for the stated purpose. Not providing certain information may result in the inability to provide the Data Subject with a service desired.
- Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency: We only process personal information in a way that the law permits. We are always open about how we collect, store, process and share your personal information.
- Purpose limitation: we only process personal information for the specific reasons for which we collected it or for the reasons we tell you about before we collect your personal information.
- Data minimization: we do not process more information than we need. We only process as much of your personal information to help us serve you.
- Accuracy: we make sure that any personal information we hold about you is adequate and accurate. Where there are changes in your personal information, we urge you to contact us to change it.
- Storage limitation: we do not store your personal information for longer than we need or the law permits.
- Integrity and confidentiality: we process your personal information securely.
USE OF PERSONAL DATA
The circumstances under which personal data relating to Data Subjects may be used for obligatory purposes (unless otherwise stated hereunder) are as follows:
- Visas (including but not limited to visa applications, visa archives, visa appeals, visa appointment system, special visa schemes, etc.)
- Consular matters (including but not limited to emergency assistance to travelers, consular assistance, legal assistance and service of documents, register of arrested, database of consular cases, etc.)
- Human resources and payroll activities (including but not limited to selection procedures, locally hired staff, internships)
- Security (including but not limited to security camera footages)
- Conducting criminal checks and carrying out matching procedures (as defined in the Ordinance)
- Building and maintaining the Consulate’s data and risk related systems;
- Complaints; and
- Records kept at diplomatic missions (including but not limited to nationality, birth registers, inheritance matters, special electoral rolls, poll card records, etc.)
CONSULAR SERVICES PRIVACY NOTICE STATEMENT
The Consulate officials are available to assist you if you experience problems while abroad. To do so, they need to collect personal information about you. They may also need to share that information with other parties in order to address your case. Consulate officials are committed to respecting your privacy rights.
Consulate officials will open a file about you in the Consular Services Case Management database. Your personal information is safeguarded against inappropriate disclosure under the provisions of the Ordinance. However, in accordance with the Act, your personal information may be disclosed without your consent under the following circumstances:
- to address your case, if it is determined that you will benefit from the disclosure;
- where there are permissible disclosures to third parties (for example, to protect national security or for use in investigations and legal proceedings); or
- where the disclosure is clearly in the public interest.
The Consulate may disclose information to correct the public record should you or your representative make public statements in relation to your consular case that are inconsistent with the facts. In some instances, consular officials may disclose your personal information even if you are unaware that you are the subject of consular assistance (for example, if you are missing, arrested or detained abroad and have not yet met or communicated with a Consulate official).
SECURITY MEASURES AND RETENTION
In all cases, Consulate officials will make every effort to protect your privacy by limiting the amount and specificity of information disclosed without your consent to what is strictly required under the circumstances.
- The Consulate officials is committed to keeping secure the personal information it holds. The Consulate will ensure an appropriate level of protection for personal data in order to prevent unauthorized or accidental access, processing, destruction, loss or other use of those data, commensurate with the sensitivity of the data and the harm that would be caused by occurrence of any of the said events. The Consulate will take all reasonable precautions using a range of practices and policies to protect the personal information from misuse and loss and from unauthorized access, modification or disclosure and to provide a robust security environment
- If The Consulate engages external service providers to handle or process personal data (whether within or outside Hong Kong) on The Consulate’s behalf, The Consulate will adopt contractual or other means to prevent unauthorized or accidental access, processing, erasure, loss or use of the data transferred to the external service providers for processing.
- The personal data and information provided by Data Subjects will not be kept longer than necessary for the fulfillment of the purposes for which the personal data and information are or are to be used at the time of the collection and for compliance with the legal, regulatory and accounting requirements from time to time.
DATA CORRECTION REQUEST
When handling a data access or correction request, The Consulate officials will check the identity of the requestor to ensure that the requestor is the person legally entitled to make the data access or correction request. Data Subjects should notify The Consulate immediately if there have been any changes and/or corrections regarding their data. The Consulate will comply with such changes within 30 days after receiving the requests. A Data Subject may choose not to receive promotional material of The Consulate at any time by notifying The Consulate in writing.
