Privacy Policy

A plain-English explanation of exactly what data VisaRequirementMap collects, how we use it, and how we protect it. No legal jargon. No buried clauses.

Last Updated: January 15, 2026 · Effective Date: January 15, 2026

1. Introduction

VisaRequirementMap ("we", "our", "us") is a US-based research publication operating the website visarequirementmap.com (the "Site"). This privacy policy explains what personal information we collect about visitors to the Site, why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have under privacy laws including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Our approach to privacy is straightforward. We collect the minimum data needed to publish a useful, accurate website. We do not sell personal data. We do not use advertising or retargeting cookies. We do not require you to create an account to read any of our content. If a section of this policy is unclear, please reach out through our contact page.

2. Information We Collect

The data we hold about Site visitors falls into three categories.

Automatically collected technical data

Like virtually every website on the internet, our hosting provider records standard server logs and our analytics provider records aggregate usage data. This includes:

• Your IP address (typically truncated for analytics)
• Browser type, version, and language
• Operating system and device type
• Pages visited, time on page, referring URL
• Timestamps of visits

This data is used in aggregate to understand which pages are useful, debug technical problems, and detect abuse. It is not tied to your identity unless you separately submit personal information through a form.

Voluntarily provided data

We collect personal information only when you choose to provide it:

• Newsletter signup. If you subscribe to our annual update email on the homepage, we store the email address you provide solely to send you that annual update.
• Contact form submissions. If you use our contact form, we store the name, email, subject, and message you submit so we can respond to your inquiry.

Data we do not collect

We do not collect — and do not have any way to collect — your passport number, date of birth, full home address, financial information, or any documents you have uploaded elsewhere on the internet. Visa application data lives on the destination country's official portal, not on our Site. Our visa checker tool runs entirely in your browser and does not transmit your passport selection back to our servers.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above only for the following purposes:

• To improve content. Aggregate analytics tells us which pages are most useful so we can write more like them and rewrite the ones that aren't helping anyone.
• To send the annual update email if you have subscribed. One email per year, sent when our annual review publishes in January.
• To respond to messages sent through our contact form.
• To detect abuse such as automated scraping, denial of service attempts, or attempts to inject content into our forms.
• To comply with legal obligations in the rare event that law enforcement makes a valid legal request — we will respond as required and notify affected users where lawful.

We do not use your data to build advertising profiles, sell to data brokers, or train AI models on your messages.

4. Cookies and Tracking

We use the minimum cookies necessary. The cookies we use are essential and analytics only — no advertising cookies, no retargeting pixels, no social media trackers, no heat mapping, no affiliate tracking. Our full cookie policy lists every cookie by name, purpose, duration, and how to opt out. Please read it for the complete picture.

You can disable all non-essential cookies in your browser settings without losing access to any content on this Site.

5. Third-Party Services We Use

To publish the Site, we rely on a small number of third-party services. Each one handles some data on our behalf. We list them honestly so you know who else is involved.

• Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com). We load the Instrument Sans typeface from Google's font CDN. Google receives the IP address of the request. Google's privacy policy applies: policies.google.com/privacy.
• jsDelivr (cdn.jsdelivr.net). We load the Cal Sans typeface from the jsDelivr open-source CDN. jsDelivr receives the IP address of the request and minimal log data.
• Formspree (formspree.io). Our contact form is processed by Formspree, which forwards submissions to our editorial inbox. Formspree's privacy policy applies.
• Hosting provider. The Site is hosted on a commercial static hosting provider that maintains standard server logs.
• Privacy-respecting analytics. We use either Plausible Analytics or Cloudflare Web Analytics. Both are cookieless and do not track users across sites. If we ever change to a more invasive analytics product, we will update this policy and disclose the change prominently.

6. Data Retention

We retain the data we collect only as long as needed:

• Server logs and aggregate analytics: retained per the provider's default schedule, typically 30-90 days.
• Newsletter email addresses: retained for as long as you remain subscribed. Unsubscribing removes your address from our active list within 72 hours.
• Contact form submissions: retained for up to 24 months for follow-up and editorial reference, then deleted unless they are part of an ongoing exchange.

7. Your Rights

If you are in the European Economic Area (GDPR)

Under the GDPR you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, request correction of inaccurate data, request deletion ("the right to be forgotten"), request a copy of your data in a portable format, restrict processing in certain circumstances, and object to processing. To exercise any of these rights, contact us through our contact page. We will respond within the 30-day GDPR deadline.

If you are in California (CCPA / CPRA)

Under the CCPA and CPRA, California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, request deletion of personal information, and opt out of any sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell personal information, so the opt-out is effectively the default for our visitors. To exercise other rights, contact us through our contact page.

If you are elsewhere

Even outside the GDPR and CCPA, we will honor reasonable requests to access, correct, or delete the personal data we hold about you.

8. Children's Privacy

VisaRequirementMap is intended for general audiences making travel decisions. We do not target users under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

9. Security

We use HTTPS site-wide, keep our third-party dependencies up to date, and limit access to contact form submissions to editorial staff. No system is perfectly secure. In the unlikely event of a data incident affecting our newsletter list or contact form archive, we will notify affected users without undue delay as required by applicable law.

10. Changes to This Policy

If we change this policy materially, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top and summarize the change at the top of the page for at least 30 days. Continued use of the Site after a change is published constitutes acceptance.

11. Contact Us

Privacy questions or rights requests should go through our contact page. Please select "General Question" or "Other" as the subject and mention "privacy" in the message so we can route it correctly.

Last reviewed: January 15, 2026.