Privacy Policy

Effective Date: [March 1, 2025]

VIEC Education Canada Ltd. (“we,” “our,” or “us”) values your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your data when you visit our website and participate in our homestay program.

1. Who We Are

Our website address is: https://www.viec-ca.com.

About VIEC Education Canada Ltd. VIEC Education Canada Ltd. was established in 2012 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, as part of VIEC International Inc., originally founded in Tokyo, Japan, in 2000. We specialize in supporting Japanese students seeking study abroad experiences by providing homestay placements and cultural immersion programs. Our mission is to create meaningful connections between international students and caring host families in Canada.

Company Name: VIEC Education Canada Ltd.
Office Address: 100-633 Courtney Street, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8W 1B9
Phone Number: (250)382-8292
Email Address: homestay@viec-ca.com

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of information:

  • Personal Information: Name, email address, phone number, home address, and any details provided through application forms.
  • Household Information: Details about your home, family members, and preferences for hosting students.
  • Student Information: Detailed profile (Name, Address, Birthdate, Contact information and medical conditions), Emergency contacts, dietary restrictions, and special accommodation requests.
  • Website Usage Data: IP addresses, browser type, and interactions with our website.
  • Comments: When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. Once your comment is approved, your profile picture is visible to the public within the context of your comment.
  • Media: If you upload images to the website, please avoid embedding location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the website can download and extract location data from images.

3. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Our website may use cookies to enhance user experience and track website performance. You can adjust your browser settings to refuse cookies, but some features may not function properly.

  • If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience and will last for one year.
  • If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
  • When you log in, we set up several cookies to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. Selecting “Remember Me” extends login persistence to two weeks. Logging out removes login cookies.
  • If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie indicating the post ID of the edited article will be saved in your browser. It expires after one day.

4. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Embedded content from other websites behaves the same way as if you visited the other website. These sites may collect data, use cookies, embed third-party tracking, and monitor interactions, including tracking interactions if you are logged into their site.

5. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for:

  • Processing homestay applications and student placements.
  • Communicating with host families and students.
  • Providing customer support and program updates.
  • Improving our website and services.
  • Complying with legal requirements.

We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties.

6. Who We Share Your Data With

  • We only share relevant information with students, host families, or schools to facilitate the homestay process.
  • Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

7. How Long We Retain Your Data

  • If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them for moderation.
  • For registered users, we store personal information in their profile. Users can see, edit, or delete their data at any time (except for their username). Website administrators can also access and edit this information.

8. Your Rights & Choices

You have the right to:

  • Access, update, or delete your personal information.
  • Opt out of marketing communications.
  • Request an exported file of personal data we hold about you, including any data you provided.
  • Request the deletion of any personal data we hold, except for data required for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

For inquiries, please contact us at homestay@viec-ca.com.

9. Where Your Data Is Sent

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

10. Information Security

  • We implement security measures to protect your data from unauthorized access or misuse.
  • We may disclose information if required by law or for safety reasons.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as needed. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

For questions or concerns, please contact us at:

VIEC Education Canada Ltd.
100-633 Courtney Street, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8W 1B9
homestay@viec-ca.com
(250)382-8292

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Copyright 2025 VIEC Education Canada Ltd.