Privacy Policy

This is the Privacy and Cookie Policy of Expat Club by Xross Global Group BV, with registered address at Rue des Colonies 56, 1000 Brussels, and registered at the CBE with number 0501.838.210 (hereinafter “Expat Club”).

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully, because it contains essential information about how your personal data are processed and which cookies are used. By using the website, accessible via the following address www.expatclub.org hereinafter: “the Website”); by contacting us by mail/phone, by subscribing for our newsletter and/or by signing up as an online member and/or by joining one of our events or trips, you declare that you have read this Privacy Policy and that you expressly agree to its content as well as to the processing itself. Some key points that may be enough:

• We never rent, sell or share your information, including email address or telephone numbers. Not with third parties and not with other members either.
• Your personal data will not be visible on our website, beyond your name and nationality (optional). Unless you write your email address or other date explicitly in a post or on your profile description, it will never be visible
• If you feel someone is infringing upon your privacy, please contact us. This includes other members, real or fake (it may happen fake profiles slip through our checks), who contact you through direct messages on our platform. We will take decisive action whenever this happens.
• If you don’t like to be on our pictures, we kindly ask you to tell us before the event or trip. We are really happy to remove one or two pictures of you, but we cannot delete group pictures with you in it because it’s clear those are for publication.

Article 1 – General terms

• EXPAT CLUB, as a Belgian company, is also compliant with the European Regulation 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of personal data. (hereinafter “GDPR”).
• EXPAT CLUB takes responsibility for the processing of your personal data.

Article 2 – Collected personal data

2.1. Personal data you communicate to us:

• Category 1: [data obtained by placing cookies: your IP-address, location];
• Category 2: [without registration: your IP-address, surfing behaviour, origin (city, country)];
• Category 3: [by registration for the newsletter: your first name or first and last name, your e-mail address, IP-address, city, country, registration date and time);
• Category 4: [by RSVP’ing for an event or by pre-reserving a spot for an event or trip: your first name or first and last name, your e-mail address, IP-address, city, country, registration date and time);
• Category 5: [by buying a paid ticket: your IP-address, surfing behaviour, origin (city, country), first and last name, full address, telephone number, payment method);
• Category 6: [by registering as an online member: your first name or first and last name, your profile name, your e-mail address, IP-address, city, country, registration date and time, possibly supplemented by data voluntarily provided by yourself, including bio, professional details, gender )
• Category 7: [by email: email details, and the contents of the email itself];

Note: The Expat Club website does not automatically store any bank- or credit card information.

2.2. EXPAT CLUB can obtain personal data though different means:

a. by placing cookies;
b. during your registration and use of the Website;
c. by placing an order on our website;
d. by voluntarily giving your first name / first and last name, email address, phone number and possible other information, during one of our events, while visiting an expat fair, or any other instance where we meet;
e. by sending us an email explicitly allowing us to store and use your data.

Article 3 – Purposes of the processing of data

3.1. General purposes:

EXPAT CLUB will use the obtained personal data solely for the purposes mentioned below:

• Category 1: [the maintaining and improving of the Website and the creation of anonymous statistics based (the identity of particular persons or companies will not be traceable) on the “legitimate interest” of EXPAT CLUB to improve the service and Website];
• Category 2: [the maintaining and improving of the Website and the creation of anonymous statistics based (the identity of particular persons or companies will not be traceable) on the “legitimate interest” of EXPAT CLUB to improve the service and Website];
• Category 3: [the sending of direct marketing mailings, newsletters, promotions, based on your explicit and preliminary consent];
• Category 4: [the creation of attendance lists and sending you event reminders and thank you notes];
• Category 5: [the creation of a pre-reservation lists of interested members and other people, the sending of direct marketing mailings, newsletters, and promotions specifically for the event or trip. The delivery and invoice-details of the products ordered by you, based on the delivery of a service which you requested].;
• Category 6: [the creation of attendance lists and sending you event reminders and thank you notes, sending you informational and preparatory emails about the event or trip.]
• Category 7: [managing your account on our website and using the forum, in order to send you direct marketing mailings based on your preferences, showing your mandatory and voluntary provided profile information to other members, showing your anonymised profile pictures to general website visitors and clickable picture for logged-in members];
• Category 8: [archiving].

You are not obliged to provide us with your personal data, however you must understand that the delivery of certain services is not possible in case you refuse to provide us with certain personal data.  In case of a request to delete your data, it may be that Expat Club will not be able to deliver the services anymore, such as sending you proper information about events or trips you registered for. There will be no right to a refund if you do not join an event or trip, or do not partially join an event or trip. For instance, if you do not disclose your full address during the reservation for a trip, we have the right to refuse you, without the right for you for a refund.

3.2. Direct marketing:
Your personal data will only be used for direct marketing purposes of you give your explicit and preliminary consent. (“opt-in”).

In case you have given your consent and you are added to EXPAT CLUB’s direct mailing list, EXPAT CLUB may use your personal data to send you marketing material as well as other material relating to EXPAT CLUB, her products and/or her services. EXPAT CLUB can also use the personal data you provided in order to adapt the documents, such as name personalisation.

EXPAT CLUB will never transfer your personal data to her partners, e,g. for direct marketing purposes, but we can use your data to send your information and promotions from our partners.

This consent can be revoked at all times, for free and without motivation by clicking the unsubscribe button below every (promotional) e-mail, or by requesting us to be taken from the list. Note, we are in no way responsible for you not receiving our practical informational emails regarding events and trips that you registered for. If you “junk” our emails, you will not receive emails that contain important or essential information regarding the events and trips you registered for, such as cancellations or changes in times and meeting points.

3.3. Transfer to third parties:                   
In case of whole or partial reorganization or cession of EXPAT CLUB’s activities, whereby EXPAT CLUB reorganizes, transfers, ceases her business activity or in case EXPAT CLUB goes bankrupt, your personal data may be transferred to new entities or third parties.

EXPAT CLUB will try, if reasonably possible, to inform you beforehand of the fact that EXPAT CLUB transfers your personal data to a third person, but you must be aware of the fact that this is not always possible, nor technically nor commercially possible.

EXPAT CLUB won’t sell, let, hand out your personal data nor place them at disposal of third parties, except in the situations provided for in this policy or unless your explicit and preliminary consent.

3.4. Legal requirements:
In extraordinary circumstances it may occur that EXPAT CLUB is obliged to transfer your personal data following a court order or in order to comply with imperative laws and/or regulations. EXPAT CLUB will, if reasonably possible, try to inform you beforehand, unless revealing this information is subject to legal constraints.

Article 4 – Duration of the processing

We will store and process your personal data during the period necessary depending on the purposes of the processing as well as depending on the contractual relationship between you and EXPAT CLUB.

We will maintain your customer, member or visitor profile until about 6 months after you unsubscribe from all our mailings. We clear our database 2 times per year.

Article 5 – Your rights

5.1. Access right and right to obtain a copy.
You have the right to freely obtain at any moment access to your personal data, as well as to be informed about the purpose of the processing by EXPAT CLUB.

5.2. Right to correct, delete and limit:
You have the choice to share your personal data with EXPAT CLUB. You also have the right to request EXPAT CLUB to correct, delete or complement your personal data. You acknowledge that a refusal to share data or a request to delete these data will make the delivery of certain services and/or products impossible.

You can also request the processing of your personal data to be limited.

5.3. Right to object:
You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data when you have serious and legitimate reasons to do so.   

You also have the right to object to the use of your personal data for purposes of direct marketing. In such case specific reasoning will not be requested.

5.4. Right to free data transferring: 
You have the right to obtain your personal data, which is processed by EXPAT CLUB in a structured, usual form, readable by machines and/or to transfer this data to another data controller.

5.5. Right to withdraw consent
When the processing is based on prior consent you have the right to withdraw this consent.

5.6. Exercise of rights:
You can exercise your rights by contacting us, either through e-mail [info@expatclub.org] to or by mail to [Expat Club – Xross Global Group BV, Rue du Lac 37 bte 12, 1000 Brussels], with inclusion of your ID. 

5.7. Automated decisions and profiling:
The processing of your personal data does not include profiling, nor shall you be subjected to automated decisions.

5.8. Right to file a complaint:
You have the right to file a complaint with the Belgian Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit, Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels, Tel +32 (0)2 274 48 00, Fax +32 (0)2 274 48 35, e-mail: contact@apd-gba.be.

This does not affect a provision before the civil court.

If you have suffered damages caused by the processing of your personal data you can file a claim for damages.

Article 6 – Safety and confidentiality

6.1. We have adopted safety measures which are suited on both a technical and an organisational level to avoid the destruction, the loss, the forgery, the adjustment, the non-authorised access or the notification of the personal data by accident to a third party, as well as the non-authorised processing of these data.

6.2. EXPAT CLUB shall not be liable in any way for direct or indirect damages caused by a wrongfully or improper use of the personal data by a third party.      

6.3. At all times you shall comply with safety standards, for instance by avoiding all non-authorised access to your login and access code. You are solely responsible for the use of the Website on your computer, IP-address and identification data, as well as for the confidentiality.

Article 7 – Access by third parties

• In order to process your personal data we provide access to your personal data to our employees.
• We guarantee a similar level of protection by imposing contractual obligations to our employees that are similar to this Privacy Policy.

Article 8 – Cookies

8.1. What is a cookie?
A “cookie” is a small text file that is sent from the server of EXPAT CLUB and is stored on your computer’s hard drive. This way we can remember your preferences when visiting our Website. The information stored through these cookies can only be read by EXPAT CLUB and only for the duration of your visit to the Website.

8.2. Why do we use cookies?
Our website uses Cookies and similar technologies to distinguish your preferences from those of the other users of our Website. This allows us to offer you a better experience when you visit our Website and to optimize our Website in the meantime.

As a result of recent amendments of the law, all websites focusing on certain parts of the European Union are obligated to ask for your permission in order to use or save cookies and similar technologies on your computer or mobile devices. This cookie policy clearly and completely informs you about the cookies we use and their purpose.

8.3. Kind of cookies:
Cookies can be subdivided based on their offspring, function and durability.

The Website only uses the following cookies:

Functional cookies

Non-functional cookies 

For cookies set by third parties (Google Analytics) we kindly refer you to the statements set forth by these parties on their respective websites. Beware, we do not have any influence on the content of these statements nor on the content of the cookies of these third parties: Google Analytics cookies.

Article 9 – Your permission

When you first visit our website you will be asked to accept our different kinds of cookies. For each category you can allow or refuse cookies. At any time, you can change the cookie settings for our Website through the hyperlink below our website and thus revoke your permission.

You can block Cookies by activating your browser settings which allows you to refuse the cookies. The rejection of these cookies may have the effect of not allowing you to use some functionalities on the Website.

In case you have any more questions or remarks regarding the processing of personal data, please contact EXPAT CLUB per mail info@expatclub.org or per post at Expat Club – Xross Global Group BV, Rue des Colonies 56, 1000 Brussels, Belgium or by using the “Contact us” button on the Website.

More information on cookies can also be found via the following link: https://www.allaboutcookies.org/

More information on online behavioral advertising and online privacy can be found via the following link: https://www.youronlinechoices.eu/