Data Protection & Privacy Policy

Reassuringly secure document handling, GDPR compliance, and strict confidentiality guidelines designed to protect your family’s legacy.

In the high-stakes environment of Italian citizenship applications, the documentation involved—often spanning generations of civil status records—represents the very foundation of a family’s heritage. At Bedin & Finch Immigration LLP, we understand that for our clients, data protection is not merely a box-ticking exercise for legal compliance; it is a strategic imperative. The integrity and confidentiality of ancestral records are fundamental to the trust required to bridge the gap between a client’s personal history and their formal recognition as a citizen by the Italian state. Consequently, our privacy framework is designed to treat every birth certificate, marriage record, and consular file as a precious manifest of legacy, ensuring that the “raw materials” of your citizenship journey are shielded by the highest standards of professional secrecy and digital security.

Our commitment to this security is operationalised through three core pillars of trust.

These pillars are supported by the firm’s formal legal authority and senior leadership.

Introduction and Legal Authority

This policy defines how Bedin & Finch Immigration LLP collects, processes, and protects your personal data. Our operations are led by Partner Silvia Bedin (SRA No: 828983), a foreign lawyer and member of The Law Society of England and Wales and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The strategic “So What?” of SRA registration is central to our data protection philosophy: unlike unregulated agencies, our firm is held to the stringent professional and ethical standards of the Law Society. This regulatory oversight ensures that our data protection protocols are not voluntary but a mandatory requirement of our professional standing. This legal authority provides clients with an avenue of accountability that is absent in the unregulated market, ensuring that your immigration journey is overseen by experts who are legally bound to protect your family’s most sensitive information.

Scope of Sensitive Personal Data Collection

To reconstruct a family lineage and satisfy the requirements of the Italian Ministry of the Interior and various Municipalities (Comuni), we must process specific categories of sensitive personal data. This collection is the vital “raw material” required to build a compliant legal file, including:

• Civil Status Documents: Long-form birth certificates, marriage certificates, and divorce decrees.
• Identification & Residency: Passport scans and Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (AIRE) details.
• Legal & Administrative Records: Death registrations, vital decrees, and registry updates.

Contextually, the collection of these specific documents is not just an administrative formality but a legal necessity. Without this data, the bridge between your current legal status and your ancestral heritage cannot be established in a manner that satisfies the rigid demands of Italian bureaucracy.

Legal Basis and Purpose for Processing

Under the GDPR, Bedin & Finch processes data based on the following lawful bases:

• Article 6(1)(b) (Contractual Necessity): Processing is required to perform the services outlined in our “Done For You” agreement.
• Article 6(1)(c) (Legal Obligation): Processing is necessary to comply with the legal requirements of the Italian civil status system and consular regulations.

We use this information to transform raw personal data into a compliant legal file, acting as a specialized bridge to the Italian bureaucratic system. This includes conducting deep-dive registry audits, municipal record searches, and facilitating formal submissions through portals such as Fast.it and Prenot@Mi, or directly to the Court of Rome. Our role is to ensure your family legacy is handled with precision during these technical submissions.These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Physical and Digital Document Safeguarding

Our security protocols are meticulously human-led, distinguishing Bedin & Finch from mass-market automated services. We employ dedicated document analysts to ensure that “secure handling” is an active, expert process:

• Human Oversight: Document handling and analysis are overseen by specialized analysts, such as Frederico Bedin, while registry updates and AIRE registrations are managed by experts like Julia Carrer. This ensures a meticulous, human-centric approach to irreplacable family records.
• Digital Storage: All digital copies are maintained in encrypted storage systems to prevent unauthorised access or data breaches.
• Physical Holding: Physical certificates are kept in secure holding facilities throughout the preparation phase.
• Safe Return/Destruction: Upon the completion of your citizenship recognition and subsequent registration requirements, original certificates are either safely returned to you or undergo confidential destruction, per your preference.

Individual Data Rights Under GDPR

We believe that the client remains the ultimate owner of their family history. To empower this ownership, we uphold all individual rights afforded by the GDPR:

1. Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold.
2. Right to Rectification: You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
3. Right to Restriction: You may ask us to limit the processing of your data under specific conditions.
4. Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): You can request the deletion of your data when it is no longer necessary for the legal or operational purposes of your application.
5. Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.

Google AdWords, Remarketing, and Third-Party Cookies

To provide relevant information to those interested in Italian citizenship, we utilize digital marketing tools while maintaining strict privacy boundaries.

Disclosure of Google AdWords Remarketing: Our website uses the Google AdWords remarketing service to advertise on third-party websites (including Google) to previous visitors to our site. This may include an advertisement on the Google search results page or a site in the Google Display Network. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on past visits to our website.

Opt-Out Instructions:

• You can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ads Preferences Manager.
• You may also opt out of a third-party vendor’s use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) opt-out page.

Classified Cookie Preferences

Our live cookie management system allows you to customise your digital experience. This granular control ensures you can manage your privacy without compromising site functionality.

• Necessary Cookies (Always Active): These are essential for basic site functionality, such as secure log-ins and consent preferences. These cookies do not require consent under GDPR as they are vital for the operation of the site.
• Functional Cookies: These support features such as social media sharing and third-party tools.
• Analytical Cookies: These provide insights into visitor counts, bounce rates, and traffic sources, helping us refine our service delivery.
• Advertisement Cookies: Used to deliver personalised ads and track the effectiveness of our marketing.
• Unclassified Cookies: These are cookies currently in the process of being classified alongside the providers of the individual cookies.

This policy is a living document and may be updated to reflect changes in the legal landscape or our operational procedures. We view a privacy policy not as a static disclosure, but as a continuous conversation about trust and the protection of your family’s heritage.

For any inquiries regarding the protection of your data, or to exercise your GDPR rights, please contact our compliance team:

• Email: contact@bedinfinch.co.uk
• Phone: 020 8016 1800
• Address: Bedin & Finch Immigration LLP, 59 Goldings Road, Loughton, Essex, IG10 2QR.