Terms of Use

1. Parties and Scope

These are the terms and conditions (“Terms”) that govern the relationship between you, our customer (referred to as “you” in these terms) and CIBT, Inc, Tax ID 52-1631723 of 1600 International Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102 (“CIBT”) for provision of service by CIBT (as well as our operating units of “Newland Chase”, “Blair Consular”, and “Newland Chase Education”). For ease of reading, “CIBT” will refer to all operating units and services. If you are a consumer within the meaning of any local or federal law (“Consumer”), then additional rights may be available to you and will be specified in this document. If you are not a Consumer, you hereby confirm that you have authority to bind any business on whose behalf you seek to purchase services. These Terms shall include certain terms specified on the relevant CIBT website for your country or use (located at www.CIBTvisas.com, www.newlandchase.com, and www.blairconsular.com depending on the services requested, as well other company brands), including the CIBT Inc. Privacy Policy, which when taken together are exclusive in relation to CIBT Inc. services. Other general terms and conditions do not apply and do not form part of the contract between us, even if we do not explicitly reject them. These Terms are subject to change without prior notice, except that the Terms in force at the time you place or modify an order will govern the order in question. For the avoidance of doubt, mere viewing of (in contrast to ordering services from) the Website is subject to the Terms Of Website Use and not these Terms. Additional information on security, partners we use, and our data transfer impact assessment are found here.

The primary services provided by CIBT are to help you in obtaining travel visas, passports, immigration processing and document certification and legalization services, and other travel documentation and related consulting. We describe documents and forms you generally need to provide to achieve these aims and then submit these documents and forms duly completed by you, to the authorities or appropriate bodies. For the avoidance of doubt, if we provide services to you, you are our customer, and these Terms apply. If we refer you to any other service provider, you take responsibility for reviewing any services provided and that service provider’s terms and conditions will apply for their services. We do not accept any liability for third-party services and these Terms will not apply to those third-party services.

Our order process allows you to check and amend any errors before submitting your order to us. After you place an order, you will receive an e-mail from us acknowledging that we have received your order. If your order appears to be correct, we will notify you that we have accepted your order and begun work on it. This acceptance email is titled “Your Order Has Been Received.” The contract between us will only be formed when we send you this acceptance email.

These Terms apply to any offer and any agreement between you and CIBT and to the provision of any service provided to you by or on behalf of CIBT in respect of, but not limited to, the processing of visas, passports, document legalization and certification services for you or on your behalf. Some Terms may refer to an issuing authority, which is the body being an embassy, consulate, government organisation, health authority or other agency that issue or supply the documents requested by you.

If CIBT Inc. provides you with a translation of the English language version of these Terms, you agree that the translation is provided for your convenience only and that the English language versions of these Terms will govern your relationship with CIBT. If there is any inconsistency between the English language version of these Terms and the translation, the English language version shall control.

2. Procedure

CIBT Inc. will endeavor to provide you with accurate information and to ensure that you obtain the visa for your trip and any appropriate certified documents for use for the date required in a timely manner. Nevertheless, all requirements to obtain the visa or documents (including, but not limited to, documentation, fees and time frames) are calculated based on general criteria and can vary according to information provided by you (including, but not limited to, current or previous nationality, residence, gender, age, profession, recent travel, religion, type of document or country of origin of document requested). Each country's requirements for passports and visas or document services and related information are established by sovereign nations and are subject to change without notice. While CIBT strives to provide current and complete information, CIBT cannot and does not guarantee that the information supplied is the most current and complete. CIBT is not and shall not be responsible for such information.

3. Submission of documentation

You can consult the list of requisites to be met in order to process your visa and document request(s) on our website. To ensure that you know where your documents are at all times, you will be sent an e-mail confirming the receipt of your documents when it reaches our offices. CIBT will only process the visa(s) and documents specifically indicated in your request; CIBT assumes no responsibility for other visas and documents required for your trip that have not been requested or which relate to stops on your trip that are not part of that request.

By submitting one or more requests to process one or more visas/documents to CIBT, you accept these Terms. Once your request(s) has/have been made to CIBT, CIBT shall send to the e-mail address provided by you an email with the specific conditions of the visa and documents requested, such as the type of visa process document needs, destination and time frame. Upon receipt of your documentation your requests will be validated and CIBT shall commence the procedures to obtain the visa(s) or document treatment required. If offered, phone orders will be accepted on the day of placement and mail orders will be accepted: (a) if provided with an email address, when we email you with a ‘Confirmation Order Received’; or otherwise (b) on the first business day after receipt of the completed forms or documents. CIBT reserves the right to refuse, in its total discretion, to handle any application at any time and no reason need be given.

CIBT reserves the right to decline processing of documents for any reason, including but not limited to incomplete documentation, insufficient processing time, and degree of difficulty in procuring documents due to purpose of travel or use.

4. Obtaining the visa

When CIBT returns your passport and/or documents to you, it is important, for visa request, that you confirm that all of the visas you need for your travel have been obtained, that the visas for each country you intend to visit are valid for the dates of arrival and departure from the country/region of your visit and for the purpose and nature of your visit (including, but not limited to, tourism, business, and/or study). For document requests, you must confirm that all required documents have been obtained and returned, that they contain all the relevant certifications for the legalization process and for the document to be accepted by you or your end user. You must notify CIBT immediately by email if you identify any discrepancy in your documentation. The issue of a visa and/or document certification depends exclusively on the issuing authority. Immigration/Certification officials in each country have the final decision to admit entry into the country or region or to certify a documents authenticity, even when all of the stipulated requirements have been met. CIBT does not guarantee that the issuing authority will issue the visa or the /document certification in a timely manner and within the specified time frame. Non-refundable fares or reservations must not be purchased until all visas have been obtained.

5. Delivery

CIBT will send completed applications by UPS Next Day, unless otherwise instructed. A delivery charge will be added to your order. All third-party delivery companies are subject to the conditions set by these individual companies. CIBT accepts no liability for loss or delays incurred when using third-party delivery companies.

6. Additional services

CIBT may offer to provide additional services in some jurisdictions, including but not limited to Premium Service, Digital Photo Service, Embassy Registration, Passport Replacement Coverage, Pre-check Service, Fast Track My Visa, Visa Form Fill, Invitation Services, Notarization Services, Translations, Certification Scan and Travel Visa Widget. If so provided, the description and relevant terms for those additional services are available on the Website via the Service Directory and are incorporated into these Terms.

7. Fees

The fees for CIBT services shall be those specified on the Website, including any indirect taxes, if applicable, that are applicable to the fees, and other charges and fees charged by an issuing authority or any courier or delivery service, all of which must be paid by you.

At the time of your creation of an order on the Website, you will be charged for CIBT’s service fees, and all application fees required by issuing authorities. CIBT’s service fees become non-fundable on the earlier to occur of (i) CIBT’s submission of a travel document/documentation to an issuing authority; or (ii) ninety (90) days after the creation of your Order. All fees paid to an issuing authority by CIBT on your behalf are nonrefundable

CIBT will secure a passport reservation for every passport submission and provide all details to the traveller regarding the date of the passport reservation, where to send application materials and what needs to be sent. If a traveller either (i) does not appear for a passport reservation date or (ii) attempts to cancel a passport reservation less than 48 hours before the passport reservation date, a cancellation fee will apply.

Consular fees and availability of services are subject to change without notice. Fees and services may differ between the time the order is placed and when the ordered is completed. CIBT will endeavor to communicate said changes to the client where possible. CIBT reserves the right to select the most appropriate service available given the time constraints, as indicated by the client.

In the event that a visa, passport or document application is submitted on your behalf and the request is rejected for any reason, CIBT will, at your request, make one additional attempt to secure the travel document and document certification(s). You will be required to pay any additional fees assessed by the issuing authority and, if the additional attempt is needed due to an error made by you on the visa or document application, CIBT will charge a $30 service fee. Additionally, issuing authorities may charge cancellation fees, which you will be responsible for, in the event you seek to withdraw an application after submission.

Orders which are not submitted via the online order process will be charged an additional administrative fee. CIBT service fees may vary according to the number of business processing days available to procure the service. Consulate closings and holidays are excluded for the purpose of counting the number of business days.

Where an Australian Electronic Visa (ETA) or US ESTA has been requested, the fee paid to CIBT includes processing of the ETA/ESTA visa only and does not include any appeals or additional services. The cost of the ETA/ESTA application paid to the issuing authority is non-refundable and should your application be refused; you will not be issued a refund.

If you create and pay for an order on the Website, and you both (i) do not complete the submission process and (ii) do not cancel the order within ninety (90) days, CIBT will provide you a credit for CIBT’s service fees previously charged towards a future order so long as the future order is placed within the six (6) months of the creation of your original order.

8. Warnings/ Disclaimers

When working with government agencies and representatives, our role is to support you in the application and paperwork process. We act as your agent, handling submissions for visas, passports, legal documents, and immigration requirements. It is important to note that while we facilitate applications and paperwork, the final decision rests with the government agencies. Our role is to ensure your applications and paperwork are accurately and expeditiously submitted. We do not influence Government outcomes.

The issuing authority will make the final determination as to the type of visa, passport, or document certification, how quickly it will be issued and for what duration it will be issued. Prior to approval, the issuing authority may ask for additional documentation. The issuing authority may reject any visa, passport, document certification request, or other travel document application for any reason and may not provide a reason to CIBT for the rejection. CIBT does not issue visas, passports, or document certifications and therefore, cannot make any guarantee or assurances that any issuing authority will issue any document. CIBT cannot guarantee the time required for an issuing authority to grant or reject an application. Issuing authorities may choose to grant a different type of travel document or certification than that which the applicant has requested which may impact the purpose, validity or number of entries.

As a result, non-refundable tickets or reservations should not be purchased until all the required travel documents for your trip have been secured. CIBT reserves the right to prioritize processing requests according to the travel dates provided. CIBT service fees are assessed for taking reasonable actions to foster the issuance of a requested travel documents or certified documentation.

CIBT will use its best effort to process applications for visas, passports and/or documents at the client's request. However, CIBT shall not be held responsible for, nor will accept any liability for, the actions of any consulate, embassy, state department, government authority, health authority, passport office or any other government agency in delaying or not issuing such applications for any reason whatsoever. In addition, CIBT shall not be held responsible for expense and/or delay arising from or in connection with: (a) incomplete application forms or (b) incorrectly or falsely completed application forms or (c) inaccurate or incomplete supporting documentation. Any expense or cost incurred by the client due to these delays or non-issuances shall not be the responsibility of, nor shall any charges be levied upon CIBT.

In the event an ETA/ESTA is requested, CIBT will attempt to assist the traveller in procuring the relevant documents to meet the client’s desired travel plans. However, in any event, travel plans should not be confirmed until the traveller has secured the necessary documents to allow entry.

CIBT provides visa, passport, document procurement and certification information in good faith and on the express understanding that the said information is the interpretation of any or all information provided by respective embassies, consulates, state department, government authority, health authority or passport offices at any or all times and CIBT shall not accept responsibility or liability whatsoever for any errors and/or omissions in the information.

CIBT will endeavor, wherever possible, to process the client's visa, passport and/or document based on the instructions given and application forms submitted, although it is the client's express responsibility to ensure that the validity of the said visa/passport/document obtained includes and covers the periods of time in which the client plans to enter and leave the country or countries that the client is visiting and for the number of entries to that country and is valid for the purpose intended.

When CIBT returns your passport and documents for a visa, it is your responsibility to verify that all the visas you require for your trip have been obtained, that the visas for each country you intend to visit are valid for the entry and exit dates of your visit, that your personal details are reflected accurately, and that your passport is valid for at least six (6) months beyond the completion of your trip. For any other documents, you must verify that the document has all the required certification stamps from the relevant required authorities to be accepted by you or the end user. It is the responsibility of the requestor to notify CIBT of the certification stamps required on your documentation for legalization, as per you or your end user’s needs. Please note that even when a visa is issued, a traveller may be denied entry since in each country the local immigration officials make the final entry decision. CIBT recommends all travellers secure a visa prior to departure and do not attempt to obtain one “on arrival.”

9. Limitation of liability

Should a passport, document or other item be lost, misplaced, damaged, delayed or destroyed, CIBT shall only be liable if CIBT is at fault and CIBT’s liability shall be limited to the actual cost of replacement cost of the passport or document not to exceed $500.00. CIBT reserves the right in all instances to substitute replacement of the documents that had been in CIBT’s care and control in lieu of payment. CIBT is not responsible for items misplaced, damaged, delayed or destroyed by a delivery service or issuing authority. Passport covers and all other documents including, but not limited to, original bank statements and educational and birth certificates, which were not requested for submission by CIBT should be retained by the applicant. CIBT accepts no responsibility for the loss or damage of such documents

CIBT accepts no liability for travellers electing to obtain on-arrival visas.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, CIBT excludes and/or limits any direct, indirect or consequential damages, costs or expenses and all statutory or implied conditions and warranties, including, without limitation, lost income or profits or travel or holiday costs or any loss arising from information obtained from the Website. Subject to the other provisions of this section, if you incur any losses or damages that are wholly attributable to the negligence or malfeasance of CIBT, our maximum liability for loss caused to you by CIBT, whether under contract, tort, or otherwise, shall be limited to a maximum of $500.

CIBT will not be responsible in any respect or for any amount for loss or delay caused by events that we cannot or do not control, including but not limited to acts of God, weather conditions, acts of public enemies, war, strikes, civil commotions, or acts or omissions of public authorities (including passport, government, and embassy consular officials).

Nothing in this agreement excludes and/or limits our liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any other matter for which it would be illegal for us to exclude or attempt to exclude our liability.

10. Claims period

You have ninety (90) days after completion of work by CIBT, beginning from the date of delivery of the visa or document (or if not delivered, from the date of order) to inform CIBT of any claim related to CIBT services. Once the relevant deadline has passed, any rights for rectification or compensation shall expire.

11. General

These Terms and any document expressly referred to therein, shall constitute the whole agreement between us and shall supersede all previous discussions, correspondence, negotiations, previous arrangement, understanding or agreement between us relating to the subject matter of any contract. If any provision of these Terms does not comply with any law, then the provision must be read down so as to give it as much effect as possible. If it is not possible to give the provision any effect at all, then it must be treated as severable from the rest of the Terms. Where CIBT is unable to carry out any obligation under the contract due to any circumstance, matter or thing beyond its reasonable control (“force majeure”) CIBT shall be excused from such obligations to the extent of such prevention, restriction or interference so caused. CIBT may subcontract all or part of its obligations or assign all or part of its rights under this contract. This agreement does not create any right enforceable by a person who is not a party to it, except for any lawful successor or assignee. Any dispute arising under this agreement shall be governed by regulations of Federal Trade Commission and both parties agree and consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state courts of Virginia situated in Fairfax County, Virginia or the federal courts situated in the Northern District of Virginia.