Right of Withdrawal

1. What is the right of withdrawal?

When you enter into a contract at a distance (for example via our website, without our meeting in person), as a consumer you in principle have a statutory cooling-off period of 14 days. Within that period you may withdraw from the contract: you then exercise your 'right of withdrawal' and the contract is undone. This right derives from Article 6:230o of the Dutch Civil Code.

The 14-day cooling-off period begins to run on the day after you concluded the contract with us, that is, from the day after your order and payment. Withdrawal means that you will in principle be refunded, unless a statutory exception applies or we have already (with your consent) begun performing the service. That exception almost always applies to our service; what this means in concrete terms is set out in the articles below.

The right of withdrawal only applies if you are a consumer, that is, a natural person not acting in the exercise of a profession or business. If you act in a business capacity, you have no statutory right of withdrawal.

2. Our service is a service that is performed immediately

Our service consists of checking, correcting and submitting your application on your behalf to the official portal of the relevant authority, plus the related support. It is therefore a service contract: you are not buying a physical product, but an act that we perform for you.

In order to be able to process your application quickly, and because travel authorisations are often time-sensitive, we begin immediately after you have paid and provided your details. Precisely because we start immediately, the statutory exception to the right of withdrawal applies to our service. We explain this in the following article.

3. When your right of withdrawal lapses (the statutory exception)

The law provides an exception for services that are performed in full during the cooling-off period. Pursuant to Article 6:230p, opening words and under (d), of the Dutch Civil Code, your right of withdrawal lapses once the service has been fully performed, provided that (a) performance began with your express prior consent, and (b) you have declared that you lose your right of withdrawal once we have fully performed the contract.

When you place your application, we expressly ask you for this, by means of a separate checkbox that you actively tick yourself and that is not pre-ticked. By ticking that box you expressly request us to begin performance immediately and you acknowledge that you lose your right of withdrawal once we have fully submitted and performed your application. We record the time and details of this consent as evidence.

In concrete terms this means: once we have submitted your application to the relevant authority, the service has been fully performed and you no longer have a right of withdrawal. You can then no longer undo the contract free of charge, and the service fees are not refunded. This is a normal and legally permitted course of events for services that are delivered immediately.

Even if, for technical or practical reasons, we classify your application as a 'digital service', the same outcome applies pursuant to the comparable statutory provision (Article 6:230p under (g) of the Dutch Civil Code): with your prior consent and your acknowledgement that your right of withdrawal lapses, you lose that right once performance has begun.

4. Withdrawing before we have begun

Did you not give express consent for immediate performance when placing your application, or have we not yet begun performing your application? Then you can withdraw within 14 days of your order without giving any reason. We will then refund the amount you paid for the part that we have not yet performed.

Because in practice we start quickly in order to be able to submit your application in time, it is advisable to notify us of any withdrawal as soon as possible. The sooner you do so, the greater the chance that we have not yet begun and that you will be refunded the full amount.

5. Withdrawing while we are already partly under way

Do you withdraw within the cooling-off period while we, with your prior consent, had already begun but had not yet fully performed the service? Then you may withdraw, but pursuant to Article 6:230s of the Dutch Civil Code you owe a proportionate amount for the part that we had already performed at that moment.

We calculate that proportionate amount in relation to the full price of the contract and to the work we have already done (such as checking and preparing your application). The remainder, insofar as we have not yet performed anything, we will refund to you.

If, at the moment of withdrawal, the service has already been fully performed, with your prior consent and your acknowledgement that your right of withdrawal thereby lapses, then there is no longer any right of withdrawal and no refund takes place (see article 3).

6. How you withdraw

Would you like to exercise your right of withdrawal? Then send us an unequivocal message by email to info@requestavisa.com within the 14-day cooling-off period. You may use the model withdrawal form found at the bottom of this policy, but this is not mandatory: a clear email is sufficient.

In any case, state in your message your full name, your application or order number, the date of your order and the statement that you wish to withdraw from the contract. This allows us to process your request quickly. We will confirm receipt of your withdrawal by email.

To meet the deadline, it is sufficient that you send your notification before the end of the 14-day cooling-off period.

7. Refund after withdrawal

If you validly withdraw and there is something to be refunded, we will refund the amount owed no later than 14 days after receipt of your withdrawal. We will use the same means of payment you used to pay (for example iDEAL, credit card or PayPal), unless you expressly agree to a different method. We do not charge you any costs for the refund itself.

Have we already begun performance (partly or fully) with your prior consent? Then we will offset the proportionate amount for the work already performed (see article 5), or no refund takes place if the service has already been fully performed (see article 3).

8. No right to a refund after refusal, delay or changed travel plans

The right of withdrawal and the refund policy are entirely separate from the outcome of your application. We provide a best-efforts obligation (correctly checking and submitting your application), not a result: the decision to grant, refuse, postpone or revoke a travel authorisation lies exclusively with the competent foreign authority. We have no influence over this and cannot guarantee approval.

If your application is refused, postponed or revoked by the authority, we have nonetheless fully delivered our service and the service fees are owed. A refusal therefore does not give any right to a refund of the service fees. A missed flight, cancelled trip or other consequential loss also falls outside our withdrawal and refund policy.

If you change your travel plans yourself after the application, cancel your trip, or it turns out afterwards that you did not need the travel authorisation, this gives no right to withdrawal or a refund once the service has been performed. The same applies if, after ordering from us, you have in the meantime submitted the same application yourself directly to the government.

9. Incorrect, incomplete or late-supplied details

You are yourself responsible for the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the details and documents you provide, including your personal and passport details and, where requested, your passport scan and photo. Therefore check your details carefully before placing the application.

If incorrect, incomplete or late-supplied information leads to a delay, an error in the application or a refusal by the authority, this is for your account and risk. In that case there is no right to withdrawal or a refund, because we performed our service on the basis of your details.

If, through your own input error, you accidentally place a duplicate or incorrect application, we cannot guarantee that we can still stop it after performance has begun. In such a case, contact us as soon as possible; we will then assess whether correction is still possible.

10. Goodwill beyond your statutory rights

Even if you no longer have a statutory right of withdrawal or refund, in special or unforeseen circumstances we will always consider whether we can accommodate you as a gesture of goodwill. Consider a situation in which, due to an error attributable solely to us, we were unable to perform the service correctly.

We offer such a goodwill arrangement on a case-by-case basis and at our own discretion. It is an accommodation, not a right that you can derive from this policy or from an earlier goodwill gesture. Do you have a request? Present your situation via info@requestavisa.com.

11. Non-delivery on our part

If, other than in a case of force majeure, we turn out to be wholly unable to process or submit your application, and we therefore fail to deliver our service, you are entitled to a refund of the service fees for the undelivered part. In that case, contact us; we will then resolve this with you.

We are not liable for being unable to deliver, or to deliver on time, if this is the result of circumstances beyond our control, such as disruptions or changes at the government portal, changed entry rules or other force majeure situations. In that case we will suspend our obligations or dissolve the contract, with a refund pro rata to the part not yet performed.

12. Force majeure

By force majeure we mean any circumstance beyond our control as a result of which we cannot perform our service, or cannot perform it on time or in full. This includes in any case government measures, closure or modification of the official portal, changes to entry or visa rules, disruptions at our service providers or payment providers, cyberattacks, internet or power outages, pandemics, war and natural disasters.

In the event of force majeure, we may suspend performance for the duration of the force majeure. If the force majeure lasts so long that performance becomes permanently impossible, either of us may dissolve the contract. We will then refund the amount for the part of the service that we had not yet performed. Force majeure gives no right to compensation for consequential loss.

13. Chargebacks

Do you disagree with a payment or believe you are entitled to a refund? Then first contact us via info@requestavisa.com, so that we can resolve it together. We expressly ask you to complete our complaints and refund procedure before you initiate a chargeback with your bank or payment provider.

For each application we retain evidence of your order, your express consent to immediate performance, your acknowledgement that your right of withdrawal thereby lapses, and of the actual delivery of the service. We use that evidence to contest an unjustified chargeback.

If you initiate a chargeback for a service that we have correctly and fully delivered, we reserve the right to still charge and recover the charged-back amount from you, increased by the costs we incur as a result. In the case of a fraudulent or demonstrably unjustified chargeback, we may moreover suspend our services and your access to the application.

14. Applications on behalf of others, families and minors

If you place an application on behalf of another person, for example a family member or fellow traveller, you declare that you are authorised to do so and you guarantee the accuracy of that person's details. The withdrawal and refund policy then applies in the same way to that application.

Applications for minors may only be placed by a parent or legal representative. Our service is not intended to be used independently by minors. For applications on behalf of minors too, the right of withdrawal lapses once the service has been fully performed with your prior consent.

15. Fraud and abuse

We may refuse, suspend or cancel an order if we suspect fraud, abuse or the use of false or stolen identity or passport details, or if an application conflicts with applicable sanctions legislation. In that case, if we had not yet begun performance, we will refund the amount paid for the part not performed.

In the case of an application based on incorrect or fraudulent details that you provided, there is no right to withdrawal or a refund, and we may charge you for the consequences thereof.

16. Price changes

The price you saw and confirmed when placing your order always applies to your application. A later change to our prices has no effect on an application that you have already placed and paid for.

If you withdraw and place a new order later, the price then in force applies. A price change in itself gives no right to withdrawal or a refund of an application already performed.

17. Confirmation on a durable medium

After you have placed your application, you will receive a confirmation from us by email. In that confirmation we repeat your express consent to immediate performance and your acknowledgement that you lose your right of withdrawal once the service has been fully performed. We do this so that you can re-read that declaration on a durable medium, as required by law (Article 6:230v of the Dutch Civil Code).

In that same confirmation you will also find references to our terms and conditions, our privacy policy and this withdrawal policy, so that you have all relevant information to hand.

18. Liability

We make every effort to check your application carefully and to submit it in good time. We are not liable for the decision of the foreign authority, for the acts or omissions of that authority, the government portal, courier services or other third parties, or for the consequences of details supplied incorrectly or incompletely by you.

Insofar as we are nonetheless liable, our liability is in all cases limited to the amount you paid us for the application concerned. Liability for indirect loss or consequential loss, including missed flights, lost travel or holiday costs and lost profit, is excluded. These limitations apply insofar as the law permits; we do not exclude our liability for intent or wilful recklessness, and mandatory consumer law remains fully in force.

19. Complaints and disputes

Are you dissatisfied or do you have a complaint about our withdrawal or refund policy? Then send your complaint by email to info@requestavisa.com. We will confirm receipt and aim to respond substantively within 14 days. If we cannot resolve it together, you can submit your dispute to the competent Dutch court.

As a consumer within the European Union, you can in principle also submit a dispute about an online order to the European Commission's online dispute resolution platform. Please note: the availability and status of this EU platform may change; if the platform does not work, use our complaints procedure above or the route to the competent court.

20. Applicable law

Dutch law applies to this withdrawal policy and to the contract with you. This is without prejudice to the protection you enjoy as a consumer under mandatory provisions of the law of the country where you live.

Disputes that we do not resolve by mutual agreement will be submitted to the competent Dutch court. As a consumer, you retain the rights granted to you by mandatory consumer law, including any right to turn to the court of your own place of residence.

21. Model withdrawal form

You may use the form below if you wish to exercise your right of withdrawal. Its use is not mandatory; a clear email will also suffice. Send the completed form to info@requestavisa.com.

To: Request a Visa, Pastoor Petersstraat 170-46, 5612 LW Eindhoven, info@requestavisa.com.

I/we hereby give notice that I/we withdraw from our contract concerning the service of Request a Visa.

Ordered on / received on: [date]. Application or order number: [number]. Name of consumer(s): [name]. Address of consumer(s): [address]. Email address: [email address]. Date: [date]. Signature (only when submitted on paper): [signature].