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A guide to short-term training in the UK including fellowships, scholarships, and GMC-sponsorships

Want to gain training in the UK but don't plan to stay long-term? In this post we review the different options available for IMGs who would like to obtain short-term UK training to bring their skills back home. This includes pathways that bypass PLAB.

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A guide to short-term training in the UK including fellowships, scholarships, and GMC-sponsorships

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The rules, guidelines and criteria for working as a doctor in the UK change frequently. Please make sure you check the latest official guidance before taking action.

Updated: April 10, 2020

Not everyone sees the UK as a desirable place to live and work. Who can blame them with the gloomy weather and damp days? 

Although some of us are crazy enough to stay, there are those who are only looking for an opportunity to complete a short period of training (1-2 years) to bring their skills back home. 

If this is you, then keep reading, this article discusses the key concepts for short-term training in the UK and the 4 main ways to achieve your goal.

Key concepts

The world of fellowships, scholarships and GMC-sponsorships is a bit of a labyrinth. Familiarise yourself with these key concepts first so you don’t get lost in the details.

  • There is no set definition of what a fellowship is. For the purpose of this article, fellowship refers to short-term periods of clinical training, usually no more than 2 years.
  • Training can be obtained at any level including both junior and senior grades.
  • Training is not limited to purely clinical posts. There are opportunities to gain a Diploma or Masters degree and incorporate both clinical work and research.
  • Most posts will fund your salary in the UK and some offer a scholarship. Others will not pay you a salary and require you to secure funding from an organisation in your home country.
  • Each type of fellowship, scholarship or GMC-sponsorship has their own requirements, timelines, and rules.
  • Many programmes only have openings once a year.
  • You can usually bring your family over for the time you are in the UK.
So what are the 4 main options to pursue short-term training in the UK?

1. The Medical Training Initiative (MTI)

The MTI scheme allows a limited number of IMGs (1,500 per year) to gain clinical training and experience in the UK for a maximum of 2 years on a Tier 5 Government authorised exchange visa. The intention of the scheme is that you will gain training and experience in the NHS which you can then apply to your practice back home.

The visa is sponsored by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges with a very strict 2-year limit. There are no extensions for any reason – even if you have not finished a project that you started whilst in the UK, or become pregnant during the scheme. You must leave the UK upon expiry of your visa, but you can always return on a different visa.

There has been news that the government is planning to increase the number of visas available for the MTI scheme to 3,000 per year and extend the validity to 3 years. This has not yet happened but we will update this post when the changes have come about.

There are several benefits to pursuing a spot on the MTI scheme.

  • Guaranteed training. One of the requirements of an MTI post is that it involves training for you while not disadvantaging UK trainees. This is important because it ensures that your time in the UK will actually involve training and you will not be used for service provision.
  • Access to an e-Portfolio. As this is considered a post for training, most jobs will give you access to an electronic portfolio to keep track of all your achievements.
  • Possibility of bypassing PLAB. Some sponsors will help you register with the GMC if you have a foreign specialist qualification or part of a UK postgraduate qualification. This can be used in place of PLAB Bear in mind that if you have passed both parts of PLAB, or if you have ever failed either PLAB 1 or PLAB 2 in the past, then you cannot apply for an MTI post.
  • Lower costs. If a post does not require PLAB, then you will save a considerable amount of money in exam fees, PLAB 2 academy fees, and visits to the UK.
  • Diploma of UK Medical Practice. If your MTI post lasts at least 12 months and is with the Royal College of Physicians or the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, you can apply for the DipUKMP. It costs £750 and helps you develop skills outside of clinical practice including teaching, quality improvement, and clinical governance – all important aspects of working in the NHS.
  • Not all posts are paid. As mentioned in the key concepts, some MTI posts require you to secure funding for your training. This can be from a scholarship, or funding from an organisation in your home country including a government agency, hospital or university. You cannot use your own personal funds.
  • You may need to pay back the placement fee. If an MTI post has a placement fee which was paid by your employer-to-be, you may be asked to pay this back if you don’t complete the programme.
  • It does not count towards ILR or British citizenship. Although the MTI scheme was designed for doctors who want to return home after training, some may see it as an opportunity to trial working in the UK before making a permanent move. This is also a possibility but your 1-2 years on the MTI scheme will not count towards the 5 years required to be eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) AKA permanent resident status in the UK or towards becoming a British citizen.

The requirements will differ for each specialty so please read through the relevant websites carefully. Do not assume that what is needed for one Royal College will be the same for another. But to give you an idea, these are the general requirements:

  • Prioritisation of specific countries. Tier 5 sponsorship is prioritised for doctors identified as Department for International Development (DFiD) priority countries or are World Bank low income and lower middle income countries. If you are not from one of these countries you can still apply but there will be a significant wait with no guarantee of a place.
  • English exam. Most MTI programmes will be satisfied with whatever exam is accepted by the GMC so this means both IELTS and OET are valid.
  • Clinical skills and knowledge. Some will require you to sit PLAB, some will accept your specialist qualification from back home, and some will require you to pass at least part 1 of the UK specialist exam, example MRCP part 1. Check the requirements for each MTI scheme.
  • Active medical practice. You must have been engaged in active clinical practice for 3 years out of the last 5 years including the past 12 months before you applied for MTI. You must also be active throughout the application process.
  • Adequate clinical experience. For the majority of programmes, the minimum is at least 3 years experience including 1 year internship, and 1 year in the specialty you want to work in. Some programs will require more experience than this.
  • Intention to return home. You must be able to show that you intend to leave the UK at the end of your MTI programme.
  • Personal funds. For your Tier 5 visa you need at least £945 in savings continuously for 90 days before you apply.
  • Others: Sponsor forms, application forms, professional references, certificate of good standing, verification of your medical degree through ECFMG, application fee.

Just to emphasise again, all these requirements will be different for each MTI programme. Please read through them carefully before applying.

There are 2 ways to get a job through MTI. 

  1. Apply for an MTI match programme. Some specialties have established programmes that match you to a job. For these, you need to apply and submit all the requirements. If successful, you will then be matched to a suitable job. Matching can take up to 12 months or more.
  2. Find a job first then apply for MTI. Some specialties do not have a match programme. Instead, you need to search for a job yourself. Once you have been accepted for the job, you then apply for MTI through the Royal College so that you can bypass PLAB and gain GMC registration. You can find jobs on the NHS jobs website or by directly emailing the Consultant you would like to work with.

Some specialties use both methods, some only use one. To find out which method is used by your target specialty, visit the relevant Royal College website and search for their MTI page (links provided below)

2. GMC-approved sponsors outside the MTI scheme

The GMC has a list of organisations that can sponsor IMGs for GMC registration. This is one of the ways you can gain full registration without having to sit PLAB.

Now although these sponsors can help you with GMC registration, they are usually not able to help with visa sponsorship. This is a separate issue which you’ll have to deal with depending on the type of position you are applying for. The visa can be Tier 2 (work visa) or Tier 4 (student visa).

There are multiple types of training offered by the organisations outside of the MTI scheme. They include:

  • Hospitals that offer clinical training fellowships
  • Universities that offer Masters degrees combined with clinical work
  • Scholarships for research
  • Scholarships for clinical training

Similar to the MTI scheme, the visas for these jobs are usually for a limited period of time only.

And also similar to the MTI scheme you must have been engaged in active clinical practice for 3 years out of the last 5 years including the past 12 months before applying. You must also be active throughout the application process.

Related: How to find a UK clinical attachment

  • Guaranteed training. This is important because it ensures that your time in the UK will actually involve training and you will not be used for service provision.
  • Opportunity to attain a higher degree. This can really help to improve your professional portfolio and elevate your standing in the medical field.
  • Options for research. A lot of ground-breaking research in numerous medical fields is taking place in the UK and this can be an opportunity for you to be part of it.
  • Possibility to bypass PLAB. All these sponsors have been pre-approved by the GMC to help you gain full registration. Many do not require PLAB so check their requirements first to know what other exams they accept.
  • Not all posts are paid. You may need to secure your own funding. This can be from a scholarship or funding from an organisation in your home country including a government agency, hospital or university.
  • Inconsistent and incomplete information. One of the frustrating things I’ve found about this pathway is that several of the sponsors on the GMC list have little to no information about being a GMC sponsor on their website. For those that do have information, I have included the link in the list below. If there is no link, you will need to contact the individual sponsor directly to see what openings they have.
  • Higher degrees are very expensive. If you want to attain a Masters it can cost more than £20,000 just for the course fees alone. You will need to search for scholarships and home funding if you are unable to self-fund.

The list of GMC-approved sponsors that are not part of the MTI scheme has been copied in below. I have searched for the requirements of each one but unfortunately not all sponsors have up-to-date information or the websites are very unclear. You will need to email them individually to get accurate info.

Alder Hey International Fellowship Scheme (Anaesthetics)

Cambridge University Hospital – Senior Clinical Fellowship Scheme in Intensive care

Canterbury Christ Church University

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission

Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford

Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust

Edge Hill University and Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh NHS Trust – International Training Fellowships in MCh programmes

Great Ormond Street Hospital International Fellowship Programme

Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Trust – Anaesthetics

Guy’s & St Thomas’ – Intensive Care

Guy’s & St Thomas’ – Oncology

Guy’s & St Thomas’ – Pain Management

Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Trust (Obstetrics and Gynaecology)

Harefield Hospital, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust – CPSP International Partnership

Imperial College, London including Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care Medicine and Psychiatry,

King’s College Hospital (Critical Care)

Lysholm Dept of Neuroradiology – National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCL

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust – International Fellowship Programme

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Northumberland Tyne and Wear Psychiatry Fellowship Programme

Royal College of Surgeons

Royal College of Emergency Medicine – Overseas Development Scheme/ Work, Learn and Return

Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust

Royal Wolverhampton Trust – Clinical Fellowship Programme

University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust

3. Jobs advertised as fellowships

If you go to the NHS jobs website and search “fellow” you will find hundreds of positions across the UK.

Some of these are genuine fellowships that offer clinical training, however, beware that some of these jobs may only say “fellow” to entice you but in reality these are service jobs and you will not gain any training. At all. Read the job description very carefully.

Related: UK doctor titles 101

  • All posts are paid. As these are essentially jobs, all posts will have a salary. You will not need to secure funding.
  • No time limits on your visa. These jobs will all use the Tier 2 work visa. This type of visa means that you have the option to stay in the UK as long as you can find another job.
  • Counts towards ILR and British citizenship. If you’re unsure about moving to the UK for good but are leaning towards it, then taking this option means your time working in the UK counts towards becoming a permanent UK resident and subsequently a British citizen.
  • Some jobs can be converted to an MTI scheme or GMC sponsorship. If you find a post that you like but don’t want to sit PLAB, you may be able to reach out to a GMC-approved sponsor or MTI scheme to have the job converted to an MTI post. This can only be done once you have been accepted for the job.
  • Training is not guaranteed. As mentioned, some posts that are advertised on NHS Jobs are not true fellowships. In my experience, “Junior Clinical Fellow” or “Senior Clinical Fellow” jobs are merely fancy terms for service provision. This is not always the case though so I would strongly advise you to read the job description carefully and ask the appropriate questions about training opportunities at interview.
  • You probably have to sit PLAB. Passing PLAB is the fastest way to gaining full registration and getting a job through this route. If you are already specialised however, you understandably may not want to sit a general exam like PLAB. In that case you can always aim to gain full GMC registration using a postgraduate qualification on this list.
  • Related: Which route to GMC registration is right for you?

4. Fish for a fellowship

If there is a specific Consultant who you would like to do a fellowship with or a specific centre that you would like to gain experience at and you can’t find a job opening anywhere, it’s worth sending a direct email to inquire about a possible fellowship.

Be sure to include a well-formatted up-to-date CV and a convincing cover letter about why you want to work with them and how you can be an asset to them as a fellow.

Related: IMG Specialty Guides

  • Training is guaranteed. Since you are the one seeking out this fellowship that doesn’t yet exist, you can negotiate the terms of the job including what type of training you’ll receive. How much of your time will be spent performing procedures? How much of your time will be spent on learning NHS management and leadership?
  • Choice. If you are able to secure a position through this method, then you will be able to work in the specific place you want to work at, or with the specific Consultant you want to work with.
  • You may be able to have the position converted to an MTI scheme or GMC sponsorship. If you are accepted for a position, you may be able to reach out to a GMC-approved sponsor or MTI scheme to have it converted to an MTI post. This will allow you to bypass PLAB.
  • There’s no guarantee of a job. Adding a doctor to the team is not that simple because it is not the Consultant that hires you directly. They are not the only ones involved in that decision. It has to be agreed upon by several people in the hospital including other Consultants and management. 
  • You may need to secure your own funding. Because you are seeking out a position that doesn’t yet exist, the hospital may not have funds set aside for it. You may be asked to obtain funding through a scholarship from your home country.

Summary

  • Short-term training can be obtained at any level including both junior and senior grades.
  • Training is not limited to purely clinical posts. There are opportunities to gain a Diploma or Masters degree and incorporating both clinical work and research.
  • Most posts will fund your salary in the UK and some offer a scholarship. Others require you to secure funding from an organisation in your home country.
  • Each type of fellowship, scholarship or GMC-sponsorship has their own requirements, timelines, and rules.
  • The 4 ways to gain short-term training in the UK are
    • Through the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) scheme
    • Through a GMC-approved sponsor outside the MTI scheme
    • By applying to jobs advertised as fellowships
    • Fishing for a fellowship by contacting Consultants and hospitals directly.

You might also like

Looking for a step-by-step guide?

Subscribe to the Savvy IMG and grab your FREE 2-year roadmap to UK residency as an IMG.

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Looking for a step-by-step guide?

Subscribe to the Savvy IMG and grab your FREE 2-year roadmap to UK residency as an IMG.

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20 Responses

  1. Hi.. I have completed Postgraduate Diploma in Amaesthesiology.. I am interested in working in UK.. How can i apply.. Am I eligible to apply?

    1. Hi there! We have some guides for each specialty on our website here:
      https://thesavvyimg.co.uk/category/specialty-guides/

      You can find information about GMC registration, fellowships, and UK training. I’d definitely recommend checking it out as we cover your specialty there 🙂

      If you are looking for one-to-one guidance for your specific personal circumstances, you might be interested in booking a session to discuss your options. For more details, please visit our page here.

      https://calendly.com/drkimberlytan

      Best of luck!

    1. You don’t have to pass PLAB or complete a postgraduate qualification, usually you only need to pass one part. For example, you can get GMC registration by passing PLAB 1 and PLAB 2, or MRCP part 1, part 2 and PACES. But with MTI you can get GMC registration with just MRCP Part 1 alone. Of course, you also need to meet all the other eligibility criteria.

  2. Hi,
    I am a medical graduate (MBBS)Msc Sports Exercise Science and Medicine (University of Glasgow 2018-19)Completed Diploma in Sports Medicine (first year) by IOC.I would like to gain experience in sports medicine. Please give your valuable opinion regarding the options in this field
    Thank you
    With regards

    1. Hi there! Unfortunately this is not a specialty we’re very familiar with. You’d definitely get better guidance from your professors in your MSc! I would start with them and go from there. All the best!

  3. I have completed my Post graduation in Orthopedics from India. I am currently doing a Fellowship here in India. I would like to join a fellowship in the UK as well.
    Is MRCS a pre-requisite to land a Fellowship Job in the NHS ?

    1. Hi there, it depends on the individual job requirements, but in general, yes. Please search for jobs on the NHS jobs website and review the entry requirements for an idea about how many require MRCS. Best of luck!

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You can opt-out from receiving marketing communications at any time by emailing info@thesavvyimg.co.uk

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interests: Sharing relevant, timely and industry-specific information on related business services, in order to assist your organisation, grow.

Third party goods and services

In addition to receiving information about our products and services, you can opt in to receiving marketing communications from us in relation third party goods and services by email by ticking a box indicating that you would like to receive such communications.

Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Consent: you give your consent to us sending you information about third party goods and services by signing up to receive such information in accordance with the steps described above.

Transfer and storage of your information

Information for marketing campaigns will be stored outside the European Economic Area on our third-party mailing list provider’s servers in the United States.

For further information about the safeguards used when your information is transferred outside the European Economic Area, see the section of this privacy policy below entitled Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area.

Use of tracking in emails

We use technologies such as tracking pixels (small graphic files) and tracked links in the emails we send to allow us to assess the level of engagement our emails receive by measuring information such as the delivery rates, open rates, click through rates and content engagement that our emails achieve.

Information obtained from third parties

This section sets out how we obtain or collect information about you from third parties.

Information received from third parties

We can often receive information about you from third parties. The third parties from which we receive information about you can include partner events within the marketing industry and other organisations that we have a professional affiliation with.

It is also possible that third parties with whom we have had no prior contact may provide us with information about you.

Information we obtain from third parties will generally be your name and contact details but will include any additional information about you which they provide to us.

Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where a third party has passed on information about you to us (such as your name and email address) in order for us to provide services to you, we will process your information in order to take steps at your request to enter into a contract with you and perform a contract with you (as the case may be).

Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Consent: where you have asked that a third party to share information about you with us and the purpose of sharing that information is not related to the performance of a contract or services by us to you, we will process your information on the basis of your consent, which you give by asking the third party in question to pass on your information to us.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interests: where a third party has shared information about you with us and you have not consented to the sharing of that information, we will have a legitimate interest in processing that information in certain circumstances.

For example, we would have a legitimate interest in processing your information to perform our obligations under a sub-contract with the third party, where the third party has the main contract with you. Our legitimate interest is the performance of our obligations under our sub-contract.

Similarly, third parties may pass on information about you to us if you have infringed or potentially infringed any of our legal rights. In this case, we will have a legitimate interest in processing that information to investigate and pursue any such potential infringement.

Information obtained by us from third parties

In certain circumstances (for example, to verify the information we hold about you or obtain missing information we require to provide you with a service) we will obtain information about you from certain publicly accessible sources, both EU and non-EU, such as Companies House, online customer databases, business directories, media publications, social media, and websites (including your own website if you have one.

In certain circumstances will also obtain information about you from private sources, both EU and non-EU, such as marketing data services.

We will continue to send you marketing communications in relation to similar goods and services if you do not opt out from receiving them.

You can opt-out from receiving marketing communications at any time by emailing hello@thesavvyimg.co.uk

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interests: Sharing relevant, timely and industry-specific information on related business services.

Where we receive information about you in error

If we receive information about you from a third party in error and/or we do not have a legal basis for processing that information, we will delete your information.

Disclosure and additional uses of your information

This section sets out the circumstances in which will disclose information about you to third parties and any additional purposes for which we use your information.

Disclosure of your information to service providers

We use a number of third parties to provide us with services which are necessary to run our business or to assist us with running our business

These include the following: Internet services, IT service providers and web developers.

Our third-party service providers are located both inside and outside of the European Economic Area.

Your information will be shared with these service providers where necessary to provide you with the service you have requested, whether that is accessing our website or ordering goods and services from us.

We do not display the identities of our service providers publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our service providers, however, please contact us directly by email and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).

Legal basis for processing: legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interest relied on: where we share your information with these third parties in a context other than where is necessary to perform a contract (or take steps at your request to do so), we will share your information with such third parties in order to allow us to run and manage our business efficiently.

Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract and/or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Reason why necessary to perform a contract: we may need to share information with our service providers to enable us to perform our obligations under that contract or to take the steps you have requested before we enter into a contract with you.

Disclosure and use of your information for legal reasons

Indicating possible criminal acts or threats to public security to a competent authority

If we suspect that criminal or potential criminal conduct has been occurred, we will in certain circumstances need to contact an appropriate authority, such as the police. This could be the case, for instance, if we suspect that we fraud or a cyber-crime has been committed or if we receive threats or malicious communications towards us or third parties.

We will generally only need to process your information for this purpose if you were involved or affected by such an incident in some way.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interests: preventing crime or suspected criminal activity (such as fraud).

In connection with the enforcement or potential enforcement our legal rights

We will use your information in connection with the enforcement or potential enforcement of our legal rights, including, for example, sharing information with debt collection agencies if you do not pay amounts owed to us when you are contractually obliged to do so. Our legal rights may be contractual (where we have entered into a contract with you) or non-contractual (such as legal rights that we have under copyright law or tort law).

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interest: enforcing our legal rights and taking steps to enforce our legal rights.

In connection with a legal or potential legal dispute or proceedings

We may need to use your information if we are involved in a dispute with you or a third party for example, either to resolve the dispute or as part of any mediation, arbitration or court resolution or similar process.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interest(s): resolving disputes and potential disputes.

How long we retain your information

This section sets out how long we retain your information. We have set out specific retention periods where possible. Where that has not been possible, we have set out the criteria we use to determine the retention period.

Retention periods

Server log information: we retain information on our server logs for 3 months.

Correspondence and enquiries: when you make an enquiry or correspond with us for any reason, whether by email or via our contact form or by phone, we will retain your information for as long as it takes to respond to and resolve your enquiry, and for 36 further month(s), after which point we will archive your information.

Newsletter: we retain the information you used to sign up for our newsletter for as long as you remain subscribed (i.e. you do not unsubscribe).

Membership: we retain the information you used to sign up for our memberships for as long as you remain subscribed (i.e. you do not unsubscribe).

Criteria for determining retention periods

In any other circumstances, we will retain your information for no longer than necessary, taking into account the following:

    • the purpose(s) and use of your information both now and in the future (such as whether it is necessary to continue to store that information in order to continue to perform our obligations under a contract with you or to contact you in the future);
    • whether we have any legal obligation to continue to process your information (such as any record-keeping obligations imposed by relevant law or regulation);
    • whether we have any legal basis to continue to process your information (such as your consent);
    • how valuable your information is (both now and in the future);
    • any relevant agreed industry practices on how long information should be retained;
    • the levels of risk, cost and liability involved with us continuing to hold the information;
    • how hard it is to ensure that the information can be kept up to date and accurate; and
    • any relevant surrounding circumstances (such as the nature and status of our relationship with you).

How we secure your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure your information and to protect it against unauthorised or unlawful use and accidental loss or destruction, including:

  • only sharing and providing access to your information to the minimum extent necessary, subject to confidentiality restrictions where appropriate, and on an anonymised basis wherever possible;
  • using secure servers to store your information;
  • verifying the identity of any individual who requests access to information prior to granting them access to information;
  • using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software to encrypt any payment transactions you make on or via our website;
  • only transferring your information via closed system or encrypted data transfers;

Transmission of information to us by email

Transmission of information over the internet is not entirely secure, and if you submit any information to us over the internet (whether by email, via our website or any other means), you do so entirely at your own risk.

We cannot be responsible for any costs, expenses, loss of profits, harm to reputation, damages, liabilities or any other form of loss or damage suffered by you as a result of your decision to transmit information to us by such means.

Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area

Your information may be transferred and stored outside the European Economic Area (EEA) in the circumstances set out earlier in this policy.

We will also transfer your information outside the EEA or to an international organisation in order to comply with legal obligations to which we are subject (compliance with a court order, for example). Where we are required to do so, we will ensure appropriate safeguards and protections are in place.

Your rights in relation to your information

Subject to certain limitations on certain rights, you have the following rights in relation to your information, which you can exercise by writing to the data controller using the details provided at the top of this policy.

  • to request access to your information and information related to our use and processing of your information;
  • to request the correction or deletion of your information;
  • to request that we restrict our use of your information;
  • to receive information which you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (e.g. a CSV file) and the right to have that information transferred to another data controller (including a third-party data controller);
  • to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes (for further information, see the section below entitled Your right to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes); and
  • to withdraw your consent to our use of your information at any time where we rely on your consent to use or process that information. Please note that if you withdraw your consent, this will not affect the lawfulness of our use and processing of your information on the basis of your consent before the point in time when you withdraw your consent.

In accordance with Article 77 of the General Data Protection Regulation, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or of an alleged infringement of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Further information on your rights in relation to your personal data as an individual

You can find out further information about your rights, as well as information on any limitations which apply to those rights, by reading the underlying legislation contained in Articles 12 to 22 and 34 of the General Data Protection Regulation, which is available here:http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/reform/files/regulation_oj_en.pdf

Verifying your identity where you request access to your information

Where you request access to your information, we are required by law to use all reasonable measures to verify your identity before doing so.

These measures are designed to protect your information and to reduce the risk of identity fraud, identity theft or general unauthorised access to your information.

How we verify your identity

Where we possess appropriate information about you on file, we will attempt to verify your identity using that information.

If it is not possible to identity you from such information, or if we have insufficient information about you, we may require original or certified copies of certain documentation in order to be able to verify your identity before we are able to provide you with access to your information.

We will be able to confirm the precise information we require to verify your identity in your specific circumstances if and when you make such a request.

Your right to object

You have the following rights in relation to your information, which you may exercise in the same way as you may exercise by writing to the data controller using the details provided at the top of this policy.

  • to object to us using or processing your information where we use or process it in order
  • to carry out a task in the public interest or for our legitimate interests, including ‘profiling’ (i.e. analysing or predicting your behaviour based on your information) based on any of these purposes; and
  • to object to us using or processing your information for direct marketing purposes(including any profiling we engage in that is related to such direct marketing).

You may also exercise your right to object to us using or processing your information for direct marketing purposes by:

  • clicking the unsubscribe link contained at the bottom of any marketing email we send to you and following the instructions which appear in your browser following your clicking on that link;
  • sending an email to info@thesavvyimg.co.uk, asking that we stop sending you marketing communications or by including the words “OPT OUT”.

Sensitive Personal Information

‘Sensitive personal information’ is information about an individual that reveals their racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic information, biometric information for the purpose of uniquely identifying an individual, information concerning health or information concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

Our website does not allow you to register any ‘Sensitive Information’, however if we ask for this, you will be considered to have explicitly consented to us processing that sensitive personal information under Article 9(2)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We update and amend our Privacy Policy from time to time.

Minor changes to our Privacy Policy

Where we make minor changes to our Privacy Policy, we will update our Privacy Policy with a new effective date stated at the beginning of it. Our processing of your information will be governed by the practices set out in that new version of the Privacy Policy from its effective date onwards.

Major changes to our Privacy Policy or the purposes for which we process your information

Where we make major changes to our Privacy Policy or intend to use your information for a new purpose or a different purpose than the purposes for which we originally collected it, we will notify you by email (where possible) or by posting a notice on our website.

We will provide you with the information about the change in question and the purpose and any other relevant information before we use your information for that new purpose.

Wherever required, we will obtain your prior consent before using your information for a purpose that is different from the purposes for which we originally collected it.

Children’s Privacy

Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying regulations protect the privacy of children using the internet. We do not knowingly contact or collect information from persons under the age of 18. The website is not intended to solicit information of any kind from persons under the age of 18.

It is possible that we could receive information pertaining to persons under the age of 18 by the fraud or deception of a third party. If we are notified of this, as soon as we verify the information, we will, where required by law to do so, immediately obtain the appropriate parental consent to use that information or, if we are unable to obtain such parental consent, we will delete the information from our servers. If you would like to notify us of our receipt of information about persons under the age of 18, please do so by contacting us by using the details at the top of this policy.