Guidance

Civil Service Nationality Rules privacy notice

Updated 27 July 2023

© Crown copyright 2023

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-nationality-rules-privacy-notice/civil-service-nationality-rules-privacy-notice

This notice sets out how we will use your personal data, and your rights. It is made under Articles 13 and/or 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Government People Group (GPG) is part of the Cabinet Office and administers the Civil Service Nationality Rules on behalf of the Minister for the Civil Service.

Your data

We may process the following personal data about you and specified family members:

  • name
  • address and contact details, including email address and telephone number
  • date of birth
  • gender
  • information about your nationality, and sometimes ethnicity
  • information about current and historical residence
  • information about current and historical employment
  • information about your marital status, next of kin and dependants.

In some cases, your data may have been obtained by us from another Government department or Civil Service employer.

Purpose

The purpose for which we are processing your personal data is to advise you and other Government Departments or Civil Service employers on your eligibility to work in the Civil Service with respect to the Civil Service Nationality Rules and Aliens’ Employment Act 1955.

We may also process your information for the purpose of issuing an Alien Certificate in accordance with the Civil Service Nationality Rules and Aliens’ Employment Act 1955.

The lawful basis for processing your personal data is that it is necessary in the exercise of a function of the Minister of the Civil Service. It is also necessary to comply with the Crown’s legal obligations under the relevant rules and legislation.

Sensitive personal data is personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

The conditions for processing your sensitive personal data are:

Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest for the exercise of a function of the Minister of the Civil Service. In this case that is to administer the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Processing is necessary for the purposes of performing or exercising our obligations or rights as the controller, or the data subject’s obligations or rights, under employment law, social security law or the law relating to social protection. In this case that is to ensure the terms set out in the Aliens’ Employment Act 1955 are satisfied when employing a person who is not a British or Commonwealth citizen, a British protected person or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.

Recipients

Your personal data will be shared with other Government departments for the purposes of recruitment and employment in the Civil Service. It may also be presented to each House of Parliament in accordance with the requirements of the Aliens’ Employment Act 1955.

As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will also be shared with our data processors who provide email and document management and storage services to us.

We may use other service providers to track enquiries and process feedback surveys, in which case controls are in place to ensure your data is protected.

Retention

Your personal data will be kept for 7 years and retention beyond this period will then be reviewed on an annual basis.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

In some circumstances, we will anonymise your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we will use such information without further notice to you.

Your personal data will be kept by us usually for no more than seven years, but sometimes we’ll keep it for longer if we need to by law.

Your rights

You have the right to request information about how your personal data are processed, and to request a copy of that personal data.

You have the right to request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay.

You have the right to request that any incomplete personal data are completed, including by means of a supplementary statement.

You have the right to request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed.

You have the right in certain circumstances (for example, where accuracy is contested) to request that the processing of your personal data is restricted.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where it is processed for direct marketing purposes.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.

International transfers

As your personal data is stored on our IT infrastructure, and shared with our data processors, it may be transferred and stored securely outside the European Economic Area. Where that is the case it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through the use of Model Contract Clauses.

Complaints

If you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

0303 123 1113

casework@ico.org.uk

Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.

Contact details

The data controller for your personal data is the Cabinet Office. The contact details for the data controller are:

Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS

0207 276 1234

publiccorrespondence@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

The contact details for the data controller’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) are:

Stephen Jones
Data Protection Officer
Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS

dpo@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

The Data Protection Officer provides independent advice and monitoring of Cabinet Office’s use of personal information.

Last revision July 2023

Back to top