Guidance

FCDO privacy notice: visitors to our UK estates

Updated 10 March 2026

1. What a Privacy Notice is

The General Data Protection Regulation requires that data controllers provide information to people whose personal information they process. Processing information means how we use it, store it, and share it, how long we keep it and how we destroy it.

This Privacy Notice includes:

• who we are
• what information we collect about you and how
• how we use your information
• why we collect personal information about you
• who we share your information with and why
• our lawful basis for processing
• how long we keep your personal information for
• your rights
• how to contact us
• how to make a complaint

Who we are

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) pursue our national interests and projects the UK as a force for good in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens, safeguard the UK’s security, defend our values, reduce poverty and tackle global challenges with our international partners. To do this effectively we must collect, store, share and use personal information.

Estates Operations department is part of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and is responsible for facilities management and estate maintenance across all U.K estates.

We can be contacted at:

Estates Operations
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office 
King Charles Street 
London 
SW1A 2AH

2. What information we collect about you and how

Estate Operations processes personal data for the purposes of issuing visitor passes with photos to be worn through visitors’ stay on the FCDO Estate in the UK.

On arrival a visitor will have their picture taken that will be stored with their name and then printed on a visitor pass. Unless there is a specific exemption, all those visiting or working in the UK Estate must wear a valid pass at all times to validate that they have a right to be in the building.

3. How we use your information

There may be circumstances in which we may lawfully share your data with third parties. For example, we may be required to do so by law, by court order, or to prevent fraud or other crimes. Where we share data, however, we shall do so in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

4. Why we collect personal information about you

We collect personal data for the purposes of maintaining security within the FCDO’s U.K. estate.

5. Who we share your information with and why

There may be other circumstances in which we may lawfully share your data with third parties. For example, we may be required to do so by law, by court order, or to prevent fraud or other crimes. Where we share data, however, we shall do so in accordance with applicable data protection laws.  

6. Our lawful basis for processing

We process this data namely to ensure that the security of our buildings and their contents are maintained at all times. Processing is carried out under the lawful basis of Public Task.

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal information for an unrelated or new purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

7. How long we keep your personal information for

We will retain your personal data for only as long as it is necessary or for as long as we are legally required to do so and in line with our retention schedule.

Your personal data will be destroyed securely in line with FCDO retention and disposal policy.

8. Your rights

There are 8 rights that you have when the FCDO is using your personal information. If you have any questions about these rights, you can contact the Data Protection Officer for more information.

• right to be informed – you have the right to be informed about what we do with your personal data, which is the purpose of this Privacy Notice

• right of access – you have the right to request a copy of any personal information we hold about you and what we do with it. This is known as a Subject Access Request. You can make a request by emailing information.rights@fcdo.gov.uk

• right to rectification – you have the right to request that any inaccurate personal data we hold is corrected or have incomplete personal information completed

• right to erasure – you have the right to request that your personal data is erased. This only applies in certain circumstances

• right to restrict processing – you have the right to request that we limit the use of your personal data. This only applies in certain circumstances

• right to data portability – you have the right to move, copy or transfer personal information from one IT system to another in a safe and secure way This right only applies to certain information in certain circumstances

• right to object – you have the right to object to the use of your information, which means that we would have to stop using your personal information. This right only applies to certain information in certain circumstances

• rights related to automated decision making including profiling – if a decision is being made without human involvement in the decision making, you have the right to challenge and request a review of any decisions made

See the ICO’s guide to individual rights for more detail.

When making a request to exercise any of these rights, please include your full name, up-to-date contact details and the date of your request. If you are making a Subject Access Request, please include a comprehensive list of what personal data you want to access, including any relevant dates or search criteria to help us identify what you want.

9. How to contact us

If you have any questions about this notice, consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, or would like to exercise any of your rights, you can contact the Data Protection Officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office:

Data Protection Officer
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH

Email: Data.Protection@fcdo.gov.uk

10. How to make a complaint

You may also 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

To make a complaint, please visit the ICO website, select “Make a complaint” from the menu options on the home screen banner, and follow the complaints process.  

11. Changes to this notice

We encourage you to reread this Privacy Notice occasionally as we aim to update it regularly, to keep you fully informed about how we use your personal information.

This Privacy Notice was last updated in February 2026.