POPIA Privacy Notice

1. Who We Are

The Registered African Migrants Association ("RAMA") is the responsible party for the personal information collected through this website and our membership services. RAMA is registered in South Africa as a Non-Profit Company.

2. What Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with RAMA, we may collect:

2.1 Information you provide directly

• Identity and contact details: full name, date of birth, email address, phone number, residential address;
• Membership details: membership tier, payment information, membership status;
• Immigration information: immigration status, permit type, permit number, permit expiry date (where required for membership verification);
• Family information: details of dependants included in a Family membership;
• Business information: business name, registration details (for Business/Entrepreneur members);
• Enquiry and case information: details you provide when contacting us, including legal-aid enquiries;
• Communications: records of correspondence, feedback and complaints.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Technical data such as IP address, browser type, device information, and pages visited (via cookies and similar technologies);
• Usage data to help us improve our website and services.

3. Why We Collect Your Information

We process personal information for the following purposes:

• Membership administration: to register, verify, manage and renew your membership;
• Eligibility verification: to confirm that members meet the documented-status criterion, as required by our mandate;
• Service delivery: to provide member services including legal-aid intake, referrals, advocacy and economic-empowerment programmes;
• Communication: to send membership confirmations, updates, newsletters and service-related notices;
• Payment processing: to process subscription fees and manage billing;
• Governance and compliance: to meet legal, regulatory and audit obligations;
• Improvement: to analyse and improve our website, services and member experience;
• Safety and security: to protect members, staff and the integrity of our systems.

4. How Your Information Is Used & Stored

RAMA takes the security of your personal information seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures, including:

• Secure, access-controlled databases with encrypted connections;
• Restricted access on a need-to-know basis to authorised personnel only;
• Regular security reviews and updates;
• Confidentiality obligations binding all staff, volunteers and service providers.

Sensitive information: Immigration status, permit numbers and related documentation are treated as sensitive. Such information is handled through secure, restricted channels and is not accessible to the general public. Where document verification is required, it may be processed through approved secure arrangements.

5. Who Has Access

Access to personal information is limited to:

• Authorised RAMA staff and volunteers who need it to perform their duties;
• Approved service providers acting on RAMA's instructions (e.g. payment processors, IT providers), bound by confidentiality and data-protection obligations;
• Approved independent legal practitioners, only where necessary to assist with a member's case and with the member's knowledge;
• Regulators, law enforcement or courts where required by law.

We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

6. How Long We Retain Your Information

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including:

• Active membership: for the duration of your membership;
• Financial records: as required by tax and company law (generally 5–7 years);
• Case files: for the duration of the matter and any applicable limitation period;
• Closed accounts: personal information is deleted or anonymised within a reasonable period after membership ends, unless retention is required by law.

7. Your Rights

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• Correction: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• Deletion: request deletion of your personal information where lawful;
• Objection: object to certain processing, including direct marketing;
• Complaint: lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (details below);
• Withdrawal of consent: where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time (this may affect our ability to provide certain services).

8. How to Submit Privacy Enquiries or Complaints

To exercise your rights or raise a privacy concern, contact us:

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa):

9. Cookies & Website Analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to function properly, remember preferences and understand usage. You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. RAMA is not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy notices.

11. Changes to This Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page with the "last updated" date. Material changes will be communicated to members by email or through the website.