This English version is provided for convenience. The German version (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen) is authoritative.
1. Scope and provider
1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (Terms) govern the use of the WTE Companion platform (the web application at https://wte-companion.com and the mobile app) and all services, products and brokerage services offered through it.
1.2 The platform is operated by WTE Group GmbH, Leo-Leistikow-Allee 18, 22081 Hamburg, Germany.
1.3 These Terms apply worldwide, both to consumers (Section 13 of the German Civil Code, BGB) and to businesses and organisations (Section 14 BGB) such as employers, universities, agencies or freelancers.
1.4 These Terms are provided in German and English. The German version is authoritative; the English version is provided for ease of understanding. The contract language is German.
2. Subject matter and roles of WTE Group GmbH
2.1 WTE Companion is a digital platform that supports international professionals, students and expats in arriving and living in Germany.
2.2 WTE Group GmbH acts in several roles: as the technical platform operator, as a licensed insurance broker (Section 34d (1) GewO, registration no. D-E7VP-AIFVH-23), as an intermediary for third-party products, and as a provider of its own services such as visa and relocation services.
2.3 WTE provides organisations and B2B partners with a dedicated partner portal for managing their candidate cohorts and tracking their progress.
2.4 For third-party products (e.g. bank accounts), WTE does not itself become a party to the contract with the user, but arranges the conclusion of the contract or refers the user to the partner.
3. Registration, conclusion of contract and use
3.1 Using the platform requires registration. Users must provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information.
3.2 The user account is personal and may not be transferred to third parties.
3.3 WTE reserves the right to suspend or delete accounts in the event of false information or misuse.
3.4 Upon completion of registration, a usage agreement covering the platform's basic functions is concluded between the user and WTE. The user may terminate this usage agreement at any time without notice by deleting their account in the app settings or by requesting deletion by email to info@welcome-to-europe.com. Statutory retention obligations remain unaffected.
4. Document management and AI assistance
4.1 To optimise the user experience, WTE uses automated processes (including AI) to extract data from uploaded documents such as passports or contracts.
4.2 The extracted data is used to validate user information and to automatically pre-fill application flows, simplifying data entry for the user.
5. Special provisions on insurance brokerage
5.1 As an insurance broker, WTE offers personal advice. Depending on the product, advice is provided digitally as a short needs assessment: the user answers questions about their needs and receives a documented recommendation with reasons (Sections 61 and 62 of the German Insurance Contract Act, VVG), which remains permanently available in the app.
5.2 Where WTE offers a conclusion without individual advice for specific products, the user may waive advice and the preparation of a consultation record by way of a separate, express declaration (Section 61 (2) VVG). The waiver is documented in a legally compliant manner and made available to the user.
5.3 For a successful brokerage, WTE generally receives a commission from the insurance company. The brokerage does not entail any additional costs for the user.
6. Availability and SLA
6.1 WTE aims for an availability of the B2B partner portal of 99% on an annual average.
6.2 Scheduled maintenance work and interruptions caused by force majeure or technical disruptions outside WTE's sphere of influence are excluded from this availability commitment.
7. Intellectual property and protection of content
7.1 All content, texts, logos and designs on the platform are protected by copyright.
7.2 Using platform content to train third-party artificial intelligence (AI) systems or machine learning models is expressly prohibited.
7.3 Partners may only use the "WTE Companion Partner Badge" with the prior, express written approval of WTE Group GmbH.
8. Prohibited activities and sanctions
8.1 Any form of automated reading (scraping), systematic data extraction or reverse engineering of our AI logic is strictly prohibited.
8.2 In the event of violations of these prohibitions, WTE reserves the right to take civil action and, for businesses, to impose a reasonable contractual penalty subject to judicial review in the event of a dispute.
9. Prices and payment terms
9.1 Basic use of the platform is free of charge. WTE's own services (e.g. the premium visa service) are subject to charges; their prices and conditions are displayed before the contract is concluded. Prices shown to consumers are always total prices including VAT.
9.2 Payment processing is handled by external service providers (Mollie B.V., Qonto SAS).
10. Digital products, updates and warranty
10.1 Where WTE provides digital products to the user as a consumer (the app and any digital content or digital services provided through it), the statutory provisions of Sections 327 et seq. BGB apply in addition. These also apply where the user does not make a payment but provides personal data that WTE uses beyond what is required for the mere provision of the service (Section 327 (3) BGB).
10.2 During the provision period, WTE provides the updates required to maintain the conformity of the digital products, in particular security updates, and informs the user accordingly (Section 327f BGB).
10.3 The user's statutory warranty rights remain unaffected.
11. Changes to these Terms and to the platform
11.1 WTE may amend these Terms with effect for the future where there is a valid reason for doing so (in particular changes in the law or in case law, new or changed platform features, or security-related requirements) and the amendment is reasonable for the user. WTE will inform the user of amendments in text form (e.g. by email or in the app) at least six weeks before they take effect.
11.2 Changes to the digital products themselves that go beyond what is required to maintain conformity are made by WTE only under the conditions of Section 327r BGB. If such a change impairs the user's ability to use or access the digital product more than insignificantly, the user may terminate the contract free of charge.
12. Liability
12.1 WTE is liable without limitation in cases of intent, gross negligence, and injury to life, body or health.
12.2 In cases of slight negligence, WTE is liable only for the breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), limited to the foreseeable damage.
12.3 B2B partners shall indemnify WTE against all third-party claims arising from the provision of incorrect or unlawful data by the partner.
13. Right of withdrawal
13.1 Consumers have a statutory right of withdrawal. Details are set out in the separate withdrawal policy at https://wte-companion.com/en/revocation.
13.2 The right of withdrawal for services expires early if WTE has fully performed the service at the user's express request after the user confirmed in advance their awareness that they would lose the right upon full performance.
13.3 Consumers may also declare their withdrawal via the withdrawal function on our website (https://wte-companion.com/en/revocation-form).
14. Final provisions
14.1 The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. If the user is a consumer habitually resident abroad, mandatory consumer protection provisions of the state of their habitual residence remain unaffected.
14.2 The place of jurisdiction for all disputes is Hamburg, provided the user is a merchant or has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany.