General Dental Council (GDC) guidance on exempt person status
Please note that this guidance sheet does not constitute legal advice. This is a complex and developing
area of law and if you have any questions about your rights under European law, you are advised to
consult an appropriately qualified lawyer. The GDC cannot provide you with legal advice.
1. Introduction
Under the Dentists Act 1984 (as amended), certain routes to registration with the GDC (either as a dentist or as a
dental care professional) are only available to applicants who can demonstrate that they are an exempt person
under the Act. To qualify as an exempt person in relation to the professions of dentistry or in relation to a
profession complementary to dentistry you must be either be:a) a national of an EEA State (other than the United Kingdom) or Switzerland;
b) a national of the United Kingdom who is seeking access to, or is pursuing, the profession by virtue of an
enforceable Community right; or
c) a person who is not a national of an EEA State or Switzerland but who is, by virtue of an enforceable
Community right, entitled to be treated, for the purposes of access to and pursuit of the profession, no less
favourably than a national of a relevant European State
Directive 2004/38/EC governs the rights of citizens of the EU and their family members to move and reside freely
within the territory of the Member States. It applies to all EU citizens who move to, or reside in a Member State
other than that of which they are a national, and to their family members.
The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 implement Directive 2004/38/EC in the UK and
extend it to citizens of the EEA and Switzerland. The EEA Member States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Applicants to the GDC may seek to rely on the Directive in order to demonstrate that they are seeking access to,
or pursuing, the profession of dentistry or a profession complementary to dentistry by virtue of an enforceable
Community right.
This guidance explains the circumstances under which an applicant to the GDC is entitled to be treated as an
exempt person and the documents required by the GDC to prove this entitlement.
2. I am a national of an EEA State (other than the United Kingdom) or Switzerland how to I demonstrate
that I am an exempt person?
If you are a national of an EEA State or Switzerland you are required to provide the GDC with a valid national
identity card or passport issued by an EEA state or Switzerland.
3. I am a UK national - am I an exempt person?
If you are a UK national, you will only qualify as an exempt person if you can demonstrate that you are seeking
access to or are pursuing the profession by virtue of an enforceable Community right. In order to demonstrate this,
you will need to provide the GDC with documentary evidence that you are residing in another EEA state or in
Switzerland (or were so residing before returning to the UK) as either a worker, as self-employed person, as a
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student, as a self-sufficient person, or pursuant to the three month right to reside under Directive 2004/38/EC. In
order to do so, you are required to provide the GDC with:
A certified copy of your UK passport; and
A registration certificate or residence card issued by another EEA state or Switzerland proving your
residence in that state for at least three consecutive months; or
Evidence of employment, self-employment, study, or self-sufficient residence in another EEA state or
Switzerland, or of other residence for no less than three months in another EEA state or Switzerland.
4. I am a non-EEA/non-Swiss national - am I an exempt person?
If you are not a national of an EEA state or Switzerland you will only qualify as an exempt person if you can
demonstrate that you are, by virtue of an enforceable Community right, entitled to be treated, for the purposes of
access to and pursuit of the profession, no less favourably than a national of an EEA state or Switzerland. In order
to do so, you will need to provide the GDC with documentary evidence that you fall within one of the following
categories:a) You are either
i.
the spouse or registered partner of an EEA/Swiss national, or
ii.
the direct descendant under the age of 21, dependent, or dependant relative in the ascending line
of an EEA/Swiss national or of their spouse or partner, or
iii.
an extended family member of an EEA/Swiss national (as defined in the Immigration (European
Economic Area) Regulations 2006)
and you are accompanying or joining an EEA/Swiss national who is residing in the UK either as a worker,
as a self-employed person, as a student, as a self-sufficient person, or pursuant to the three month right to
reside under Directive 2004/38/EC.
b) You are a person previously falling into one of the categories in (a) above who has retained their rights
under Directive 2004/38/EC rights following the death or departure of the EEA/Swiss national from the UK
or following divorce, annulment of marriage or termination of the civil partnership, under the conditions
described in Articles 12 - 13 of Directive 2004/38/EC;
In order to demonstrate to the GDC that you fall within one of the categories above, you will also need to provide
the GDC with the relevant documents listed in the Table of Documents at Annex A (attached), depending on your
relationship with the EEA/Swiss national from whom you derive your rights. It is your responsibility to obtain the
necessary documentation from the appropriate bodies in another EEA state/Switzerland.
Please note: If the EEA national from who you derive your rights is a UK national, you will also be required to
provide evidence of his/her exempt person status (in accordance with paragraph 4 above).
Certified copies of documents
For the purposes of registration, the GDC defines a certified copy of a document as one where:
The document is a first generation photocopy (i.e. a photocopy of the original document, not a photocopy
of a photocopy or of a fax); and
The person certifying is a Notary Public, Commissioner of Oaths, Justice of Peace or other entitled to
practise law or is an authorised officer of an embassy or consulate (a mayor or police officer cannot certify
documents); and
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The person certifying the copy has confirmed in English writing that they have inspected the original
document(s) and that the document they are certifying is a true copy of the original; and
The copy must bear the contact details of the person certifying, including the name, signature and
address; and
The person certifying the document is not the applicant themselves, or their spouse.
5. Evidence of name change
The GDC will accept the following as evidence of name change
A name change deed poll or
An affidavit signed by the applicant in presence of a solicitor or magistrate confirming change of name and
where the solicitor or magistrate has confirmed change of name. The full name, signature and contact
details of both the applicant and solicitor or magistrate must be provided or
A certified copy of a marriage certificate or certificate of civil partnership (to prove change of surname
only).
6. Certified translations of documents
All documents in a language other than English must be accompanied by translations into English.
Translations must be from a legally licensed and authorised translator.
The translator must confirm in writing that the translation is an exact and direct translation from the original
language into English e.g. a document originally in Hungarian and which has also been translated into
Greek must be translated into English from the original Hungarian document and not from the Greek
document.
The translators full name, address, signature and contact details must be provided.
7. Working in the UK
Please note that if you are the family member of an EEA national who has been granted registration by the GDC,
you may still require clearance to work in the UK. The GDC is unable to provide advice on this. For advice please
contact:
Home Office UK Border Agency
Lunar House
Wellesley Road
Croydon
CR9 2BY
Tel: +44 (0)87 0606 7766
Website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
Please note that rights conferred by Directive 2004/38/EC do not extend to a substantive right to have
professional qualifications recognised. Even if you are entitled to be treated as an exempt person, this
does not mean that you are entitled to automatic recognition of your qualifications. The recognition of
professional qualifications for dentists and dental care professionals across the EU is covered by
Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications.
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Exempt Person Status - Table of Documents
Relationship with EEA/Swiss
national
Spouse or legally registered
partner
Direct descendent (under 21
years of age) of an EEA/Swiss
national
Direct descendent (under 21
years of age) of the spouse or
legally registered partner of an
EEA/Swiss national
Documents Required
Certified copy of applicants passport
Certified copy of spouses passport
Certified copy of the marriage certificate or document proving legal
partnership, stating full names as shown in the passports (documents
proving a legally registered partnership should be the equivalent of a
Civil Partnership Registration Certificate issued by the General
Register Office in the UK)
An original signed and dated letter from the EEA/Swiss national from
whom the applicant derives their rights stating that he/she is moving to
work or reside in the UK and that the applicant is joining them
If names are not the same in all documents, evidence of name change
Any documents in a language other than English must be
accompanied by a certified translation
Certified copy of applicants passport
Certified copy of parents passport
Certified copy of applicants birth certificate stating names of parents
An original signed and dated letter from the EEA/Swiss national from
whom the applicant derives their rights stating that he/she is moving to
work or reside in the UK and that the applicant is joining them.
If names are not the same in all documents, evidence of name change
Any documents in a language other than English must be
accompanied by a certified translation.
Certified copy of applicants passport
Certified copy of applicants birth certificate stating names of parents
Certified copy of the passport of the parent who is not an EEA/Swiss
national
Certified copy of the passport of the parents spouse or legal
registered partner who is an EEA/Swiss national
Certified copy of the marriage certificate or legal partnership
registration certificate of the parent to the EEA/Swiss national
(documents proving a legally registered partnership should be the
equivalent of a Civil Partnership Registration Certificate issued by the
General Register Office in the UK)
An original signed and dated letter from the EEA/Swiss national from
whom the applicant derives their rights stating that he/she is moving to
work or reside in the UK and that the applicant is joining them.
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Direct descendent (above the
age of 21) who is dependent on
an EEA/Swiss national
Direct descendent (above the
age of 21) who is dependent on
the spouse or legally registered
partner of an EEA/Swiss
national
The dependent direct relative in
the ascending line (i.e. mother
or father) of an EEA/Swiss
national
If names are not the same in all documents, evidence of name change
Any documents in a language other than English must be
accompanied by a certified translation.
Certified copy of applicants passport
Certified copy of parents passport
Certified copy of applicants birth certificate stating names of parents
Evidence of dependency
An original signed and dated letter from the EEA/Swiss national from
whom the applicant derives their rights stating that he/she is moving to
work or reside in the UK and that the applicant is joining them.
If names are not the same in all documents, evidence of name change
Any documents in a language other than English must be
accompanied by a certified translation.
Certified copy of applicants passport
Certified copy of applicants birth certificate stating names of parents
Certified copy of the passport of the parent who is not an EEA/Swiss
national
Certified copy of the passport of the parents spouse or legal
registered partner who is an EEA/Swiss national
Certified copy of the marriage certificate or legal partnership
registration certificate of the parent to the EEA/Swiss national
(documents proving a legally registered partnership should be the
equivalent of a Civil Partnership Registration Certificate issued by the
General Register Office in the UK)
Evidence of dependency
An original signed and dated letter from the EEA national from whom
the applicant derives their rights stating that he/she is moving to work
or reside in the UK and that the applicant is joining them.
If names are not the same in all documents, evidence of name change
Any documents in a language other than English must be
accompanied by a certified translations
Certified copy of applicants passport
Certified copy of the birth certificate of your son or daughter who is a
Union citizen and upon whom you are dependent
Certified copy of the passport of your son or daughter who is an
EEA/Swiss national and upon whom you are dependent
Evidence of dependency
An original signed and dated letter from the EEA/Swiss national from
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whom the applicant derives their rights stating that he/she is moving to
work or reside in the UK and that the applicant is joining them.
The dependent direct relative in
the ascending line (i.e. mother
or father) of the spouse or
legally registered partner of an
EEA/Swiss national
The extended family member of
an EEA /Swiss national
If names are not the same in all documents, evidence of name change
All documents in a language other than English must be accompanied
by a certified translation
Certified copy of applicants passport
Certified copy of the birth certificate of the applicants son or daughter
showing names of parents
Certified copy of the passport of the applicants son or daughter who is
not a Union citizen
Certified copy of the passport of the applicants son or daughters
spouse or legal registered partner who is an EEA/Swiss national
Certified copy of the marriage certificate or legal partnership
registration certificate of the applicants son or daughter to the
EEA/Swiss national (documents proving a legally registered
partnership should be the equivalent of a Civil Partnership
Registration Certificate issued by the General Register Office in the
UK)
Evidence of dependency
An original signed and dated letter from the EEA/Swiss national from
whom the applicant derives their rights stating that he/she is moving to
work or reside in the UK and that the applicant is joining them.
If names are not the same in all documents, evidence of name change
All documents in a language other than English must be accompanied
by a certified translation
Certified copy of the applicants passport proving identity
Certified copy of the passport of the EEA/Swiss national
Certified copy of the EEA family permit, registration certificate of
residence card issued by another EEA state, or a Swiss residence
permit proving residence in that relevant EEA state for at least three
consecutive months or, evidence of at least three consecutive months
of employment, self-employment, study, self-sufficient residence in
another relevant European state
An original signed and dated letter from the EEA/Swiss national from
whom the applicant derives their rights stating that he/she is moving to
work or reside in the UK and that the applicant is joining them.
If names are not the same in all documents, evidence of name change
All documents in a language other than English must be accompanied
by a certified translation
Updated June 2013
