Applying for recognition with a relevant EEA pharmacist

qualification
Guidance on completing your application
January 2021
To practise as a pharmacist in Great Britain, you must satisfy us that you meet the criteria for
registration, including being ‘fit to practise’. This is to make sure that patients can have confidence that
the individuals who appear on our register are qualified and meet all our standards. We carry out a
recognition process to determine how the pharmacy qualifications and registrations in other countries
meet our registration requirements.
Use this form to apply for recognition of your EEA pharmacist qualification, if you:
 have completed an appropriate pharmacy course which means that you are eligible to register as
a pharmacist in the EEA country where you received your qualification, or
 are currently registered in the EEA country in which you qualified as a pharmacist
We will use the information you provide to determine your appropriate route to registration, and to give
you information on how to register.
Please read this guidance carefully to help make sure that you provide all the information we need, in
the correct format. You can find out more about what information we hold, how we look after it and
how we use it in our privacy policy on our main website.
We recommend that you start to collect the information you will need to provide well in advance of the
date you want to submit your application, as it may take some time.
In this guidance
1. The application process
2. The outcome of your application
3. The documents you must provide
4. Providing certified copies and translations
5. Direct documents required
6. Changes to your name (statutory declarations)
7. Knowledge of English language requirements

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1. The application process
To apply for recognition of your EEA pharmacist qualification, you will need to:
1. Read the guidance carefully and identify the information and supporting documents you will
need to provide.
2. Contact pharmacy organisations to request that they supply documents directly to us. See
section 5 to find out what you will need to request.
3. Complete the application form. You can fill in the form using a computer, or by hand. If you
complete the form by hand, make sure you write clearly in block capitals. You will print the form
out to sign it and submit it.
4. Pay the recognition application fee of £109. The fee covers the processing of your recognition
application and is non-refundable, even if your application is not successful.
5. Send your completed application form, and supporting documents to us at:
EEA Applications
General Pharmaceutical Council
25 Canada Square
London
E14 5LQ
Post your application and supporting documents to us using a trackable post service (such as Royal Mail
‘Signed For’ in the UK). Use your tracking number to find out when your application has been delivered.
Once we receive your application, the applications team will assess the information you provide in your
form to make sure it is complete. We will wait until we receive the information from other pharmacy
organisations before we send you a request via WorldPay for the application fee. Once we receive your
fee payment, we will compete the processing of your application. We aim to process your application
within 28 days of receiving it, if it is complete and we have received your payment promptly.
If you cannot supply any of the required documents, you should provide a written explanation of why
this is. If we accept your explanation, we will tell you how to proceed and what alternative documents
we will consider.
We will let you know via email if your application is accepted or refused, or if we need you to provide
more information. If you have any question about your application contact us at
international@pharmacyregulation.org or on 0203 713 8000.
Making a payment
We will request that you pay the £109 application fee by credit or debit card. You will receive an email
from ‘shopper@worldpay.com’ containing instructions and a link to pay online. The payment link in the
email will be valid for 28 days. If you need any additional time to pay the fee, please email us at
registers@pharmacyregulation.org.

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The email you will receive will look like this:

2. The outcome of your application

If your application for recognition is successful and we assess that your qualification entitles you to
automatic recognition, we will email to let you know that you are eligible to apply to register with us.
We will ask you for evidence of your English language skills, if you have not provided this already, as this
is part of the criteria for registration. You will need to pay the registration application fee of £106, and
the registration fee of £257, which covers the first 12 months of your registration.
Once we have received your completed registration application, evidence of your English language skills,
and the application and registration fee payment, we will add your name to the register.
Your name will be shown on the online register. We will also send you a ‘notice of entry’ letter by email
to confirm that you have been added to the register, but this may take longer.
Important: do not practise as a pharmacist until your name appears on the online register, or you have
received your ‘notice of entry’ letter. Practising as a pharmacist or pharmacy technician while not on the
register is breaking the law and you can be prosecuted.
If your application is unsuccessful, we will email to let you know. We will explain our decision and
return your supporting documents to you.
3. Supporting documents you must provide directly to us
Important: Do not provide original versions of these documents as we cannot guarantee their safety
and that we will be able to return them to you. See section 4 for information about how to get copies
correctly certified.
a) A certified copy of your degree or diploma certificate
You must provide a certified copy of your diploma or degree certificate. If your certificate has not been
issued by the time of your application for recognition, you must provide an original letter from your
university confirming that you have been awarded the qualification and that your certificate has not yet
been issued to you.
Important: we do not accept diploma supplements.

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b) A certified copy of your proof of identity and nationality document(s)
Submit a correctly certified copy of either:
 the page of your current valid passport showing your photo and the expiry date
 your EEA identity card
c) A duplicate or certified copy of your birth certificate
If you were born in England, Wales, or Scotland you must submit a duplicate copy of your birth
certificate, which you can request from the General Registers Office, or the General Registers Office for
Scotland.
If you were NOT born in England, Wales, or Scotland you must submit a certified copy of your birth
certificate. It must state your full legal name, date and place of birth and indicate that your birth was
registered within 12 months of the date you were born. This is because birth certificates issued more
than 12 months after a date of birth can’t be relied on as an accurate record of the event on their own.
See section 4 to find out how your documents should be certified.
If you are using a name other than the one on your birth certificate, if your birth certificate is not written
in English, or if the registration date on your birth certificate is not within one year of your date of birth,
see section 3(e) to find out what additional documents you need to provide.
d) A certified passport photo, attached to a completed photo certification form
Use the form at the end of this application. The photo you use must have been taken less than three
months ago, must be countersigned and dated by a professional who has known you for at least two
years.
The person certifying your photo should write on the back of it:
i. ‘I certify that this is a true likeness of [Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms or other title, followed by your full
name]’.
ii. Their signature.
iii. The date.
They must also fill in the photograph certification form at the end of this guidance.
e) Other documents you may need to provide
i) If you are using a name other than the one on your birth certificate, you must submit an official
document which confirms the change. For example, this could be a certified copy of your marriage
or civil partnership certificate. If you do not have an official document, you will need to complete
statutory declaration B – see section 7.
ii) If your birth certificate is not written in English, you must provide it and submit a professional
translation. However, if your birth certificate has not been issued within 12 months of your date of
birth, you do not need to provide it, or a translation. Instead, you will need to complete statutory
declaration A.
iii) If your name on your degree certificate or proof of identity documents is not identical (word for
word, letter for letter) to the one on your birth certificate, you must complete statutory declaration
C to declare that all the documents you have provided relate to you.
iv) If you have a licence to practice from a regulatory authority in the EEA country in which you
qualified, you should provide a certified copy (and translation if applicable) of that certificate.

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4. Providing certified copies and translations of documents
The copies of your documents must be certified by a:
 solicitor (or the equivalent in your EEA country)
 notary
How should my supporting documents be certified?
Once you have shown them the original document, the legal professional certifying your documents
should write on the copy of your supporting document:
i. ‘I certify that I have seen the original document and that this is a true copy’.
ii. Their signature.
iii. Their name in block capitals.
iv. Their professional registration number.
v. The date of certification.
Important: We may check the registration of the legal professional who certifies your documents with
their regulatory authority. Make sure you are satisfied that they meet the criteria above, and that they
include their registration number (for example, an SRA number for a solicitor), or their contact details if
they don’t have a registration number as part of their certification. Your application could be delayed if
we have difficulty verifying their registration.
Providing translations of documents not written in English
If any of your evidence documents are not in English, they must be accompanied by a translation. The
translation must be carried out by a professional translator (you can contact your embassy for a list of
translators).
The translation must be a literal translation, not an interpretation of the original document. It must
include the text from all certifications and ink stamps on the original document.
As well as providing the translation text, the translator must:
 sign and date the translation
 provide their name and business address
 certify that they are authorised to translate from the language into English
 certify that the translation produced is true and accurate
This information can be on the same page as the translation text, or be on a separate sheet attached to
the translation.
5. Documents you must arrange to be sent to us directly
You will need to request the following documents to be sent to us directly, from the relevant pharmacy
organisations in your EEA country. If we believe that the documents we receive have been supplied by
you or any other person or organisation other than the one named on the documents, we will reject
them and ask you to request new ones.
a) Evidence of registration and good standing
This must be an original document from your professional authority which confirms your registration
and good standing with that authority. This document must be sent direct to the GPhC by your
professional authority. The professional authority must confirm that you have not been the subject of
any disciplinary proceedings and that there are no disciplinary proceedings pending against you.

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If you are not registered with a professional authority, you must provide an original, up to date, clear
police record and translation from the EEA country in which you qualified and live. You can submit this
with your application – it does not need to be sent directly to us from the issuing organisation.
Your evidence of registration and good standing is valid for three months from the date it is issued. You
must submit your application within this period. We recommend that you send your application as soon
as possible after you have requested it.
If you are registered with more than one professional authority, or have worked in an additional country
during the last five years, you must request or submit evidence of good standing from the relevant
authority(ies).
b) Evidence that your qualification complies with the minimum training requirements
In order to comply with the provisions of the Pharmacy Order – Articles 21(1B) and 21(A), we require a
document from the Competent Authority in your country of qualification which confirms that your
qualification complies with the minimum training requirements set out in Article 44 of Directive
2005/36/EC.
The document must confirm that:
 you hold a qualification in pharmacy from an EEA country which is listed in Annex V, section 5.6.2
of Directive 2005/36/EC
 you started your qualification after the reference date specified against the EEA country in which
your qualification was awarded
 your qualification complies with all the minimum training requirements described in Article 44 of
Directive 2005/36/EC.
If your qualification does not meet these requirements, we will not be able to recognise it and you will
need to consider the route to registration for applicants with other international pharmacist
qualifications. If you are unsure about whether your qualification meets these requirements, we
recommend that you contact the pharmacy organisation in the member state where you qualified to
check this before submitting your application and requesting this document.

6. Making a statutory declaration

We need to be able to verify your identity and your qualifications to assess your application. A key way
we do this is by confirming your identity using your birth certificate, and matching your name across all
your supporting documents. This means that if:
 there are issues with your birth certificate (or you do not have one)
 your name is written differently on any of your supporting documents
 you do not have an official document confirming your change of name
you must complete and submit a statutory declaration form which is included at the end of this
guidance. Your name must be written in full on all your supporting documents- initials are not
acceptable.
Check the scenarios below to see if you need to complete and submit a statutory declaration. You may
need to complete more than one declaration.
If you need to complete a statutory declaration, you must do this with a solicitor present. The solicitor
must then fill in the final section of the form.

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Complete declaration A if:
 you do not have a birth certificate
 your birth certificate is not written in English
 the registration date on your birth certificate is not within one year of your date of birth
Complete declaration B if:
 you have changed your name from the one on your birth certificate (by marriage for example)
and you do not have an official document which confirms your change of name
 you want to register in a name other than that on your birth or marriage certificate (for example
if you have added or dropped any names or letters, or if your names appear in a different order
on your birth certificate)
Complete declaration C if:
 the name on your degree certificate is not identical to the one on your birth certificate (word for
word, letter for letter)
 the name on your proof of identity document(s) is not identical to the one on your birth
certificate (word for word, letter for letter)

7. Knowledge of English language requirements

We do not need to check your English language competence as part of your application for recognition.
But we will need to check that you have sufficient English language competence to practise safely and
effectively, if you apply to join the register. This requirement is set out in the Health Care and Associated
Professions (Knowledge of English) Order 2015.
You may want to include evidence of your English competency with your recognition application, if you
have it, in preparation for your registration application. Download the Providing evidence of English
language skills guidance pack to find out what evidence to provide, if you chose to do so.

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Applying for recognition of your EEA pharmacist qualification
Application form
1. Personal details
Tell us your personal details so that we can identify you and verify that you meet the criteria for
recognition. We will use your email address and the phone number(s) you give to contact you about
your application, if necessary.
1.1 Title Mr Mrs Ms Miss Other      

1.2 Surname(s)      

1.3 First name      

1.4 Middle name(s)      

1.5 Date of birth      

1.6 Home address     

1.7 Postcode      

1.8 Country      

1.9 Nationality      

1.10 Email address      

1.11 Contact phone      

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 2. Qualification details
Give details of your initial pharmacy qualification which makes you eligible for registration in the EEA
country where you completed it.
a) Qualification title      

b) Name of university or      

other awarding body

c) Country where the      

qualification was awarded

       
d) Year started (YYYY)
       

       
e) Year finished or awarded
       

3. Professional registration details

3.1 Are you currently registered with a professional authority in the country in which you qualified?
Yes No
If yes, please give details:
Name of body      

Registration number      

I have requested a certificate of current professional status from this organisation to be sent to
the GPhC
3.2 Have you been registered with any other professional authorities in the last five years?
Yes No
If yes, please give details below. Continue on a separate sheet if necessary:
Name of body      

Registration number      

I have requested a certificate of current professional status from this organisation to be sent to
the GPhC
3.3 Have you previously applied for registration with the RPSGB or GPhC?
Yes No

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 If yes, please give the date or your application (MMYY):            

4. Professional experience
4.1 Have you worked as a pharmacist since you completed the qualification in section 2?
Yes No
If yes, please give details of each position below:

Employer’s name and Type of work Hours From Until

address (hospital, industry or worked (MMYY) (MMYY)
community) per week

                            

5. Application declaration
5.1 I declare that the information that I have provided in this application, including in my supporting
documents, is complete, true and accurate and I understand that if I am found to have given false
or misleading information in connection with this application, this may affect my ability to join the
GPhC register

Signed
Date

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Statutory declaration form
Complete all the declarations in this form that apply to you, as well as the ‘Overall applicant declaration’
section. You may need to complete more than one declaration.
You must complete the form in the presence of a solicitor, who must then fill in the ‘Solicitor
declaration’ section.
Complete declaration A if:
 you do not have a birth certificate
 your birth certificate is not written in English
 the registration date on your birth certificate is not within one year of your date of birth
Complete declaration B if:
 you have changed your name from the one on your birth certificate (by marriage, for example)
 you want to register in a name other than that on your birth or marriage certificate (for example
if you have added or dropped any names or letters, or if your names appear in a different order
on your birth certificate)
Complete declaration C if:
 the name on your degree certificate is not identical to the one on your birth certificate (word for
word, letter for letter)
 the name on your proof of identity document(s) is not identical to the one on your birth
certificate (word for word, letter for letter)

Declaration A
I, ______________________________________________________
(write your name in full as you want it to appear on your registration)

of ________________________________________________________________________________
(write your home address)

do solemnly and sincerely declare to the best of my knowledge and belief, that at my birth I was given
the name ______________________________________________________

on ____/_______/_______ in _______________________________________
(insert your date of birth, DD/MM/YYYY) (insert the town)

and that I am unable to obtain a certified copy of my birth certificate, or that my birth certificate is not
written in English.

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Declaration B
I, ______________________________________________________
(write your name in full as it appears on your birth certificate)

of ________________________________________________________________________________
(write your home address)

do solemnly and sincerely declare that since ____/_______/_______ I have used, and in future will be
known by, the name of ______________________________________________________
(Insert the full name you are now using – this must be identical to that on your application for registration)

Declaration C
I, ______________________________________________________
(write your name in full as it is written on your birth certificate, or if you do not have one, as you have written it in declaration A)

of ________________________________________________________________________________
(write your home address)

declare that all documents submitted with my application for registration including the copy of the
qualification certificate relate to me. All versions of my name relate to one and the same person.

Overall applicant declaration

I, ______________________________________________________
(write your name in full as you want it to appear on your registration)

make the declaration(s) above conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the
provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act, 1835.

Signed:

Date:

Solicitor declaration
Declared at ___________________________________________________________________________
(insert the address of your premises)

On this ____________________________________ day of _____________________________________

before me ____________________________________________________________________________
(insert name of solicitor)
(Insert solicitor’s stamp here)

Signed:

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Photograph certification form
To be completed by the person countersigning your photo
Staple your
For guidance on who can countersign your photo, see the correctly certified
application guidance. photograph here.
To the certifier: Have you included
the correct text on
By countersigning this application, you agree that the GPhC
the back?
may contact you to verify the information that you have
provided and that you are an acceptable countersigner.
Please fill in your details below.

Name:      

Occupation:       Phone:      

Address:      

Email:      

I declare that I have certified and signed the photograph attached and that I have known
______________________________________________________ (write the applicant’s full name)
for ____________________ years and the information I have provided is correct.

Signed:

Date:

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Application cover sheet
Include this checklist with your application

Name:      
I am applying for recognition of my relevant EEA pharmacist qualification. As well as my completed
application form, I am enclosing (make sure you have included everything in section a, and as many as
you need to in sections b to d below):

a) Supporting documents
a certified copy of my qualification certificate
a certified copy of my passport or EEA identity card
a certified or duplicate copy of my birth certificate, or a statutory declaration form with
declaration A completed
a certified passport photo, attached to a completed photo certification form

b) Other supporting documents

As I am using a name other than the one on my birth certificate, I have enclosed:
a certified copy of an official document confirming the change, such as a certified copy of a
marriage or civil partnership certificate, or a statutory declaration
As my birth certificate is not written in English, I have enclosed:
a professional translation of it, as it was issued within 12 months of my birth
Or
a statutory declaration form with declaration A completed, as my birth certificate was not issued
within 12 months of my date of birth
As the name on my qualification certificate or proof of identity documents is not identical (word for
word, letter for letter) to the one on my birth certificate, I have enclosed:
a statutory declaration form with declaration C completed
As I have a licence to practice from a regulatory authority in the EEA country in which I qualified, I have
enclosed:

a certified copy (and translation if applicable) of that certificate

As I am not registered with a professional authority, I enclose:

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 an original, up to date, clear police record (and translation if applicable) from the EEA country in
which I qualified and live
d) Evidence of English language competency
As I have chosen to provide evidence of my English language competency, I have :
requested an English Language test result original or duplicate to be sent directly to the GPhC
As I did not use my passport as identification when sitting the test, I have enclosed:
a certified copy of the document I did use
Or
enclosed evidence of my pharmacy qualification, that has been taught and examined in English,
in a ‘majority English speaking’ country other than the UK, such as Ireland
Or
enclosed a pharmacy employer reference form completed by my employer which sets out my
knowledge of English

Send this form and your supporting documents to:

EEA Applications
General Pharmaceutical Council
25 Canada Square
LONDON
E14 5LQ

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