What is an eligibility application?
The eligibility window for the 2021 Foundation Programme is open from Monday 20th July 2020 – Wednesday 2nd September 2020.
The eligibility application process applies to applicants to the national UK Foundation Programme 2021 (UKFP 2021) who:
1: Are studying at or have graduated from a non-UK medical school, OR
2: Have graduated from a UK medical school on or prior to 4th August 2019, OR
3: Are a non-UK/settled worker studying for a UK medical degree at a campus outside of the UK, for example, University of Nicosia, Cyprus (St. George’s University London), or Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia.
Applicants in any of these three groups need to submit an eligibility application BEFORE the main application round in October 2020 to have their eligibility to apply confirmed. You must complete an eligibility application in July – September 2020. If you are considered eligible, you must also apply to FP in October 2020. You will also have the option to apply for academic and priority programmes.
UK medical school students who are due to graduate in 2020 and 2021 do not need to submit an application for eligibility through this process. Your medical school will be able to nominate you.
Evidence of English Language Proficiency – New Deadline!
We are now in a position to confirm that the deadline for applicants to provide evidence of English language proficiency has been extended to 12:00 (noon) on Wednesday 7th October 2020. You must still submit the main eligibility application by the close of the application window on Wednesday 2nd September 2020, but if you do not have evidence of English language proficiency at that time, you will have until Wednesday 7th October 2020 to send your evidence of English language proficiency evidence to helpdesk@foundationprogramme.nhs.uk.
Applicants who submit an application on Wednesday 2nd September 2020, and have met all of the criteria except evidence of English language proficiency, will be considered ‘Eligible with conditions’ until Wednesday 7th October 2020. At this point, the application will be amended either to ‘Eligible’ or ‘Ineligible’, based on whether or not evidence of English language has been provided. If evidence of English language has not been provided by Wednesday 7th October, and the application is amended to ‘Ineligible’, then the applicant will not be able to apply to the Foundation Programme.
The main application window for the Foundation Programme will open for all ‘Eligible’ applicants on Monday 19th October 2020.
Unfortunately, we are unable to extend any of these deadlines any further, due to the implications for other component parts of the application process.
Eligibility Applicant Guidance for UKFP 2021
- UKFP 2021: Application Process High-Level Timeline – A combined timeline of the application process for the UK Foundation Programme.
- UKFP 2021: Eligibility Applicant Guidance – A comprehensive overview of the eligibility application process, for those who need to submit eligibility applications for 2021. (Please be advised that this guidance is subject to change in light of external dependencies and in particular, in regard to the current public health pandemic. The UKFPO will provide updates, as necessary.)
- UKFP 2021: Dean’s Statement – This is a compulsory part of the eligibility application process.
- UKFP 2021: Reapplication to Foundation Training Form – This is compulsory, only if you have previously been removed or resigned from a two-year Foundation Programme. (Word version available here)
- UKFP 2021: Educational Performance Measure (EPM) Framework (Coming soon)
- UKFP 2021: Reasonable Adjustments for Clinical Assessment (Coming soon)
Eligibility FAQs
Degree Qualification
GMC Registration
English Language Proficiency
Eligibility Appeals
When approving eligibility applications, the applications are considered by the UKFPO’s Eligibility Office in accordance with the eligibility criteria.
10% of all eligible applications are reviewed and quality assured by an independent eligibility checking panel.
Applicants who are considered ineligible at the end of this process may submit an appeal against the outcome of their application.
Information on the appeals process, and the appeals form itself, can be found on the appeals page on our website.