Criterion 2: Primary Carer

You are the primary carer for someone who is disabled (as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

For you to meet this criterion, you must be the primary carer for this person, who would normally be your partner, sibling, or parent.
If the person you are caring for is not your partner, sibling, or parent, you will have to explain clearly and present a strong case as to why and how you have the role of primary carer for this person. You must explain why alternative carers cannot be arranged.

If you provide care for a person as part of a group of carers, for example a family, you are not eligible to apply under this criterion and if you do, your application will be rejected.

You are required to provide a care plan to explain how you will combine the responsibilities of a foundation doctor and primary carer, and that you have fully considered local support and resources.

Non-urgent advice: Important change for UKFP 2026

UK students/applicants applying under criterion 2 can only apply and be pre-allocated to the foundation school local to their UK medical school, to reflect the current circumstances. The applicant and the person they are caring for must already be living in the same foundation school area at the time of application. Proof of address must be for that same foundation school area.

Applicants who are applying via the Eligibility route, can only apply for pre-allocation under this category to the foundation school area within which both they and the person they are caring for are already living, to reflect the current circumstances. The applicant and the person they are caring for must already be living in that foundation school area at the time of application. Proof of address must be for that same foundation school area.

The Equality Act 2010 defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. For the purposes of the Act:

• substantial means more than minor or trivial
• long-term means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least 12 months
• normal day-to-day activities include things like eating, washing, walking and going shopping

Some conditions, such as addictions to non-prescribed substances, are specifically excluded.

People who have had a disability in the past that meet this definition are also covered by the scope of the Act. There are additional provisions relating to people with progressive conditions. People with HIV, cancer and multiple sclerosis are protected by the Act from the point of diagnosis. People with visual impairments are automatically deemed to be disabled.

A primary carer is generally defined as the person who provides the majority of the day-to-day care and support to an individual who is unable to fully care for themselves, due to illness and/or disability. This person is typically the one who handles the bulk of the caring responsibilities, such as assisting with personal care, medication, or other practical needs.

You must provide care over the course of a typical week and not just at weekends. Your caring responsibilities must require you to be in the requested location on a constant basis.

Completing the application form for criterion 2

  • Part 1 of the application form must be completed by you. This includes a “care plan” section in which you must provide details of the care arrangements and explain how the responsibility of working as a foundation doctor and as the primary carer will be combined and managed.
  • Part 2 of the application form must be completed by the supporting signatory who should be the GP, social worker or care-coordinator of the person being cared for. They must confirm your role as primary carer for this person and provide information about the level of care you provide.
  • Part 3 of the application does not contain any section that requires completion or a signature. However, the information provided should be read and understood by the applicant.
  • Optional checklist – the checklist does not need to be included with your application, and does not need to be uploaded onto Oriel because it is not a mandatory part of the application process. However, if you choose to include it, this is fine.

    The information provided by the supporting signatory needs to be legible, clear and explicit.
Download application form Download optional checklist – coming soon

Supporting evidence requirements

You are required to provide the following supporting evidence

  1. Proof of current address in your name, and which is in the area of the foundation school that you need to be allocated to (see proof of address guidance for list of acceptable documents).
  2. If you already have a formal care plan document, you can also provide this as additional supporting evidence, however, Part 1 and Part 2 of the application form must also be completed.

Supporting signatory requirements

The supporting signatory must:

  • have a relevant professional working relationship with the person being cared for
  • be over the age of 18.
  • have known the applicant and the person being cared for, for 1 month or more.  In circumstances where this is not the case, the applicant must provide an explanation as to why their supporting signatory has not known them longer, and why an alternative signatory could not be used to support the application
  • not be in a personal relationship with the applicant.
  • not live at the same address as the applicant.
  • not be related to the applicant by birth or marriage.
  • not be a doctor in training of any grade (up to ST8).