EU temporary registration

If you hold EU community rights that allow you to work in other member states of the European Economic Area (EEA), then you may be eligible to apply for registration under EU Directive 2005/36/EC

The directive allows for the free movement of labour between EEA member states.

This page gives EEA nationals and others an indication of whether they are eligible for General Chiropractic Council registration.

To gain registration on the basis of your practise in another EU member state, you must be able to show that:

• You hold exempt person status, and
• Your chiropractic qualification is eligible for recognition by the General Chiropractic Council.

Please note that this guidance is not legal advice. This is a complex and developing area of law. If you have any questions about your rights under European law, please consult an appropriately qualified lawyer. 

Exempt person status

If an EEA/ Swiss national or family member is entitled to live and work in any EEA state or Switzerland, we say that he or she has ‘exempt person status’. The rules that state the groups of people who have exempt person status is Directive 2004/38/EC.

Important: Even if you have a right to live and work in the UK under Directive 2004/38/EC, you do not automatically have a right to call yourself a chiropractor in the UK. This is because recognition of qualifications is covered by a different EU directive (Directive 2005/36/EC).

This means, if you can show to us that you have exempt person status, you will still need to show you are eligible for registration with the General Chiropractic Council because you practise as a chiropractor in another EEA state or Switzerland.

What is Directive 2004/38/EC?

The rights of all EU citizens and their family members, to move and live freely in a member state, not the state of which they are a national, is set out in Directive 2004/38/EC.

How do I know if I have exempt person status?

The following list gives details for those who may qualify as an exempt person. You can read more information about these groups further down this page. This includes:

• the circumstances under which applicants to the General Chiropractic Council are entitled to be treated as exempt persons
• suggested documents to show exemption.

Important: this is not an exhaustive list and the responsibility lies with you to provide sufficient evidence to the General Chiropractic Council to prove your entitlement.

To qualify, a chiropractor must either be:

• a national of an EEA state or Switzerland (other than the United Kingdom
• a national of the United Kingdom who is seeking access to, or is pursuing, the profession by virtue of an enforceable community right; or
• a person who is not a national of an EEA state or Switzerland, but who can be treated no less favourably than a national of a EU state for the purposes of access to and pursuit of the profession, because he or she has an enforceable community right.

I am a national of an EEA State or Switzerland (other than the United Kingdom)

Am I an exempt person?

If you are a national of an EEA member state or Switzerland, you are likely to be an exempt person.

What documents must I send?

You will need to send us a certified copy of a valid national identity card or passport issued by an EEA state or Switzerland.

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 show that you are seeking access to the chiropractic profession because you have an enforceable community right.

What documents must I send?

To show that you are an exempt person you will need to send us documentary evidence that you are residing in another EEA state or in Switzerland (or were residing before returning to the UK) as either a worker, as a self-employed person, as a student, as a self-sufficient person, or because of the three month right to reside under Directive 2004/38/EC.

Evidence can include:

• a certified copy of your UK passport

and either:

• 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.

Important: If you have EU community rights because the person you get those rights from is a UK national, then you will also need to send us evidence of his or her exempt person status.

I am not an EEA or Swiss national

Am I an exempt person?

If you are not an EEA or Swiss national you will only qualify as an exempt person if you can show us that you have enforceable community rights, which entitle you to be treated no less favourably than an EEA or Swiss national.

To do this you will need to send us documentary evidence that you fall within one of the following groups:

a) You are either:

• the spouse or registered partner of an EEA or Swiss national, or
• the direct descendant under the age of 21, dependent, or dependant relative in the ascending line of an EEA or Swiss national or of their spouse or partner, or
• an extended family member of an EEA or Swiss national (as defined in the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006)

or

b) You are a person previously falling into one of the groups in (a) above who has retained their rights under Directive 2004/38/EC rights following the death or departure of the EEA or Swiss national from the UK or following divorce, annulment of marriage or termination of the civil partnership (these conditions are described in Articles 12 - 13 of Directive 2004/38/EC).

What documents must I send?

In order to show that you fall within one of the group above, you will need to send us documents to prove your entitlement to be treated as holding exempt person status. This will depend on your relationship with the EEA or Swiss national from whom you get your rights.

It is your responsibility to obtain relevant documents from the appropriate bodies in another EEA state or Switzerland.

Important: If you derive your rights from a UK national, you will also need to send us evidence of his or her exempt person status.

EU legislation allows chiropractors to apply to work in the UK on a temporary and occasional basis.

Examples of the kind of provision of chiropractic services that might be considered temporary and occasional include:

• providing services for a sports team by visiting the UK sporadically and infrequently
• undertaking services for a short period of time in cases of a national emergency.

In the UK, temporary and occasional service provision is governed by The European Union (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2015 which gives effect to Directive 2005/36/EC.

To be eligible for temporary and occasional registration, you must be:

• a citizen of an EEA member state or Switzerland or hold European Community rights, and
• currently established and allowed to practise as a chiropractor without restriction in another EEA country
• present in the UK to provide chiropractic service on both a temporary and occasional basis

You must intend practising in the UK on both a temporary and occasional basis to be entitled to this type of registration.

Temporary practice:

• is not a permanent or fixed term contract or agreement to provide services on:
  • a regular basis
  • a frequent basis
  • a continuous basis
• is not for an indefinite period

Occasional practice:

• is not regular
• is not frequent
• is not continuous

Temporary and occasional applications are assessed against the combined criteria on a case-by-case basis, taking into account:

• duration: the time taken to perform the service
• frequency: how often it occurs, which may be the interval between visits
• regularity: how regular the service provision is, and whether it is constant or at fixed intervals
• continuity: whether the services are provided in a continuous period or sporadically over a period of time.

I’m still not sure if I’m eligible

The rules around the directive are quite complicated. If you need some advice we recommend that you:

• get in touch with the competent authority or contact point for chiropractic in your member state of origin (where you or your spouse were born)

or

• contact the member state in which you are currently practising or in which you formerly qualified or practised to ensure that you meet the requirement of the directive, and that the competent authority is able to issue the documents we need to register you

You may need to take legal advice to find out whether or not you are eligible for registration under the directive. If you think this may apply to you but are not sure, please contact us.

This section summarises the steps you need to take if you wish to make an application for temporary and occasional registration with the General Chiropractic Council.

Confirm your eligibility

You will be eligible to apply if you:

• have EU community rights
• have a chiropractic qualification equivalent to an accredited course within the UK. You will need to complete the form for mapping your professional education and work experience to the GCC Education Standards
• intend working in the UK on a temporary and occasional basis taking into account the duration, frequency, regularity and continuity of the services you intend to pursue.

How will my application be processed?

We check your chiropractic qualification is similar to one that we accredit for UK graduates.  This is why we require you to provide the mapping form.

Applicants must also provide a copy of their transcript and a course guide when they send the mapping to us.

We will then check the documentation you provided to ensure you meet the registration requirements

In addition to those documents sent as part of your qualification check, you must also send us:

• A completed application form
• Details of your indemnity (insurance) arrangements, so we can be sure you are covered for practising as a chiropractor in the UK. More information on the requirements for indemnity arrangements for all chiropractors, can be found here
• Evidence of your English language skills

IMPORTANT: we are not able to guarantee if and when registration will be granted. For this reason we recommend that you do not book any patients until you have received confirmation from us that you have been registered.

When your registration application arrives, we will look at your documents to make sure they meet our requirements. If we need any more information we will email you with details.

Things that may help to speed up your application

We do not offer a 'fast track' application service that allows us to deal with your application ahead of others. However, the following pointers should minimise the time it takes to process your application. 

Please also note that we do not accept visitors to our offices without a prior appointment. Delivering your form personally will not reduce the time it takes us to process your application.

• Ensure your application is filled in correctly before you post it to us
• Check that the documents fit with the requirements we have listed on the application form
• Make sure you provide current contact details and an email address so that we can get in touch with you easily
• If you are in the process of moving make sure you keep us up to date with any changes to your contact details
• Once registered you will be able to do add your new practice details online if necessary
• Please note: we are required to list an address for you on the register. If you do not provide us with a practice address and telephone number, we will list your home address and telephone number instead
• Make your payment by card or electronic transfer (CHAPS), which will clear our account immediately.

Check your emails (including your ‘junk’ email folder) regularly after you apply for registration as this is our preferred method of contact.

Process before the Registrar

Before making a decision, the Registrar must be satisfied that: 

• sufficient evidence has been obtained to enable a fair decision to be made
• the applicant has had an opportunity to comment on all documents that form part of the application file.

While most decisions can be made by the Registrar without the need for an interview, exceptional cases may arise where a decision will be taken to interview the applicant.

Explaining and recording decisions

All decisions of the Registrar are recorded with reasons. If the Registrar decides to refuse an application, the applicant will be informed of the process for appealing the decision [internal link to Appeals] through the Registration Appeals Committee.