BDA Benevolent Fund - Asylum Seeker or Refugee Dentist Application Form

Application Submitted As

The BDA Benevolent Fund supports dental students, dentists and their families living in the UK.

Who can use this form?

This form is for dentists with asylum seeker or refugee status who are experiencing financial hardship.

To use this form, you must:

currently live in the UK;
hold asylum seeker, refugee or equivalent status such as humanitarian protection, or the Ukainian or Afghan resettlement schemes
be qualified, registered or otherwise recognised as a dentist in the country where you trained or practised.

The BDA Benevolent Fund is independent of the British Dental Association (BDA). You do not need to be a BDA member to apply.

Financial hardship

Financial assistance is intended for people experiencing financial hardship who cannot reasonably meet the cost themselves. Before applying, you should use any income, benefits or savings available to you. We will consider your overall financial circumstances, including your income, essential living costs, savings and other accessible funds.

If you have more than £10,000 available to you, we will not normally consider your application. This does not include money set aside to meet a confirmed tax liability.

Before you begin

As part of your application, you will need to provide evidence of your identity, immigration status and financial circumstances. This will normally include:

proof of your asylum seeker or refugee status (or equivalent);
evidence of your dental qualification or previous registration;
PDF statements covering the last three months for every bank, savings and investment account you hold;
PDF statements covering the last three months for every credit card you hold;
evidence of your income, benefits and essential living costs

If you are married or living with a partner, we will also need statements and details of income and savings for your partner.

Statements must be the original PDF documents downloaded from your provider. We cannot accept screenshots, photographs or edited documents. If an account has no recent statements, please ask the provider for a formal letter confirming the current balance. Do not combine or merge your documents.

If you do not provide all the information and documents requested, we may be unable to assess your application.

Support with registering and working as a dentist in the UK

If you are applying for help with LDS or ORE examination fees, please apply no earlier than three weeks before the relevant booking period opens with the Royal College of Surgeons or the General Dental Council. This is because you must demonstrate that you are experiencing financial hardship at the time the examination can be booked. Applications submitted earlier will not be considered.

If you could reasonably pay the examination or course fee(s) yourself without being unable to meet your essential living costs, you should pay for it yourself rather than apply to the Charity.

If you are applying for help with the cost of an examination preparation course, we will only consider your request if you have already booked an examination. We will not consider applications for preparation courses if you have not yet booked an examination.

Please note that we are no longer accepting applications for ORE Part 1 examination fees.

Wellbeing support

Wellbeing support is available free of charge, anonymously and at any time. You do not need to complete an application form.

Visit our wellbeing webpage or access the Wellbeing Support for the Dental Team resource.

If you have any questions, please contact us:

Email: info@bdabenevolentfund.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7486 4994
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, excluding public holidays

This form can be saved as you complete it and resumed at a later time.

Before submitting, please review all information carefully to ensure it is accurate. Inaccurate information (whether provided intentionally or unintentionally) may result in delays or a decision not to offer financial assistance.

Once submitted, you will receive an automated confirmation that your application has been received. Please note that all fields marked with an * are mandatory; applications missing this information cannot be processed.

Personal details

Title

Other (Please specify title)

First Name

Last Name

Email address

Date of birth

Please use the correct format with forward slashes.

Contact Number

Address

Town/City

County

Post Code

Other information

What year did you qualify as a dentist?

I identify my gender as

Other (Please specify gender)

Please confirm your immigration status

Date arrived in UK

Country of origin

Other (Please specify country of origin)

Immigration evidence

To verify your eligibility as an asylum seeker or refugee dentist please provide some evidence of your immigration status for example the biometric card – both sides, your eVisa share code or a letter from the Home Office. Please note, files can only be uploaded as PDFs.

Dentist (profession) evidence

Please also provide evidence you were qualified or registered as a dentist outside of the UK for example membership certificate/ degree certificate. Please note, files can only be uploaded as PDFs.

Your household

Do you have a partner?

Marital Status

Spouse/Partners Current or Previous Occupation

Does anyone else usually live in your household, at the same address as you?
Please include your spouse or partner, children, relatives, friends, housemates and lodgers. Do not include people who are only visiting.

YesNo

How many people?

Persons relationship to you

Age

Are they financially dependent on you?

Is anyone else dependent on your income that does not live with you?

YesNo

How many people?

Relationship to you

Age

Employment

Current employment (if applicable)

Current role title

Address

Date you started

Previous employment - please provide details of last 2 years of your employment history

Previous role title

Address

Start and finish dates

Financial information - assets

Do you live in rented accommodation?

YesNo

Do you /your partner own any property? This includes any mortgages

YesNoPlease tick yes if you have a mortgage, part or shared ownership etc.

Date of purchase

Property cost

£

Current value

£

Outstanding mortgage*

£

* If applicable

Years left to pay

* If applicable

Do you or your partner own, lease or have the use of a vehicle(s)?

YesNoIncluding hire purchase or conditional sale vehicles

Date of purchase

Vehicle cost

£

Current value

£

Outstanding amount left to pay*

£

* If applicable

Years left to pay*

* If applicable

Assets (money in credit)

	Total Amount - You	Total Amount - Partner
Current account	£	£	Add another
Current account 2	£	£	Add another
Current account 3	£	£	Add another
Current account 4	£	£
	£	£	£

Bank statements and financial evidence

To consider your application, we need statements covering the three months immediately before the date of your application for:

every bank and building society account you hold, including current, savings and joint accounts;
all credit cards;
savings and investments; and
any accounts you hold but do not regularly use, including accounts with a zero or overdrawn balance.

If you are married or live with a partner, you must also provide statements covering the same three-month period for all accounts held by your spouse or partner, including their bank accounts, credit cards, savings and investments.

Please provide complete statements showing the account holder’s name, account details, all transactions and balances. Do not submit selected pages or transaction screenshots.

We use these statements to verify the financial information in your application and assess your household’s financial circumstances. We cannot assess your application until all the required statements have been provided.

Supporting evidence

Important requirements:

File format: The statements must be submitted as a PDF file. We cannot accept Excel files, photos, or screenshots. The files should be original, not annotated.

Details included: The statements must clearly show your full name and address (transaction summaries or screenshots are not accepted for this reason).

How to Download Statements:

If you’re unsure how to download your bank statements, search online for instructions by typing your bank’s name followed by “download bank statements.”

Note: If you do not provide the required documents in the correct format (PDFs) your application form cannot be processed. The number of statements uploaded should reflect the details you have provided on this form i.e. if you have three current/ savings accounts, then you need to upload nine files.

Debts/ liabilities (money owed)

Detail all the information regarding the money that you owe, giving the total amount owed, and how much you are paying this back e.g. monthly or annually. This helps to give a full picture of your financial situation and also should be reflected in the information you provide on the next few pages.

	Overall outstanding amount	Monthly Payment -You	Monthly Payment-Partner
Current Account Overdraft	£	£	£
Other Account Overdraft	£	£	£
Loan	£	£	£
Loan	£	£	£
Hire Purchase	£	£	£
Credit Card	£	£	£	1 Add another
Credit Card 2	£	£	£	2 Add another
Credit Card 3	£	£	£	3 Add another
Credit Card 4	£	£	£	4 Add another
Credit Card 5	£	£	£	5 Add another
Credit Card 6	£	£	£
Store Card	£	£	£
HMRC	£	£	£
Family/Friends	£	£	£
Rent/Mortgage Arrears	£	£	£
Utility Arrears	£	£	£
Other	£	£	£
	£	£	£

Monthly Income

	You	Partner
Salary/ wages i.e. income from working	£	£
Practice drawings	£	£
Asylum Support	£	£
State pension	£	£
Bereavement allowance	£	£
Private pension(s)	£	£
Pension credit	£	£
Employment Support Allowance (ESA)	£	£
Housing Benefit	£	£
Working Tax Credit	£	£
Maternity Pay/Maternity Allowance	£	£
Paternity Allowance	£	£
Support for Mortgage Interest	£	£
Council Tax Reduction/Support or Rate Relief	£	£
Incapacity Benefit	£	£
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)	£	£
Personal Independent Payment (PIP)	£	£
Universal Credit (UC)	£	£
Carers Allowance	£	£
Attendance Allowance	£	£
Child Benefit	£	£
Child Tax Credit	£	£
Contributions towards Children	£	£
Other Benefits Total (Please list which ones below)	£	£
NHS Pension	£	£
Payments from charities	£	£
Other Income Total (Please list more detail below)	£	£
	£	£

Other Benefits

Other Income

Monthly Expenditure

	You	Partner
Rent	£	£
Mortgage	£	£
Secured Loan	£	£
Mortgage Endowment	£	£
Service Charge/Ground Rent	£	£
Water	£	£
Council Tax	£ Including water charge if you live in Scotland and rates in NI	£ Including water charge if you live in Scotland and rates in NI
Gas	£	£
Electricity	£	£
Other Household Fuels	£	£
Telephone and Internet	£	£
Mobile	£	£
TV Licence	£	£
Other Television Bills	£	£
Buildings/Contents Insurance	£	£
Life Insurance	£	£
Childcare	£	£
Child Maintenance or Child Support	£	£
BDA or other professional membership	£	£
Car Insurance	£	£
Road Tax	£	£
MOT and Ongoing Maintenance	£	£
Petrol	£	£
Public Transport	£	£
Food and Housekeeping	£	£
Pets and Pet Insurance	£	£
Medicine/Prescriptions	£	£
Professional Fees	£	£
Indemnity	£	£
Loan Repayments	£	£
HP Repayments	£	£
Credit Card Repayments	£	£
Other Essential Living Costs (Combined Total)*	£	£
Furniture and Appliance Rental	£	£
Hobbies, Leisure or Sport	£	£
Total	£	£

*Please list what your other living costs are, if applicable

What assistance are you seeking and how can we help you?

We deal with all requests on an individual basis as no two situations are the same. We aim to tailor our grants to best match your immediate needs. We support those that are currently facing financial hardship in accordance with out Grantmaking Policy. Financial hardship is defined as having insufficient income and/ or savings to manage your current essential living costs. Please watch our guidance notes video prior to applying to see who and how we help.

Tick the relevant category/categories below and fill out the sections that are applicable to you and provide us with a summary of your current circumstances, specifically how this has led to you approaching us for financial assistance.

Please note, if you are seeking support with registering or working in the UK as a refugee dentist, applications will only be considered no more than 2 weeks in advance of the exams booking period. Support with preparation courses will not be given if you haven't booked onto an exam.

Applicants need to have refugee status (or equivalent, such as humanitarian protection) to be considered for support with exam fees/courses. If you have asylum seeker status, you cannot be offered support with registering with the General Dental Council.

Difficulties due to physical or mental ill health including addiction

Further details of physical or mental health

Difficulties within your relationship or with your family

Further details of relationship difficulties

Difficulties at work e.g. with your employer, the GDC, NHS England or because of unemployment.

Further details of work difficulties

Difficulties with money including unexpected expenditure, debts or problems with cash flow

Further details of financial difficulties

Other

Further details of any other difficulties

What do you feel that the BDA Benevolent Fund can do to assist you? Please be clear about what your needs are and consider this against how we help (as detailed in the guidance notes video).

Please provide a detailed response (minimum 500 characters and maximum 2000 characters) in full sentences explaining the type of support you are seeking and how the BDA Benevolent Fund can assist you so that we understand why you are applying for help. Insufficient information may cause your application to be delayed or refused.

Please provide a detailed response (minimum 500 characters and maximum 2000 characters) explaining the type of support you are seeking and how the BDA Benevolent Fund can assist you.

Signposting

Have you applied to any other charities?

YesNo

Please detail the name of the person/organisation/ charity, the date(s) you contacted them and the support you were offered.

Have you sought advice from any other professional person/ organisation/ charity?

YesNo

Please detail the name of the charity, the date(s) you applied and the support you have been offered (if applicable)

Permissions and declarations

The BDA Benevolent Fund is committed to safeguarding your privacy and handles all personal information in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Your information will be kept confidential and used only for the purpose of assessing and administering your application, except where disclosure is required by law or professional obligation (for example to regulators, your university, Report Fraud, or the police). Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used as part of our application processing procedures.

For further information about how we collect, use, retain and protect your information, including personal data, please refer to our privacy information, which is available on the website or on request.

Declarations

By ticking the box, I confirm that I have read and understood the following:

1. The information provided in this form, together with any supporting documents, is accurate and truthful. This reflects Principle 1.3 of the General Dental Council’s Standards for the Dental Team, which requires registrants to act with integrity and not sign documents that are false or misleading or provide information that is dishonest. I understand that providing false, misleading, or incomplete information, including deliberately withholding relevant details or failing to supply requested documents (such as bank statements), may be considered dishonest and may result in my application being refused or withdrawn.

2. Fraudulent applications may be reported to the General Dental Council, your university (for dental students) to the police and/ or other relevant authorities or regulators.

3. I will notify the BDA Benevolent Fund of any changes in my circumstances during the application process.

4. I understand that the BDA Benevolent Fund will process my personal data as necessary for assessing and administering my application. This includes processing based on legitimate interests, contractual obligations or other appropriate lawful bases under the UK GDPR, depending on the nature of the data and the processing activity.

5. Where I choose to provide special category personal data (such as health information), I give my explicit consent for the BDA Benevolent Fund to process that information for the purposes of assessing and administering my application. I understand that I may withdraw this consent at any time, although this may affect the Charity’s ability to consider my application.

Residency

The country in the world I am resident of (for tax purposes) is

UKOther

Please state the country/ies if other:

To help us please confirm the following

What is the main reason for your application?

Other (Please specify)

How did you hear about our services?

Other (Please specify)

Please click the submit button for your application to be processed.

On the next page you will then be given the opportunity to review and edit the information in your form for a final time prior to submission. It is at this stage you are also given the option to print the form for your records, should you wish to do so. Alternatively, if you do not have access to a printer, you can save the information as a web page by right clicking 'save as' and saving it to your device (ideally as a PDF).

We aim to acknowledge all applications within 3 working days.

If relevant, we will arrange a call to learn more about your situation, to go through any queries and to explain our process.