Frequently Asked Questions
1- What is healthcare license exam exemption criteria?
Exemption is dependent on the healthcare Professional Qualification Requirement (PQR) laid down. Each case is assessed on a case by case scenario and the final decision for any exemption is decided by the examination committee. Documents would need to be submitted at the time of application.
2- Can i apply for professional license in UAE if I don’t have a home country license?
NO. You cant apply UAE healthcare professional license, Experience is only counted if it is LICENSED experience in your home country.
3- What is PSV in UAE healthcare license process?
PSV (Primary Source Verification) is the process of checking the educational background, training, experience as well as other credentials of all healthcare practitioners applying for registration and licensing in both the private and public healthcare sectors in the UAE. The company used to perform PSV is Data Flow, a third Party organization.
4- What does it mean by Good Standing Certificate (GSC)?
Good Standing Certificate is a certificate issued by the Medical Council / Regulatory body from where your previous healthcare license has been issued.
5- What is the validity for Good Standing Certificate (GSC)?
Good Standing Certificate is valid for 6 months only. For some countries like the UK, Good Standing is only valid for 3 months.
6- How long will this whole healthcare professional licensing process take?
This whole process once we have been given all the documentation, can take 8-10 weeks. It can take longer if more information is required. Please note that when documents are verified by Data Flow, this is an independent company and verification can take up to 3 months. This is done independently from the regulatory body and we have no control over this.
7- Once Data Flow verification has been done, what happens next?
You will be advised to book your healthcare license exam if required. You can still sit your exam while Data Flow is being conducted. Only once Data Flow has been completed and you have passed the exam, the healthcare professional license will be issued.
8- Do I need to sit for the Prometric exam in Dubai/ Abu Dhabi only?
DHA Licensing uses Prometric.
They have a robust test center network in 135 countries. So you can choose the country you wish to sit the exam for the professions where Prometric is required. Check our examination section for details on this.
DOH has international test centres with Pearson:
Some specialists and consultants need to sit the exam locally in Abu Dhabi or Dubai.
9- What happens if I fail the exam?
If you fail the exam, you have 3 attempts in total (across DHA, DOH and MOH) to appear again for the exam.
We would need to re- apply for your license and go through the process all over again. You would need to wait around 6 weeks before you can re-appear for the exam. You would need to pay the re-registration fee again for DHA, other Re-Application for DOH. The exam fee will also need to be paid again to the relevant test center.
10- What is healthcare malpractice insurance?
Evidence of malpractice insurance is required for all approved applications before issuing the license. This is usually taken out by the employer on your behalf. Only after you have malpractice insurance the license can be issued.
11- Once I get the healthcare license, how long is it valid for?
All healthcare professional are required to renew their professional license annually.
12- Is all UAE healthcare licenses have been unified. What does this mean?
Unification simply means the PQR is now the same. Each authority is still it’s own, and you still need to apply to each one if you want to work in that Emirate. The requirements however, to qualify for a license is now the same across the board.
This DOES NOT mean if you have the DHA eligibility letter, that you can freely work in Sharjah or Abu Dhabi, and vice versa. To be able to obtain a license transfer in any of the authorities, you have to first obtain the license.