UAE and Bahrain specialty tiers: a UK CCT is Tier 1, an Indian MD, MS or DNB Tier 3
The UAE's unified PQR and Bahrain's NHRA place every specialty certificate in Tier 1, 2 or 3, which decides the years you need and whether you sit an exam: a UK CCT, a US board, a Canadian or Australasian fellowship is Tier 1; an Indian DM or MCh, the Arab Board (UAE) or a Pakistani FCPS (Bahrain) is Tier 2; an Indian MD, MS or DNB is Tier 3.
Checked 25 Oct 2026 · DHA ↗
- Who it affects
- Doctors in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman; nurses in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman
What it means for you
The UAE and Bahrain specialty tier tables are now encoded, so the tier comes from the qualification you declared; a step that only time can clear says the month it clears and sets the estimate; the UK's red and amber lists show on the UK plan; Nigerian-trained nurses see the NMCN's two-year verification rule and Filipino clinicians the Overseas Employment Certificate.
Your tier, read for you
The UAE's unified PQR and Bahrain's NHRA place every specialty certificate in Tier 1, 2 or 3, and the tier decides the years you need and whether you sit an exam. Both tables are now encoded for the qualifications our users hold: a UK CCT, a US board, a Canadian or Australasian fellowship is Tier 1; an Indian DM or MCh, the Arab Board (UAE) or a Pakistani FCPS (Bahrain) is Tier 2; an Indian MD, MS or DNB is Tier 3. UK college membership on its own is Tier 3 in the UAE and is not a specialty certificate in Bahrain. You can still set the tier by hand when your certificate is not one of these.
Waiting steps have a date
A step that only time can clear, such as three years after a Tier 3 certificate, now says the month it clears, and the route's estimate is never shorter than that wait.
Home-country rules
The UK plan now says when you live in a country on the UK's red list (employers and agencies may not recruit you actively; you can still apply directly) or amber list (recruitment only under the government agreement). Nurses trained in Nigeria see the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria's rule that it verifies certificates for a foreign regulator only after two years on a permanent licence; this rests on press reports of the February 2024 circular, so it is marked unconfirmed. Filipino nurses and doctors see the Overseas Employment Certificate, issued through a licensed agency or an employer the Department of Migrant Workers allows to hire directly.
What to do next
Tell us where you trained, your English and the countries you want, and we show which steps you have left in each, with every fee and how long it takes.
Start the free check as a
Sources
outcomeOS describes each regulator's published rules; it does not advise on your individual case. · What changed · Privacy · Terms