What a nurse trained abroad needs to register in the United Arab Emirates
Read from the regulator's own documents. Each step shows what it costs, who usually pays, and the date we last checked it. Enter your details and we tell you which of these you already meet.
Registered Nurse licence (Unified PQR)
A bachelor's degree in nursing, a current home registration, verified documents and the licensing exam. No experience is required for the Registered Nurse title. Written against DHA's process; the same qualification rules apply at DOH, MOHAP and SHA.
- 1Valid licence or registration to practise in your home country or country of last employment
- 2Bachelor's degree in nursing of at least three years full-time, with the transcript; no distance or correspondence qualifications
- 3Valid Basic Life Support (BLS) certificateyou pay · Source ↗
- 4Certificate of good standing issued within the last six months by the regulator of the country of last employmentyou pay · Source ↗
- 5No gap of practice longer than five years
- 6Primary source verification of your qualification, home registration and experience (DataFlow)~5 weeks · ~AED 935 · who pays varies · Source ↗
- 7Pass the licensing exam (computer-based, in English; three attempts across all UAE authorities)who pays varies · Source ↗
- 8Apply to DHA to Get Registered once DataFlow and the exam are done (AED 200 credentialing fee; five working days)~1 week · ~AED 200 · who pays varies · Source ↗
- 9Two years on a permanent Nigerian licence before the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria will verify your certificates for a foreign regulator (nurses trained in Nigeria)you pay · unconfirmed · Source ↗
- 10Emigration clearance through eMigrate, recruited only through a government agency (Indian nurses)you pay · Source ↗
- 11Overseas Employment Certificate from the Department of Migrant Workers, through a DMW-licensed recruitment agency or an employer the DMW allows to hire directly (Filipino workers)who pays varies · Source ↗
- 12A licensed facility activates your licence (a job offer is needed to practise)who pays varies · Source ↗
Assistant Nurse licence (Unified PQR)
A nursing diploma of at least eighteen months (an Indian GNM qualifies), a current home registration, verified documents and the licensing exam. No experience is required. Assistant Nurses work under a Registered Nurse; a bachelor's holder licensed at this title may upgrade within five years.
- 1Valid licence or registration to practise in your home country or country of last employment
- 2Nursing diploma of at least eighteen months, with the transcript; no distance or correspondence qualifications
- 3Valid Basic Life Support (BLS) certificateyou pay · Source ↗
- 4Certificate of good standing issued within the last six months by the regulator of the country of last employmentyou pay · Source ↗
- 5No gap of practice longer than five years
- 6Primary source verification of your qualification, home registration and experience (DataFlow)~5 weeks · ~AED 935 · who pays varies · Source ↗
- 7Pass the licensing exam (computer-based, in English; three attempts across all UAE authorities)who pays varies · Source ↗
- 8Apply to DHA to Get Registered once DataFlow and the exam are done (AED 200 credentialing fee; five working days)~1 week · ~AED 200 · who pays varies · Source ↗
- 9Two years on a permanent Nigerian licence before the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria will verify your certificates for a foreign regulator (nurses trained in Nigeria)you pay · unconfirmed · Source ↗
- 10Emigration clearance through eMigrate, recruited only through a government agency (Indian nurses)you pay · Source ↗
- 11Overseas Employment Certificate from the Department of Migrant Workers, through a DMW-licensed recruitment agency or an employer the DMW allows to hire directly (Filipino workers)who pays varies · Source ↗
- 12A licensed facility activates your licence (a job offer is needed to practise)who pays varies · Source ↗
Rules checked 23 Oct 2026 · outcomeOS describes each regulator's published rules; it does not advise on your individual case. · Privacy · Terms