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🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates · Pharmacists from the Philippines

How to work as a pharmacist in the UAE from the Philippines

A pharmacist from the Philippines gets a DHA licence in 11 steps over about 5 months, with AED 1,135 in published fees, and one thing is different from the Philippines: the Department of Migrant Workers' Overseas Employment Certificate.

Checked 23 Oct 2026 · DHA ↗

What is different from the Philippines

If your passport is from the Philippines

What do I need from the Department of Migrant Workers?

A DMW (formerly POEA) clearance and an Overseas Employment Certificate, valid 60 days from issue and used once.

Direct hiring is prohibited except by the diplomatic corps, international organisations and senior government officials, and by others the administration allows, including employers of professionals and skilled workers on verified contracts above POEA standards (no more than five first-time hires) and relatives who are permanent residents of the host country.

Your steps, in order

Dubai Health Authority · ~5 months · 11 steps
  1. 1
    Valid licence or registration to practise in your home country or country of last employment
    Source ↗
  2. 2
    BSc in Pharmacy (or a PharmD)
    Source ↗
  3. 3
    Two years of experience after qualification in a related field (not with pharmaceutical companies or in sales)
    Source ↗
  4. 4
    No gap of practice longer than five years
    Source ↗
  5. 5
    Primary source verification of your qualification, home registration and experience (DataFlow)
    ~5 weeks · ~AED 935 · who pays varies · Source ↗
  6. 6
    Pass DHA's pharmacist exam at a Prometric centre (USD 240; 150 questions in three hours, pass score 60%; three attempts across all UAE authorities), unless a recognised examination pass or licence exempts you
    who pays varies · Source ↗
  7. 7
    Valid Basic Life Support (BLS) certificate
    you pay · Source ↗
  8. 8
    Certificate of good standing issued within the last six months by the regulator of the country of last employment
    you pay · Source ↗
  9. 9
    Overseas 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 ↗
  10. 10
    Apply to DHA to Get Registered once DataFlow and the exam are done (decision in five working days)
    ~1 week · ~AED 200 · who pays varies · Source ↗
  11. 11
    A licensed facility activates your licence (a job offer is needed to practise)
    who pays varies · Source ↗

The published fees leave out certificates from home, the visa or work permit and two steps whose fees are not published.

What to do next

Tell us about your training, your registration and your experience, and we show which of DHA's steps you have left, with each fee and how long it takes.

Sources

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