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🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia · Doctors from the Philippines

How to work as a doctor in Saudi Arabia from the Philippines

A doctor from the Philippines gets an SCFHS licence in 11 steps over about 6 months on the main route, with SAR 500 in published fees, and one thing is different from the Philippines: the Department of Migrant Workers' Overseas Employment Certificate.

Checked 23 Oct 2026 · SCFHS ↗

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

General Practitioner classification (SCFHS) · Saudi Commission for Health Specialties · ~6 months · 11 steps
  1. 1
    Medical degree (MBBS or equivalent) from an accredited programme, with the academic record showing the internship
    Source ↗
  2. 2
    Confirm your medical school is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools (search.wdoms.org)
    Source ↗
  3. 3
    Valid professional registration from the country where you practised, with a verification letter
    Source ↗
  4. 4
    One year of internship after graduation
    Source ↗
  5. 5
    At least one year of experience (non-Saudis), evidenced by a personnel-department letter
    Source ↗
  6. 6
    Primary source verification of your degree, specialty certificate, home registration and experience (DataFlow)
    ~5 weeks · ~SAR 500 · who pays varies · Source ↗
  7. 7
    Pass the Saudi Medical Licensure Examination (SMLE; 200 questions at a Prometric centre)
    who pays varies · Source ↗
  8. 8
    Certificate of good standing under six months old
    you pay · Source ↗
  9. 9
    Job offer and lawful residence (iqama); registration follows residence
    employer usually pays · Source ↗
  10. 10
    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 ↗
  11. 11
    SCFHS professional classification decision (Mumaris+; direct decision, written exam or practical evaluation)
    ~4 weeks · who pays varies · Source ↗

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

Other routes

The Department of Migrant Workers' Overseas Employment Certificate applies on each of them too.

Every step on every route →

What to do next

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

Sources

outcomeOS describes each regulator's published rules; it does not advise on your individual case. · What changed · Privacy · Terms

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