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🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia · Nurses from the Philippines

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

A nurse from the Philippines gets an SCFHS licence in 8 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

Nurse Specialist classification (bachelor's degree) · Saudi Commission for Health Specialties · ~6 months · 8 steps
  1. 1
    Valid registration as a nurse in your country of training or last practice
    Source ↗
  2. 2
    Bachelor's degree in nursing
    Source ↗
  3. 3
    At least one year of experience (non-Saudis), evidenced by a personnel-department letter with field, category and dates
    Source ↗
  4. 4
    Primary source verification of your qualification, home registration and experience (DataFlow)
    ~5 weeks · ~SAR 500 · who pays varies · Source ↗
  5. 5
    Pass the SCFHS Prometric exam
    who pays varies · Source ↗
  6. 6
    Certificate of good standing under six months old
    you pay · Source ↗
  7. 7
    Job offer and lawful residence (iqama); registration follows residence
    employer usually pays · Source ↗
  8. 8
    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 ↗

The published fees leave out the visa or work permit, certificates from home and one step whose fee is 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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