Many professionals dream of settling in the UAE for the healthcare industry. It helps elevate their career values and lifestyle prospects. This post explores everything there is to know regarding MOH, DHA and HAAD licenses for health professionals to work and settle in UAE.
Importance of Health Professional License in UAE
To become a healthcare team member in UAE, it is a must to obtain a valid license first. This ensures you become eligible to work in the sector and become part of a professional workforce meeting the most incredible demands in UAE’s health niche. Every individual medical practitioner needs a license to function legally as part of the region’s healthcare category.
Medical Healthcare Regulators in UAE
Before delving deep into the topic of different healthcare licenses, you should know about the medical healthcare regulators in the UAE.
● How many Medical Healthcare Regulators are there in UAE?
A total of five medical healthcare regulators exist in the UAE. They are the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Health Insurance Authority, the Dubai Health Authority and the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi.
● 5 Basic Categories of Healthcare Regulatory Policies
According to the medical healthcare regulators, five different categories of healthcare regulatory policies exist in the UAE. These are:
- Market preserving controls
- Quality controls on health services
- Control health providers
- Market entry restrictions
- Social regulations
Healthcare Licenses in UAE
Listed below are the top sought healthcare licenses in the UAE.
● MOH
The Ministry of Health (MOH) exam is a working license needed for healthcare professionals to practice in Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain.
● DHA
DHA is the medical license granted by the Dubai Health Authority and lets you work as a healthcare practitioner in the city of Dubai.
● HAAD
The Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD) is the coordinator of the HAAD exam and lets you practice the healthcare profession in Abu Dhabi.
● DHCC
This license is from Dubai Health Care City (DHCC) and is valid for working in the free zone in Dubai. Harvard International publishes this license.
Who is Eligible?
The eligibility criteria for the different licenses vary according to the medical profession that you are seeking in the UAE. Salient points about this are covered below:
● Basic Requirement
All primary requirements and essential documents regarding details like identification verification are the same for healthcare professionals, irrespective of their trade or career profile. As for specific professional practitioners who want to settle in the UAE healthcare domain, the basic requirements are as follows:
- For Doctors – Candidates who are doctors must have graduated from accredited universities and should have completed mandatory internships with relevant certificates. They should possess a valid license allowing them to practice in their home country.
- For Nurses – Nurses should have a relevant bachelor’s degree from an approved university with internship and experience certificates at the basic entry level. They should have a valid practice license in nursing or midwifery describing their scope of practical applications.
- For Pharmacists – Graduation is a must except for technicians, where the requirement will be a diploma only. An experience certificate valid in a clinical pharmacist role is applicable in this case.
- For Dentists – Candidates must possess a valid degree in dentistry from a recognized university. They should have internship and experience certificates with qualifications to practice in the dentistry industry in their home countries.
- For Physiotherapists – Candidates must possess a valid degree in physiotherapy from a recognized university. They should have internship and experience certificates with qualifications to practice in the physiotherapy industry in their home countries.
- For Radiographers – Candidates must possess a valid degree or diploma in radiography from a recognized university. They should have internship and experience certificates.
- For Lab Technicians – Candidates must possess a valid degree or diploma in lab technician courses from a recognized university. They should have internship and experience certificates.
● Age Limit
For HAAD exams, age is not a barrier to attendance. DHA also doesn’t have an age limit, but for applicants above 65 years to appear in the exam, medical fitness test document is required. Age barriers do not apply to candidates trying to appear for DHCC and MOH license exams as well.
● Terms and Conditions
The terms and conditions for appearing in the exams are mentioned on the official website of each licensing authority. You may refer them to understand more about the terms, policies, eligibility criteria, license and exam conditions and healthcare tips in the UAE.
