Working in Saudi Arabia or the UAE as an IMG: The Licensing Route Step by Step

If you graduated outside the Gulf and want to practise medicine in Saudi Arabia or Dubai, the broad path is similar, whichever country you come from: verify your documents, register with the regulator, pass the licensing exam, then receive your licence and find a post. The details differ by regulator and by your degree, so treat this as a map, not legal advice.

Step 1: Gather your documents

You will usually need your medical degree, internship or house-job completion, registration with your home medical council (PMDC in Pakistan, NMC in India, BMDC in Bangladesh, the Egyptian Medical Syndicate for Egypt, and so on), a certificate of good standing, experience letters, a passport and photographs. Start early: obtaining attested documents from universities and councils is often the slowest part.

Step 2: Primary-source verification

Gulf regulators generally require your credentials to be verified directly at source, usually through a verification agency such as DataFlow. Verification can take weeks, so begin it before you study intensively.

Step 3: Register with the regulator

• Saudi Arabia: SCFHS. You apply through its e-application, receive a scheduling permit, then book the SMLE at a Prometric centre, locally or internationally. See the SMLE dates and registration guide.
• Dubai: the Dubai Health Authority through Sheryan. You create an account, copy your DHA unique ID, generate an Eligibility ID, then schedule the exam. See the DHA exam booking guide.

Step 4: Prepare for and pass the exam

This is the step you control. The SMLE has 200 questions in two 120-minute blocks and a pass score of 560 on a 200 to 800 scale. The DHA General Practice exam has 150 questions in 3 hours with a 60% pass mark. Use the plans in our SMLE 8-week schedule and DHA 6-week plan.

Step 5: Licence and job

After the exam you complete the remaining steps with the regulator, and the employer's HR team usually handles visa and onboarding. Many doctors line up interviews while the paperwork is processing, so keep your CV, references and verification receipts ready.

Budget and timeline

Costs include verification, regulator and exam fees, travel to the Prometric centre and study materials. DHA lists USD 280 per attempt for doctors; see the DHA exam fee guide and the SMLE exam fee guide. A realistic timeline from first document request to licence is several months, so start the paperwork while you study.

Which exam first?

Not sure which regulator to target? Read the SMLE vs DHA comparison and the DHA vs SMLE vs MCCQE vs NLE comparison.

Practise for either exam with the SMLE QBank or the DHA QBank. Your first 20 questions are free.

Exam rules change. Everything above comes from the regulators' published guidelines; confirm the current version on the official portal before you book or pay.