DHA nursing licence: eligibility and the documents you'll need

The pathway, step by step

• Create a Sheryan account — Sheryan is DHA's licensing platform and every stage of your application lives there
• Complete the self-assessment so the system can place you in the correct professional category
• Meet the Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR) for your title: qualification, clinical experience, a valid home-country licence and good standing
• Obtain a positive Primary Source Verification (PSV) result — your documents are verified with the issuing bodies themselves
• Pass the computer-based assessment (or the oral assessment, where that applies to your category)
• Receive your Professional Registration Certificate
• Activate the health professional licence through a DHA-licensed employer — registration and an active licence are two different things

Document checklist

The good-standing certificate is the item that expires most often mid-application. Request it once the rest of your file is nearly assembled, not first.

Have these ready before you start

• Educational qualification certificates for your nursing programme
• Experience and employment certificates covering your clinical practice
• Your home-country nursing licence or registration
• A good-standing certificate issued no more than six months before your application date
• Passport copy and a recent photograph
• A valid labour card, for non-UAE nationals

Full-time and part-time licences

Your first DHA licence must be full-time. A nurse may additionally hold a maximum of one part-time licence, and it requires approval from the employer and medical director through Sheryan. Plan any second role around that limit rather than assuming multiple part-time posts are possible.

While verification runs

PSV and document processing take weeks, and that waiting period is the ideal preparation window. Nurses who start studying only after their eligibility letter arrives end up compressing the whole syllabus into the booking window.

Source

Figures on this page come from the Dubai Health Authority's published licensing assessment guideline and licensing manual. DHA can revise them, so confirm on dha.gov.ae before you pay or book.