A Guide to Becoming A Nurse in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for Foreign Nurses
There are three basic exams one can actually write:
1 HAAD(health authority Abu Dhabi)
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Requirements:
Registered Nurses who want to work in Emirate of Abu Dhabi are required to pass the HAAD examination and must be licensed by the regulating body. HAAD also shapes the regulatory framework for the health system, sets and inspects against regulations and enforce standards. Recently, the Health Authority – Abu Dhabi has changed the HAAD application process licensure by requiring nurses to undergo credential verification first via Dataflow and exam administration which is conducted online by Pearson Vue Professional Testing.
Aside from nurses, HAAD examination also gauges the theoretical capability of healthcare professionals such as doctors and pharmacists who are aspiring to work in UAE.
Examinees are asked to answer 150 items computer-based questions for three hours. The passing rate is 90 percent and above, and the result of the examination will be immediately available after you finish it, similar to the Saudi Prometric Exam. In the examination results, the percentage of your correct answers is not stated. Instead, only a pass or fail result is shown.
Qualifications
These are the modified qualifications for Registered Nurses based on the latest Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR):
Bachelor degree in nursing or equivalent qualification of NLT three (3) years study duration in “Nursing” from accredited, or:Associate Degree Nurses with evidence of passing the National exam (e.g. USA: NCLEX-RN).Valid national license.Valid Basic Life Support certification.ACLS, PALS relevant to area of specialty. Note: this excludes programs comprising 2 years nursing + 1 year Midwifery or Community Health. Holders of such programs qualify as Practical Nurses.NLT 2 years clinical experience post qualification in appropriate setting
Required Documents
If you are qualified for HAAD examination, then you may proceed with the Dataflow process for credential verification. Dataflow is an agency who will aid each applicant to verify the required documents. If applicants are eligible after verification of documents, then they can proceed with the HAAD examination process.
Gather all the required documents for your desired position and scan them. The required documents are as follows:
1. School documents
High school diplomaCollege diploma with Certificate of Authentication and Verification (CAV)Official Transcript of Records with Certificate of Authentication and Verification (CAV)
If CAV is not yet available, you can still proceed with the Dataflow processing and can submit it in the licensing process once requested.
2. Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) documents
Board certificateCertificate of good standing – must be 6 months valid. If applicants worked from a country without a licensing body like Libya, you must obtain a letter of reciprocity.Board ratingPRC ID
3. Employment Credentials
Certificate of employment signed by the head of HR – volunteer experience does not countRed ribbon needs to be renewed if already used from another country.
4. Other Documents
Passport copyPassport size photoBasic Life Support certificateSponsoring Facility Declaration form (applicable if you have sponsor, if none then leave this part blank)Letter of authorizationCID/Security form (English pages only)
Application Process
For the Dataflow process, follow these steps:
1. Sign-up to the official Dataflow website.
Visit the Dataflow website. Choose the “applicant” option. The other option which is “facility” is for those companies who process the application.
2. Fill-up the form with your details relevant your desired position.
Select none if you don’t have a sponsor or an employer. Download and re-upload a blank document if you don’t have a sponsor yet. Choose nursing and midwifery from the drop down-button. Click registered nurse and your area of specialty.
3. Upload all your scanned documents to the form provided online and then submit.
Fill in the necessary information required in each box. If you have any relatives in UAE, input their contact number. If none, put 00000. If you already passed HAAD and will undergo dataflow, upload your HAAD exam result in here.
4. Check your email to obtain your Dataflow number.
You will receive a confirmation email from Dataflow with your respective Dataflow number after submission of the required documents.
5. Pay the necessary fees.
Applicants in UAE can pay at the Dataflow counters located at HAAD facilities while those outside of UAE can pay online through their credit cards. You can borrow from a family or friend if you don’t have one. Major credit card companies such as American Express, MasterCard and Visa are usually accepted.
The Dataflow processing fee is 600 AED and covers one education, one health license and relevant experience. For verification of additional educational qualification, an additional cost of 300 AED per document is required. Additional health license or employment certificate may be verified at an additional cost of 100 AED per document.
6. Wait for at least 30 to 60 days for the verification process (some can take up to 90 days).
You can follow-up your application by sending email to haadsupport@dataflowgroup.com. After all of the required documents have been verified, dataflow will send you an email for your HAAD web login (pre-licensing). If all of your documents are eligible, you can now book for HAAD examination.
Booking for Examination
To book for HAAD examination, follow these steps:
Go to this link https://www.haad.ae/haad/tabid/1382/Default.aspxClick on “E-Licensing” and select “Examination”.Click on “Exam Scheduling”.Enter your application number and click Search. Your application number will be emailed to you after the verification process.Select your desired date, time and testing center.Click “BOOK” button. Pay the examination fee using your credit card ($94.59 for registered nurses). Fees vary according to your profession and specialty.Print your Exam Ticket. This will be presented in the test center.
Retake
Examinees are given three attempts (in three separate applications) to pass the HAAD examination. If the candidate failed all the three attempts, he or she will have to wait 12 months from the last exam to be able to retake the exam.
2. DHA
Requirements
Below are the list of documents that should be CLEARLY scanned for your online application
Copy of Graduation CertificateDiploma CertificateTranscriptExperience certificate by Human Resources, Nursing or from a Medical DirectorNursing Registration CertificateGood standing Certificate from the Licensing authorityPassport CopyOne color Passport size Photo with white background.
If you are Post Basic B.Sc Nursing candidate from India, then you should also upload along with the above documents the following as well.
Diploma CertificateGNM Registration CertificateGNM Transcript GNM Mark Lists
Scan all these documents and name it according to what they are and upload in the required field.
http://eservices.dha.gov.ae/DHAWeb/Account/UserRegistration.aspx
From the site, select the Health Regulation Service menu where you will find the the option “New Professional License.”
This will pop up as a separate window which will walk you through your application, each step requires documents to be uploaded as clearly instructed.
Name all documents instead of numbering. Remember to update each page as you move on, unsaved documents cannot be retrieved when you log on for the next time.
Once you finish, it will prompt you to a menu where you need to provide details of payment.
Here you have to do your initial payment of AED 210/- through a credit card ( Local credit card – or international credit cards, in India ICICI and SBI cards will work)
Once you complete the payment your application gets submitted for verification, it may take few days to 6 weeks to get a feed back from DHA officials. If you won’t get any feed back in the prescribed time period then you must follow it up by sending an email to Regulation@dha.gov.ae.
After Initial verification of your submitted documents DHA staff will intimate you about the corrections to be done, like uploading missing document or uploading additional documents etc. You can correct the mistakes you have done and submit it again for approval.
Please read all the instructions clearly and fill in forms and submit documents accordingly .
After submitting all the documents, DHA personnel will again review your application and approve it. Then they will send you an email above Primary Source Verification and the payment to be made for that as following.
The payment for primary source verification is AED 700/- . If you wish to postpone your payment, you can do so , but atmost 3 months only . But it is good getting it done as soon as possible, as I am told.
This PSV (Primary Source Verification) will verify the credentials submitted by an applicant from its origin . The results will take 30 to 60 days and is received via email. You can also follow up on your status through their website. Just follow the instructions clearly given. After this you will be given an Eligibility Number, which is used to schedule your exam.
Update : The PSV fee has been increased to AED.932/- from 700.
Scheduling your DHA Nursing Licence Exam
Go to link to schedule your exam, here you need to provide your Eligibility Number. Fee to schedule the exam is 170 USD, can be paid through an international credit card. You can clear your confusions by checking the FAQ’S here.
Update. I heard that the exam fee has been increased to 232 USD from 170.
Prometric Exam for DHA Nursing Registration
Exam is computer based and it is a multiple choice assessment. You have 2 hours to answer 70 questions. You will get the result in two days through mail. If you pass the exam, you will receive an eligibility letter which you can attach to your CV while you apply for a job in Dubai. The letter is valid for only a year ( 1 year). Once you have a sponsor/employer, they will do the remaining formalities. You can find the updates in your Sheryan ( DHA Account).
