Checked 29 September 2026. From DHP circulars DHP/2024/09, /2024/22, /2025/08, /2025/20, /2026/32 and /2026/36, the Guidelines for Nurses (Jan 2024, partly superseded), DHP processing times and MEA/eMigrate orders (2015, 2025).
Getting a Qatar nursing licence is a chain of four steps — verification, exam, evaluation, licence — and the order matters. Two changes since DHP’s own nurse guidelines were written (January 2024) reshape the chain: since September 2024 a nurse can apply for evaluation without an employer, and since August 2025 the Good Standing certificate comes only through the verification report. This guide walks through each step as it works now, with DHP’s processing times, a timeline estimator, and the India-side emigration rules.
DHP processing times; Guidelines for Nurses; MOPH licensing service page.
Where other pages get this wrong
Since circular DHP/2024/22 (12 September 2024), nurses can apply for evaluation without an employer; only the licence needs a Qatar employer and residence ID.
Commonly published instead: “The evaluation application is submitted by an employer representative”, from DHP’s January 2024 flow chart.
DHP/2024/22: “Submission of Primary Evaluation Requests Without Employer … without needing an employer or their approval.”
The steps in order
| Step | What happens | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Primary-source verification (PSV) | A DHP-approved company verifies degree, registration, experience and Good Standing directly with the issuers | Provider allowed 10 working days (DHP note) |
| 2. Prometric exam | Pass the RGN or RM qualifying exam; the pass certificate is uploaded with the evaluation | Book on Prometric |
| 3. Evaluation | Apply on DHP’s portal; positive result = Preliminary Evaluation + CID letter | 15 working days; valid 6 months |
| 4. Licence | Needs a Qatar residence ID sponsored by the employer, police clearance, medical, CPR course | 10 working days; licence valid 2 years |
DHP Guidelines for Nurses; circulars DHP/2024/22 and DHP/2025/08; DHP processing times (from a complete application with verified documents). The exam “at the evaluation stage” is required by the MOPH Qualifying Examination Policy.
Step 1: verification
DHP accepts a primary-source verification report instead of attested certificates: “certificates do not have to be attested”. Three providers are approved: DataFlow (the only one after GBS left in February 2024), QuadraBay from 30 November 2025, and Approved Verification Services (AVS) from 3 September 2026. Since 1 August 2025, DHP no longer accepts a Good Standing certificate by email or post: “all healthcare practitioners are required to submit a primary source verification report for the good standing certificate”. Start verification first — it depends on how fast your college, nursing council and every past employer respond, and it is usually the slowest step.
| Provider | Approved since | Published nurse price |
|---|---|---|
| DataFlow | Long-standing (sole provider Feb 2024 – Nov 2025) | Not published on its DHP page |
| QuadraBay | 30 Nov 2025 | QAR 900 standard (20 business days) / QAR 1,200 fast (14 business days) |
| AVS | 3 Sep 2026 | Not published |
DHP circulars DHP/2024/09, DHP/2025/20 (QuadraBay package E, nurses and pharmacists: one degree, one licence, last three years of experience with up to three employers) and DHP/2026/36.
Step 2: the exam
The exam pass certificate is one of the evaluation documents, and DHP’s exam policy requires the exam “at the evaluation stage” for Registered General Nurses and Midwives — so in practice nurses pass first, then apply for evaluation. A pass is valid for three years. Whether DHP must authorise a candidate before Prometric booking, and whether verification must be complete before booking, is not stated in DHP’s documents; one agency says PSV comes first, but that is not an official rule. Our exam guide covers the pattern and pass mark.
Step 3: evaluation
The evaluation is filed on DHP’s Registration & Licensing System with a passport, national ID, photograph, CV, academic certificates with transcripts, recent experience certificates with issue dates, registrations covering the experience, the verification report and the exam pass. Documents not in Arabic or English need an official translation. A positive outcome gives a Preliminary Evaluation and a letter for the residence-permit process; it is “valid only for 6 months”. A negative or unverifiable file can lead to an interview and re-verification, and a finding of fraud to rejection and blacklisting.
How long until a Qatar licence? (DHP working days)
DHP’s published processing times from a complete application with verified documents: evaluation 15 working days, licensing 10, temporary licence 5; PSV providers are allowed 10. Qatar’s working week is taken as Sunday–Thursday. The 15 days run from a complete application, so the tool adds your estimate of the time to receive the result and PSV report. The job and residence-ID step is also your estimate — no official end-to-end time is published.
Asking DHP about your file. Since 30 August 2026 (circular DHP/2026/32) the official channel for general DHP enquiries — registration and licensing, application status, requirements and processing timelines — is the Unified Government Contact Center, 16000, open 24/7: call 16000, choose English (2), then Ministry of Public Health (1), then Department of Healthcare Professions (6). The previous DHP hotline and the Open Day enquiry service have been discontinued, and the dhpregistration@moph.gov.qa address is now kept for official correspondence with regulators and other authorities, not general questions.
Step 4: the licence
The licence is where the employer comes in. DHP asks for a Qatar residence ID with the potential employer as sponsor (a woman on family sponsorship may instead use her family residence ID with a letter of intent from the employer), a police clearance from Qatar’s Ministry of Interior, a medical report from an approved centre (valid six months), a recognised CPR course, and the Good Standing through PSV — and the facility itself must be licensed. The licence is issued in about 10 working days and is valid for two years. A non-renewable six-month temporary licence also exists; without a residence ID it needs a home-country medical report and police clearance attested by Qatar’s foreign ministry.
Qatar nursing licence checklist
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What it costs — the official figures
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Prometric exam (registered from 1 Jan 2026) | USD 244 (USD 238 in 2024–25) |
| Reschedule or cancel, 30 to 60+ days before | USD 25 |
| Reschedule or cancel, 5 to 29 days before | USD 40 |
| Under 5 days, no-show or refused for lateness | The full exam fee |
| QuadraBay PSV, nurse package E | QAR 900 standard / QAR 1,200 fast |
| QuadraBay extra document / report transfer | QAR 290 each / QAR 150 + extras |
| DataFlow and AVS DHP packages | Not published |
| DHP evaluation, licence and renewal fees | Not published — DHP says only “pay the required fees (if applicable)” |
Circulars DHP/2024/10 (exam fee and rescheduling) and DHP/2025/20 (QuadraBay). QAR 900 is a verification price, not the exam fee, although some sites print it as one.
What will it cost to move or cancel my exam?
DHP circular DHP/2024/10: USD 25 from 30 to 60 or more days before; USD 40 from 5 to 29 days; the full exam fee under 5 days, for a no-show, or for arriving more than 30 minutes late and being refused.
Add up the official costs
Amounts with an official source are filled in; add any others you are quoted. Enter today’s exchange rates to see a rupee total.
| Prometric exam (from 1 Jan 2026) | 244 USD |
| PSV — QuadraBay nurse package, standard (or your provider’s quote) | QAR |
| Extra PSV documents (QAR 290 each at QuadraBay) | QAR |
| DHP fees (not published — enter if quoted) | QAR |
Travel, medical tests, translations and emigration insurance are extra and vary.
The India side: emigration clearance
Qatar is one of the 18 countries for which Indian nurses need emigration clearance (EC) through eMigrate; nurses have been under this rule since 2015, whatever their passport category (MOIA order of 12 March 2015; Embassy of India FAQ). Since 25 August 2025 the separate Country Specific Order is no longer needed, but EC still is. Under the September 2025 workflow a nurse is recruited either through a registered recruiting agent or directly by a Qatar employer registered on eMigrate, and buys the Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana insurance in the EC flow. No recruitment cost may be charged to nurses (MOIA order of 7 May 2015), and the age-30 rule for women in ECR categories does not apply to nurses (MOIA order of 30 April 2015).
| Rule | Status |
|---|---|
| Emigration clearance | Mandatory for nurses going to Qatar (ECR country) |
| Country Specific Order | Discontinued from 25 Aug 2025 |
| Recruitment route | Registered recruiting agent, or a Qatar employer registered on eMigrate |
| Recruitment cost from nurse | Not allowed |
| Insurance | Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana, bought in the EC flow |
MOIA order 12 Mar 2015; MEA OMs of 25 Aug 2025 and 4 Sep 2025. MEA’s advisory of 2 November 2018: going on a visit visa to avoid emigration clearance violates the Emigration Act, 1983. The order of steps — DHP evaluation, job offer, visa, EC, travel, residence ID, licence — is our reading; no single official document gives it.
Practise it, don't just read it
Verification takes weeks and runs in the background; the exam is the step you can prepare for today. Our Qatar nursing quizzes follow the blueprint areas.
The ProSyllabus Qatar nursing library has topic quizzes on fundamentals, medical-surgical, pharmacology, maternal and newborn, paediatric and critical-care nursing, infection control and professional practice — the first quiz is free.
What is the process for a Qatar nursing licence?
Primary-source verification, the Prometric exam, DHP evaluation, then the licence with a Qatar employer.
Do I need an employer to apply to DHP Qatar?
Not for the evaluation since 12 September 2024; the licence needs one.
Which companies do PSV for Qatar DHP?
DataFlow, QuadraBay (since 30 Nov 2025) and AVS (since 3 Sep 2026).
How long does DHP evaluation take?
15 working days from a complete application with verified documents.
How do I contact DHP Qatar about my application status?
Through the Unified Government Contact Center, 16000, open 24/7 (English 2, Ministry of Public Health 1, DHP 6). Circular DHP/2026/32 made it the official channel from 30 August 2026; the old DHP hotline and Open Day enquiries have ended, and the DHP registration email is no longer for general enquiries.
How long is a DHP preliminary evaluation valid?
6 months.
How long does the Qatar nursing licence take to issue?
10 working days after a complete licensing application.
How long is a Qatar nursing licence valid?
Two years.
Is Good Standing sent by email to DHP?
No — since 1 August 2025 it must come through the PSV report.
Do certificates need attestation for Qatar DHP?
No — the verification report replaces attestation.
Do Indian nurses need emigration clearance for Qatar?
Yes — Qatar is an ECR country and EC through eMigrate is mandatory for nurses.
Is the CSO still needed for nurses to Qatar?
No — it was discontinued on 25 August 2025; emigration clearance is still required.
Can a recruiting agent charge a nurse for a Qatar job?
No — recovering recruitment costs from nurses is not allowed.
What is the Qatar nursing exam fee?
USD 244 for exams registered from 1 January 2026.
How much does it cost to reschedule the Qatar exam?
USD 25 from 30 days out, USD 40 from 5 to 29 days, the full fee under 5 days.
What does DHP charge for evaluation and the licence?
DHP does not publish its fees.
Sources
- official — DHP circular DHP/2024/10 — qualifying exam fee (18 Apr 2024)
- official — DHP circular DHP/2024/22 — evaluation without employer; renewal; removal and restoration (12 Sep 2024)
- official — DHP — Guidelines for Nurses (January 2024; partly superseded by later circulars)
- official — DHP — Processing Time for Registration/Licensing Applications
- official — MOIA — Overseas employment of nurses: no recruitment cost from nurses (7 May 2015)
- official — MOIA — Age-30 ECR rule for women not applicable to nurses (30 Apr 2015)
- official — MEA — Advisory on nurses travelling on visit visas (2 Nov 2018)
- official — Embassy of India, Kuwait — FAQs on labour (ECR countries; nurses under EC since 2015)
- official — DHP circular DHP/2025/08 — Good Standing only through PSV from 1 Aug 2025
- official — DHP circular DHP/2024/09 — GBS contract ended (12 Mar 2024)
- official — DHP circular DHP/2025/20 — QuadraBay approved as PSV provider, with prices (2 Dec 2025)
- official — DHP circular DHP/2026/32 — Unified Government Contact Center 16000 as the official DHP enquiry channel (Aug 2026, effective 30 Aug 2026)
- official — DHP circular DHP/2026/36 — AVS approved as PSV provider (3 Sep 2026)
- official — DataFlow — DHP MOPH Qatar
- official — MOPH — Qualifying Examination Policy (attempts, validity, rounding)
- official — MOPH — Application for Licensing (service page)
- official — MOIA — Emigration clearance for nurses to ECR countries (12 Mar 2015)
- official — MEA — Discontinuation of the Country Specific Order for nurses to ECR countries (25 Aug 2025)
- official — MEA — Workflow for recruitment of nurses to ECR countries (4 Sep 2025)
- reported — NurseHub GCC — Prometric exam for nurses, Qatar (reported)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
