What does Gulf licensing cost?
Regulator fees are public, substantial and paid by you directly to the authority: for DHA they typically total several thousand dirhams once verification, examination and issuance are counted. Our advisory fee is separate, varies by case, and is quoted in writing after a free consultation. Both are explained below.
What will the regulator charge you?
Everything below is the authority's own published fee, paid by you, in your own name. No competitor publishes these clearly, which is precisely why we do. Each table carries the date we last checked it.
Healthcare
DHA, Dubai
Dubai Health Authority
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary source verification | AED 1,150-1,500 | Varies with number of credentials submitted. Fixed packages also quoted at AED 1,235 doctors / AED 935 nurses and allied health. |
| Examination | USD 180-300 | By profession and specialty. Non-refundable; full fee payable on each reattempt. |
| Application | AED 1,000-2,000 | |
| Licence issuance | AED 200-500 | |
| Licence card | AED 100-200 | |
| Medical fitness | AED 300-500 | |
| Good standing certificate | AED 100-500 | Varies by issuing country. Must be less than 6 months old at submission. |
| Attestation | AED 200-800 | |
| Emirates ID | AED 100-370 | |
| Total | AED 4,400-8,100 |
Sources: DHA and UAE fee breakdown, DHA fee structure and packages, DHA cost in INR, DHA requirements and documents, DHCR vs DHA distinction
DOH, Abu Dhabi
Department of Health, Abu Dhabi
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary source verification | AED 1,100-1,400 | |
| Examination | AED 1,400-1,700 | |
| Application | AED 800-1,800 | |
| Total | AED 4,100-7,800 |
MOHAP, Northern Emirates
Ministry of Health and Prevention
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary source verification | AED 1,000-1,300 | |
| Examination | AED 1,200-1,600 | |
| Application | AED 600-1,500 | |
| Total | AED 3,700-7,100 |
SCFHS, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Commission for Health Specialties
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary source verification | SAR 1,200-1,800 | 320-480 |
Sources: SCFHS process and salary context
MOH Kuwait, Kuwait
Ministry of Health, Kuwait
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary source verification | USD 300-500 |
NHRA, Bahrain
National Health Regulatory Authority
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary source verification | USD 300-500 |
OMSB, Oman
Oman Medical Specialty Board
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary source verification | USD 300-500 |
QCHP, Qatar
Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary source verification | QAR 1,100-1,500 | 300-410 |
Other regulated professions
RERA, Dubai
Real Estate Regulatory Agency, Dubai Land Department
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory training | AED 2,400 | Mandatory certified training. Cannot be skipped, required before exam eligibility. |
| Examination | AED 784.67 | |
| Broker card | ~AED 500 | |
| Good conduct certificate | ~AED 220 | |
| Total | ~AED 3,900 |
Sources: RERA training and fees
Which fees can we not yet confirm?
These 8 authorities are real and their registrations are required. We simply do not hold a figure we can source, so we publish nothing rather than an estimate. A wrong fee on a licensing site is somebody's money.
DHCR / DHCC, Dubai, free zone
[VERIFY: DHCR professional licence fees. Obtain from DHCC before publishing any figure.]
SHA, Sharjah
[VERIFY: SHA licensing fees not confirmed. Obtain before publishing any figure.]
OSE, Oman
[VERIFY: OSE membership fees. Obtain from OSE before publishing any figure.]
SCE, Saudi Arabia
[VERIFY: SCE membership tiers and fees not confirmed in research. Obtain from saudieng.sa before publishing any figure.]
UPDA / MMUP, Qatar
[VERIFY: UPDA registration and exam fees not confirmed in research. Obtain from MME before publishing any figure.]
KSE, Kuwait
[VERIFY: KSE registration fees and full requirements. The published sources do not confirm the complete process. Obtain from KSE directly before publishing.]
Oman Energy PPL, Oman
[VERIFY: PPL fees. Obtain from the Energy and Minerals Sector Skills Unit before publishing any figure.]
SOCPA, Saudi Arabia
[VERIFY: SOCPA registration fees not confirmed in research. Obtain from socpa.org.sa before publishing any figure.]
What affects the cost of your case?
Two people with the same degree can face very different totals. These are the variables that move the number, in roughly the order they matter.
Your profession
Fees, examinations and document requirements are all set by profession. A doctor and a laboratory technician applying to the same authority do not pay the same amount or submit the same file.
Which authority
The published totals on this page differ substantially between regulators, and the durations differ by more. Where you intend to work decides this, not preference.
How many credentials need verifying
Verification is priced by what is being checked. A degree, two postgraduate qualifications, a registration and four employers cost more to verify than a single degree and one employer.
Whether attestation or equivalency applies
Documents issued outside the region often need legalising in the issuing country before they can be submitted, and engineers from universities not on an approved list need an equivalency ruling first. Both add cost and time.
Whether an examination is required
Most health authorities require one and some grades are exempt. The fee is payable in full on each attempt, which makes preparation an economic decision rather than only an academic one.
Specialist against general classification
Applying at the right grade affects both the fee and what you may be employed as. Applying at the wrong one can mean reapplying.
What do we charge?
We do not publish a figure, and we would rather explain why than leave you guessing. Our fee depends on every variable in the section above, so any single published number would either be wrong for most people or inflated to cover the worst case. Instead:
- Fees are quoted per case, after a free eligibility consultation that has no payment step.
- Quotes are fixed and in writing, before any work starts. If the scope changes we tell you first and reissue.
- No percentage of salary is ever taken. We have no interest in what you are eventually paid and no mechanism for taking a share of it.
How do you pay?
Our advisory fee is staged, so you are never far ahead of the work. Part is payable when work begins and the balance when primary source verification clears, unless your quote sets out something different for your case.
Payment is by a link we send after you accept the quote. There is no checkout on this website, no card details are taken over the phone or by email, and there is nothing on any page of this site that can be bought. Regulator fees never pass through us at all.
What else do people ask about cost?
What is the total cost of getting licensed?
It is the regulator's fees plus our advisory fee, and only the first of those is a published number. For DHA the government cost typically lands at AED 4,400-8,100, roughly 1,00,000-1,55,000 in rupees. Our fee is quoted per case after a free eligibility consultation.
Why do you publish the regulator fees but not your own?
Because they are different kinds of number. Regulator fees are public, fixed by the authority and identical for everyone, so withholding them serves nobody but firms that mark them up. Our fee genuinely varies by case, and a single published figure would be wrong for most people or padded to cover the worst case.
Are these figures current?
Every figure on this page was last reviewed in September 2026 and each table carries that date. We review quarterly. Authorities change fees without much notice, so treat these as the published position at the review date and verify anything decisive against the authority itself.
Why are some authorities listed with no figures?
Because we could not confirm them from a published source. We will not estimate a regulator fee, extrapolate one from a similar authority, or quote a number someone told us. Where a figure is missing we say so and tell you where to obtain it.
What is the single biggest cost people forget?
Resubmission. Primary source verification costs 50 to 100 percent of the original fee to run again, and examination fees are payable in full on each reattempt. A returned application is not just weeks lost, it is most of the fee again.
Do I pay you the regulator fees?
No. You pay the authority directly, in your own name, and you keep the receipt. We never collect them on your behalf. Anyone asking to route a government fee through their own account is a problem, whoever they are.
When do I pay your fee?
In stages: part when work begins and the balance when primary source verification clears, unless your quote says otherwise. You accept a written fixed quote before any of it, and we do not add charges you have not agreed in advance.