Points that you must be careful and sensible about while applying for a DHA License & Deciding to Work in Dubai or Any Other Emirate As a Health Professional
Read about destinations and choose which one is right for you
UAE is a group of many emirates. Dubai is one of them. It is a global village and one of the most popular destinations in the world for travel and works. However, it is also one of the costliest places in the UAE and World. The first step to take is, therefore, to gather as much information on potential destinations before you take any other action. The internet is full of blogs and forums which can give you a good starting idea of what it’s like to live and work in the different countries in the Gulf. Once you have gathered your first information and have a good assumption of which country would be right for you, you can move to the following steps.
Reach out to peers/friends/seniors/relatives who are living and working there already
Once you have finalized on the emirate you want to shift and work, (let’s consider Dubai as an example), then start the next process of searching and connecting with any possible known person out there. They may be your direct acquaintances or you may be knowing them through others. Connect with all who can potentially provide you with information and ideas.
As much as reading from the internet can provide you with some clues on the working conditions, it’s only through interactions with people with first-hand experience that you can get the most important information.
If you have first relatives, then it is the most convenient scenario for you. You will not only get a temporary place to settle in in your initial days but you will also get the support to adjust to the new places.
If you do not know anyone directly, then you would need to take the indirect route to connect with people who can help you.
What Information should you generally ask for?
Ideally, you will speak to people who are both from your same country and your same career area. Through your network of friends and colleagues, try to talk or email people who can tell you as much as possible about the Licensing process, official address that you need to know, quality of work, the compensation packages, the cost of housing, transportation, schooling for your children or employment for your spouse.
Caution:
If you don’t know anyone, try to get introduced, or even you may try to connect with people you don’t know on social networks by searching for their location and qualification. If you introduce yourself politely enough there are strong chances they will spare some time to give you the advice you need.
But its always preferable to contact someone unknown via a common acquaintance. There are instances where people have become very annoyed when other unknown people have tried to pester or contact with a direct request to provide help and information for DHA License or work. You have to understand that everyone is NOT open to connect with you at the cost of their privacy. So, do not be forceful.
The best way to connect with an unknown person (who may help you in working in UAE) is to contact them gently and indirectly via others.
If you can, then Visit the Place Once & Make a Financial Planning
If it is possible for you, then please visit the emirate where you want to work once.
- One of the best ways to enter the healthcare recruitment system is to actually meet the people who are already working as health professionals in your desired specialty.
- Find a reason (and also if it is financially feasible for you) to go to your destination country for a few days on a work trip, or even as a personal trip.
- Most Gulf countries allow tourist visits, which you can use to meet the people you need. There is great value in setting up meetings with hospital HR managers to introduce yourself, your peer contacts for a coffee or a dinner, visit healthcare facilities, licensing authorities or employment agencies (but make sure you choose only the most reliable and professional ones).
- The goal of such scouting trips is primarily to get a first-hand idea of the place, create some real contracts and get an understanding of how the healthcare services work in Dubai or the other Arab Emirates.
If such scouting trips are not feasible for you, then, create a detailed financial planning and assessment of the process to apply for and work in Dubai or any of the Emirate.
One of the most crucial aspects is the financial feasibility of the entire process of applying for the DHA License and then shifting and starting a professional and personal life in Dubai or Any other Emirate. It involves expenditures.
Hence, it is crucial that you asses your finances – Not only for the process of applying for DHA License but also to manage the cost of living and maintenance in Dubai, Abu-Dhabi or any other emirate.
In the previous slides of this article, we have discussed in detail about the expenditures and also mentioned some of the highly trusted financial links to calculate the average living cost in Dubai. Check the links again below:
Cost of living in Dubai: Your guide
Whether you’re retiring, temporarily relocating or moving to Dubai for good, it’s helpful to have a picture of what life there will cost as an expat. The standard of living in Dubai is very high. In fact, the opportunity to live well in an interesting place is exactly why many foreigners go there.
Starting the Process of Licensing
Shall I take the Help of Professional Agencies to help me in getting the Licenses?
- Get a complete understanding of the Licensing process of various health boards of Emirates and always follow the official steps as mentioned.
- Be extremely cautious and careful while negotiating with any agency that is offering paid services to help you in acquiring the licenses. There are many fraudulent out there, who can take advantage of the candidates’ urgency to cheat them of money.
- NEVER give any agent hand cash for the process. You will most probably never get the money back.
- In case of any doubt regarding the agency that is helping you in the Licensure process, always refer with the official embassy in your country.
- It does not mean that all the agencies are doubtful. There are many reputed ones which have been guiding candidates for years. Hence, the onus is on you to choose the proper agency. Read the reviews and assess the feedbacks. Being alert is the best option.
Understand and Fulfil all the Criteria of the Licensing Steps necessary for your health profession specialty
Because most healthcare staffs in the Gulf are expats, every country has set up some complex procedures to ensure that there is an appropriate validation of the professional’s license and everybody meets professional standards to work.
Licensing can be long and difficult, and in some cases, the professional might not be able to achieve licensing at all. For this reason, hospitals and other healthcare employers strongly prefer to forward job offers to candidates who have already passed their licensing exams.
This avoids offering the job to people who aren’t licensed yet and wasting time. Also having undergone the licensing steps and verifications gives you the necessary credibility that your intention to come live and work in the country is serious.
Start gathering information about Approved Health Facilities and Keep improving your CV
From the day you start the licensing process, start gathering information about all the approved health facilities in Dubai that can offer you a job related to your health degree qualification. Around 5 years back people used to travel and look for the jobs in job fairs and traveling abroad. However, in the current times, it is much easier finding the information online. Also, keep documenting all your academic achievements, degrees & also the documentation of your after education clinical experience.
With this, we conclude this post of explaining all the steps to acquire DHA License to work as a licensed Nursing Professional in Dubai.
We hope that this article will make it easier for you to understand the process of applying for the DHA license to work as a Licensed Nursing Professional in Dubai.