Jobs for pharmacists, nurses, doctors and allied health staff are among the most sought-after in Qatar, but they differ from most other jobs in one key respect: you cannot practise before you are licensed by the regulator. Many applicants find this out late, after the offer arrives, and their start date slips by months. This guide explains the general route so you can start early.

Note: the information here comes from the Department of Healthcare Professions' official publications, and requirements can change through new circulars. Always check the DHP website before each step.

Who issues the licence?

Licensing for healthcare professions in Qatar is handled by the Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP) at the Ministry of Public Health. It was previously known as the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP), and that name still appears in some adverts and older documents. A licence is required to work in both the public and private sectors, whether in a hospital, a health centre or a pharmacy.

The general route in four stages

1. Primary source verification (PSV)

This is the first step and it is mandatory for all practitioners. An approved company checks your degrees, experience and previous licences directly with the university, employers and licensing bodies. The official DHP page names Dataflow, Quadrabay and Primary Source Verification as the approved providers, and says you must apply for verification before applying for evaluation and attach the verification report to the online evaluation application.

A fact that saves time and money: the guidelines for pharmacists state that verification by these companies replaces attestation of certificates by the relevant authorities, so certificates do not have to be attested.

Have clear copies of your passport, degree, experience letters and current professional licence ready. The guidelines also say any document not in Arabic or English must be translated into one of them and attached to a copy of the original.

2. Evaluation

After verification you submit an online "evaluation" request on DHP's registration and licensing system. The pharmacist guidelines say applicants can submit a "primary evaluation request without employer" (circular DHP/2024/22), and that a preliminary evaluation is valid for six months; if you do not apply for a temporary or permanent licence within that time, you need a new evaluation. So do not rush the evaluation if you are not close to getting a job.

Documents for this stage, according to the guidelines, include:

  • A valid passport, and your Qatar ID if you have one.
  • A recent photo meeting the stated criteria.
  • An up-to-date CV; DHP provides a CV template in the guidelines and useful links section of its website.
  • Academic certificates with official transcripts.
  • Recent official experience certificates, dated, signed and stamped by the facility.

3. Qualifying exam

Many professions and categories require a qualifying exam. The exam and who is exempt are set by the current DHP circular; the pharmacist guidelines refer to circular DHP/2025/03 for the current exam. Do not rely on old forum posts about the number of questions or the pass mark; read the circular itself.

4. Licensing

After a successful evaluation and exam comes the licensing stage, usually through the employer. At this point a certificate of good standing from the licensing body in your home country is required, and the guidelines say following up on its delivery is the applicant's responsibility.

Mistakes that cause rejection or delay

  • Leaving experience out of the first CV: the guidelines say any experience certificate not mentioned in the CV submitted with the first evaluation will not be considered in any later evaluation. List all of your experience from the start.
  • Unlicensed experience: work experience not covered by a registration licence is not counted.
  • Working before you are licensed: a practitioner working in a healthcare facility without a licence is not eligible for registration and licensing in Qatar. Never accept "temporary work until the licence comes through".
  • Break in practice: if you have been out of practice for a long time, a specific policy applies (circular 14/2021); read it before applying.
  • Incomplete applications: the guidelines say an incomplete application is returned to the applicant a maximum of three times and then rejected.

Pharmacists in particular

Pharmacy is one of the most searched-for jobs in Qatar, with demand across community pharmacies, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. What sets apart those who get hired faster:

  • Starting verification and evaluation before, or alongside, applying for jobs; employers prefer candidates who are already part of the way there.
  • Stating licensing status clearly at the top of the CV (for example: "DHP evaluation approved, awaiting exam").
  • Highlighting experience with pharmacy systems, prescriptions and insurance, and patient counselling.

Nurses and other professions

The same route applies, with different academic and experience requirements for each category. DHP publishes separate guidelines for each profession, so read the ones for your profession specifically rather than relying on a colleague's experience in a different field.

Where to find healthcare jobs

  • Official careers pages of large employers such as Hamad Medical Corporation and Sidra Medicine. Sidra states on its careers page that it and its recruitment partners never ask applicants to pay any fees.
  • Pharmacy chains, private hospitals and medical centres, many of which advertise online and on social media.
  • Our Healthcare & Pharmacy category, updated daily.

Anyone who promises a "guaranteed" or "fast" licence for money has nothing to do with the official process. Read our job scams guide.

Browse jobs

Start with healthcare and pharmacy jobs in Qatar, and also look at Customer Service and Administration for non-clinical roles in healthcare facilities, or browse all jobs.