Hiring Filipino Healthcare Staff for UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar: Common Employer Questions

The PRC licence is issued by the Philippine Professional Regulation Commission after the national licensure examination. It is the foundation credential every licensing authority in our markets verifies through DataFlow. Every nurse and allied health professional we put forward holds a current PRC licence, though on its own it does not permit practice until the authority-specific licence is issued.

DataFlow is primary source verification: it confirms a candidate's PRC licence, degree, and employment history directly with the institutions that issued them, rather than from copies. Every licensing authority in our markets requires it, and it takes 4 to 8 weeks. We confirm DataFlow status on every profile before you see it.

Yes. Philippine healthcare degrees are taught in English, and documentation, handover, and patient communication run in English from the first year, with no language gap.

Home care assistants and caregivers hold a TESDA National Certificate in Caregiving (NC II), the Philippine national caregiving qualification, which we verify directly with TESDA. Care staff are not individually licensed by health authorities the way nurses are. Your provider licence covers the service, and our screening is heavier on references, care records, and English.

DataFlow verification of PRC credentials takes 4 to 8 weeks, then the nurse sits the DHA examination. The full DHA pathway typically runs 8 to 12 weeks, and we confirm DataFlow status and DHA eligibility on every profile before you see it.

DHA licensing guide →

MOH UAE licenses healthcare staff in Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, and Umm Al Quwain, separate from DHA in Dubai and DOH in Abu Dhabi. Licensing runs through DataFlow verification and the Prometric examination, and a licence from one UAE authority does not transfer to another, so we confirm the right one at brief stage.

MOH UAE licensing guide →

Every nurse is classified and licensed by SCFHS after DataFlow verification and the Prometric examination. The full pathway typically takes 10 to 16 weeks, and the exam can be sat in the Philippines before departure.

SCFHS and DataFlow guide →

Qatar licenses all healthcare professionals through one body, QCHP, and one licence covers every setting, public and private. DataFlow verification takes 4 to 8 weeks and QCHP licensing runs 8 to 12 weeks.

QCHP registration guide →

Yes. Assistant and enrolled nurse roles are the second largest healthcare category in live Saudi job orders after registered nurses, with more than 1,800 workers sought as of July 2026. Employers use both terms for the ward-support role. We source it as a dedicated brief and confirm the registration route and classification case by case at brief stage.

Hire Filipino assistant nurses →

Four steps: you share your brief, we recruit and vet candidates in the Philippines, you interview and choose, and we handle the visas, paperwork, and Philippine clearances through to arrival. The full breakdown, including what you receive at each stage, is on our how it works page.

How it works →

Five things: the role, headcount, facility location, timeline, and salary package. With those we confirm the licensing pathway and give you a realistic date for your first shortlist, usually on the discovery call itself.

Every candidate is checked for the PRC licence, the experience relevant to your vacancy, DataFlow status, eligibility with your authority, and English before they reach your shortlist. You then interview by video and select who you want. The hiring decision is always yours, and you employ the candidate directly.

Yes. For volume briefs we present shortlists in batches and stagger arrival dates so onboarding keeps pace with your capacity or your opening schedule.

Confirmed brief to shortlist is typically 3 to 5 weeks, and brief to your staff arriving is typically 3 to 4 months. That covers DataFlow verification, the licensing examination, visa processing, and pre-departure requirements. We give you a specific estimate on the discovery call.

The biggest lever is DataFlow: candidates who already have it completed remove 4 to 8 weeks from the timeline, and we prioritise them for urgent briefs. Licensing exam dates and visa processing create the minimum timeline, so we give you an honest date on the call rather than an optimistic one.

DataFlow runs 4 to 8 weeks across all markets. After that, DHA is typically 8 to 12 weeks, QCHP 8 to 12 weeks, and SCFHS 10 to 16 weeks including classification. The per-market licensing guides set out each pathway in detail.

Fees depend on the role, the volume, and the market, so we quote on the discovery call rather than publish a number that may not fit your brief. Candidates never pay fees at any stage. The employer pays the professional services fee set out in the services agreement before sourcing begins.

Cost guide →

Fees are staged across signing, candidate selection, and arrival. The structure is set out in the services agreement before sourcing begins. We charge nothing until a signed agreement is in place.

No. We follow the employer-pays model, so candidates are never charged any fee. It is non-negotiable and protects your facility in any recruitment audit.

Free replacement within the first three months if a placement does not work out. A reduced fee applies between three and six months, and the full fee after six. The terms are in the services agreement before anything starts.

Flight costs are typically covered by the employer as part of the employment package, usually specified in the contract. We coordinate flight booking as part of the pre-departure process.

Your facility. You are the direct employer and visa sponsor. We handle recruitment: we find and vet candidates and deliver them legally cleared to start, with one point of contact throughout.

Every placement is processed under the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) framework, the government system that regulates how Filipino healthcare workers take jobs overseas. It governs the contract, the pre-departure clearances, and the worker's protections. We handle all of it, and candidates never pay fees at any stage. Our DMW guide explains what the framework covers.

DMW guide →

Yes. Overseas employment of Filipino healthcare workers is government-regulated. We handle work visas, immigration and employment paperwork, and the Philippine clearances needed before departure under the DMW framework. You are the direct employer and visa sponsor.

We recruit Filipino healthcare professionals directly from the Philippines for employers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. We handle recruitment, screening, licensing checks, visas, paperwork, and Philippine clearances, with one point of contact from brief to arrival.

Registered, ICU, theatre, and paediatric nurses, physiotherapists, medical technologists, pharmacists, and home care assistants, all recruited from the Philippines with licensing eligibility confirmed before you see a profile. Nursing and home care are the highest-volume briefs we run.

Yes. Depending on what the authority and employer require, we screen both PRC-licensed midwives and BSN registered nurses with midwifery experience. Authority classification for midwives is assessed case by case. We confirm the exact registration route before shortlisting rather than assume a fixed pathway. Demand is strongest in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

All three. As of July 2026, Saudi Arabia is the largest caregiver market we serve, with live DMW-approved job orders for more than 1,100 Filipino caregivers and care workers. Qatar employers hold more than 600 and UAE employers more than 250, centred on elderly and dementia home care. In every market we staff licensed providers, companies, or sponsors rather than placing caregivers directly with families.

Yes, under the same pipeline as caregivers. Nursing aides and nursing assistants are screened on TESDA certification and documented hands-on care experience, with certificates verified directly with TESDA.

Both. We work with hospitals, clinics, home-care companies, and staffing firms. In Saudi Arabia and Qatar especially, many healthcare workers are engaged through licensed staffing, manpower supply, and outsourcing companies. We supply these companies under the same model as any direct employer. The company is the sponsoring employer and holds the job order. Larger briefs may qualify for volume pricing.

No. We recruit exclusively from the Philippines, a deliberate specialist focus: Filipino healthcare professionals train in English, hold PRC credentials recognised by every licensing authority in our markets, and have decades of experience in the region's hospitals.

We operate from Cebu IT Park, Cebu City, Philippines, with direct access to the Visayas nursing graduate pool. The quickest way to start is a 30-minute discovery call: share your brief and we confirm the pathway and a shortlist date.