People often ask me how to get licensed as a vet in the Gulf. This is the process as I went through it. Rules and fees change, so always check the official websites before you start.
UAE: the MOCCAE licence
The licence is issued by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE).
- Attest your degree and transcripts with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country you graduated from (whatever it’s called there).
- Attest them again at the UAE Embassy in that country.
- Attest the degree at the UAE Foreign Office once you’re in the UAE.
- Get a letter of experience. You need 5 years of clinical experience to be eligible, and the letter must be attested by the Foreign Office of the country where you worked.
- Get an equivalence certificate from the Ministry of Education:
- First, verify your degree through Quadrabay or Dataflow. The fee is around 350 AED, and they may charge another 450 AED depending on your country and university. It can take up to 4 weeks.
- Once you have the report, apply for the equivalence on the MOE website. The certificate arrives by email, or you can download it from your MOE portal. That step takes 2–3 minutes and costs around 100 AED.
- Your employer applies for the licence. If you’ve made it this far, your company submits the documents online: degree, transcripts, equivalence certificate, passport, visa, Emirates ID, an employment contract approved by the UAE labour ministry, and one passport-sized photo.
- Sit the exam. You’ll be told the exam date and sent material to prepare with. The exam is held in Dubai.
Qatar
Qatar holds 3–4 exams a year, with separate exams for equine, general practice (GP), small animals and public health. You can hold only one licence at a time. The licence is issued under the name of the company you work for, so if you change employer it has to be updated, which costs 500 QAR.
- Attest your degree with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country you graduated from.
- Attest it at the Qatar Embassy in that country.
- Attest it at the Qatar Foreign Office in Qatar. Go to the service centres in Al Rayan or Garrafa; it costs 150 AED per page.
- Get a letter of experience. You need 3 years of clinical experience to be eligible.
- Apply to the Animal Resources Department. Submit the documents online: degree, transcripts, passport, visa, Qatar ID, one passport-sized photo and the completed form.
- Sit the exams. You’ll be told the date of the written exam. Candidates who pass are invited to an interview and a hands-on exam.
Preparing for the exams
My notes for both exams are in Exams and licensing. A good place to start is Important topics, the diseases that come up again and again.