Does GMC registration or PLAB exempt a specialist from the DHA exam?

The PQR’s PLAB route covers GPs. For a specialist, check the tier of your specialty award and all its conditions. GMC registration alone does not settle it.

How many attempts does a specialist get in Qatar?

The documents disagree: 3 trials in the physician guidelines, or 5 sittings in a row on the exam page. Ask DHP in writing. Plan for 3 while you wait.

Can you apply as a GP if your specialty qualification is not recognised?

At DOH, you can make a separate GP file. Work in named specialties may count. A GP licence does not let you work as a specialist.

Gulf specialist exams and qualification routes

By the ProMCQ Editorial Team

Your specialty award and licence title decide the exam route. Check what the board accepts before you buy study material for a GP paper.

Facts last verified 5 October 2026. Updated 6 October 2026.

Qualification and title come first

UAE PQR specialty-award conditions
Award or route	Condition
ABMS; UK CCT or CCST	Tier 1.
Arab Board	Tier 2.
Membership	Alone does not make Tier 1. Listed membership routes exclude MRCS.
Residency, master’s or PhD	At least 3 years’ full-time training.
Unlisted award	PQR Committee review.

Check the tier and the title together. A degree or job title from abroad does not settle the Gulf title.

Specialist assessment routes by board
Board	Qualification or assessment branch	Licence guide
DHA, Dubai	DHA can assign CBT, oral or both; its FAQ mentions only one assessment. Follow Sheryan. A recognised Tier 1 award can exempt you; Tier 2 needs every extra condition.	DHA application
DOH, Abu Dhabi	Listed physician specialties have a 100-question CBT in 2 hours; other physician specialties have a 45 to 60-minute oral. Check the title groups below and confirm your title in TAMM.	DOH application
MOHAP	Evaluation officer chooses exam or exemption. Exams may be written, oral or Prometric. We did not find an official specialty format or fee.	MOHAP evaluation
SCFHS, Saudi Arabia	Classification decides rank. OBGYN and critical-care papers: 200 MCQs in 4 hours; registrar 65%, senior registrar 70%. Foreign awards do not automatically exempt you.	SCFHS classification
DHP, Qatar	Category 1 and 2 specialty qualifications are exam-exempt. Category 3 needs an exam. Unlisted exam scopes are assessed case by case.	DHP evaluation
OMSB, Oman	Separate specialty papers. OBGYN and general surgery: 100 MCQs, 2 hours 30 minutes, 65%, USD 220. Government consultant interviews concern employment grades.	OMSB and MOH steps
NHRA, Bahrain	Tier 3 specialists trained abroad sit a Specialist Examination: electronic, written, short cases or interviews. Check retraining conditions below and NHRA results and retakes.	NHRA application
MOH, Kuwait	Decision 339/2025: named non-Kuwaiti private-sector physician groups take an electronic competency test. If no specialty test exists, a video interview can replace attendance.	Kuwait physician route

DOH physician assessment groups
Title group	Specialties	Assessment
Specialists	Anaesthesia, dermatology, internal medicine, family medicine, paediatrics, ENT, general surgery and obstetrics and gynaecology.	100-question CBT in 2 hours (DOH catalogue).
Consultants	The specialist CBT fields above, plus ophthalmology.	100-question CBT in 2 hours (DOH catalogue).
Other physician specialties	Remaining specialist and consultant fields.	45 to 60-minute oral (DOH catalogue).

NHRA’s medical PQR requires Bahraini physicians to retrain after a fourth specialist-exam failure. Training must be in the same specialty, under a consultant from that specialty.

Specialist and consultant experience thresholds
System	Specialist	Consultant
UAE (unified PQR)	Tier 1 and 2: none, if you meet the recent-qualification and practice-gap conditions. Tier 3: 3 years (2 in a subspecialty) for non-UAE applicants	Tier 1: 2 years (1 subspecialty). Tier 2: 5 years (4). Tier 3: normally not eligible
Bahrain (NHRA medical PQR)	Tier 1: none. Tier 2: 1 year. Tier 3: 3 years	Tier 1: 2 years. Tier 2: 4 years. Tier 3: “Cannot attain”
Qatar (DHP physician guidelines)	5 years in total, plus the post-specialty experience your qualification category needs. See the category tables	Promotion by the facility after 2, 4 or 6 years for Categories 1, 2 and 3. Needs 2 qualifying papers and 2 recommendations
Saudi Arabia (SCFHS membership criteria, Arabic)	Registrar for a master’s-equivalent award; senior registrar for a doctorate or specialty-equivalent award	3 years’ experience, subject to the criteria
Oman (government jobs regulation)	We did not find an official private-sector matrix. Government grade: 1 year of specialty training, then 3 years’ experience.	Government grade includes “Passing the personal assessment interview”
Kuwait (Decision 339/2025, Arabic)	MOH classification decides. A foreign job title alone is not enough	We did not find an official rank matrix.

Check the exact paper and its limits

Examples; these figures do not apply to every specialty
Paper	Published format and pass mark	Conditions or next step
DHA named specialist papers	Internal medicine, OBGYN, oral surgery: 150 questions, 3 hours, 60%. Anaesthesia and cardiology: 65%. USD 280.	Read your own CBT guideline entry.
DHA named consultant papers	Internal medicine and oral surgery: 100 questions, 3 hours, 70%, USD 280.	The oral panel cannot lower or raise the title it assesses.
Qatar OBGYN	150 MCQs, 3 hours, 65%; USD 244 from 1 January 2026.	Category 3 route. Guidelines allow 3 specialty trials; exam page allows 5 consecutive sittings. Ask DHP in writing.
Qatar Category 3 training	3 years’ structured training with an exit or board exam.	Also 3 years’ post-degree experience in government, semi-government or training hospitals; 5 years’ experience overall.
Qatar sports medicine and dental specialties	Sports medicine: DHP 55%, Prometric 65%. Dental specialties: DHP 150 questions, Prometric 151 to 158.	Confirm your paper with DHP. These conflicts do not affect OBGYN.
UAE qualification age	PQR: 3 years for the recent-qualification condition; DOH catalogue: 2 years for no-experience certificates.	If the award is 2 to 3 years old, ask the authority.
UAE attempts	3 shared ordinary attempts.	Tier 3 consultant upgrade does not get the conditional final attempt. DHA blocks reapplication for 2 years after a third failure.
Qatar specialist licence	QAR 1,200 for specialist physicians and dentists.	Check the current charge before paying (licence service).

Documents and scope

Check if you need a logbook or full training history. DHA’s documents disagree on logbook checks. Send it if your title needs it. Ask DHA whether it needs checks.

A master’s alone does not guarantee registrar rank at SCFHS. It can give a lower or conditional equivalence. For an unlisted award, use New Qualification Study.

A GP licence is a separate file. It does not let you work as a specialist. Read oral assessment rules if your file names an oral.

Specialist documents and title-specific conditions
Board	Check before applying
DHA	Signed, stamped surgical logbook: procedures, counts and dates from at least the last 2 years. FAQ says no DataFlow check; licensing manual lists it for verification. Ask DHA.
DOH	Specialty award. Tier 2 or 3: proof of at least 3 years’ residency, or a transcript. Surgical logbook for the last 2 years.
Qatar	Surgical privileges: request for each procedure and a verified logbook from the last 3 years. Category 1 needs 1 year’s postgraduate clinical experience; Category 2 needs 2 years, alongside the total-experience rule.
SCFHS	Training-completion certificate with programme dates. Subspecialty consultants add the whole qualification chain. Experience can replace a subspecialty qualification, but not the main specialty.
NHRA	Completed-training proof. Subspecialty: clinical fellowship of at least 1 year.
UAE Tier 2 exemption	Every extra condition applies: subspecialty, experience, seniority, academic work, licence and conduct, and scholarly work.