Reviewed · Pablo Lozano Lominchar, MD PhD
Before you buy any preparation for a Gulf licensing examination, check whether you have to sit it at all. All three authorities exempt some applicants, the criteria are published, and they turn on where you trained and what you already hold — not on how well you would do in the exam. Every year surgeons prepare for months for a paper they were never required to take.
Saudi Arabia: the seven countries. The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties does not certify a specialty — it classifies you as general practitioner, specialist or consultant, and that classification decides what you may practise and what you may be paid. Anyone who completed their training in a country whose programmes the Commission recognises does not have to sit the examination at all. Those countries are the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, the United States, Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia itself.
Two qualifications on that. First, exemption from the examination is not exemption from the process: classification, verification of your documents and registration still apply. Second, classification as a consultant adds an interview on top, so an exempt specialist applying at consultant level is not necessarily finished.
Qatar: it depends which category you are in. The Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners sorts applicants into three categories, and only Category 3 sits the specialty examination. If you arrive holding a board certification that Qatar places in Category 1 or 2 — Western, Arab or Gulf boards among them — you do not sit the paper. This is stated in the same blueprint document that publishes the syllabus, so it is worth reading before you assume you are in.
Dubai: the criteria live in two other documents. The DHA computer-based examination guideline tells you what the general surgery paper is — code GEN5341, 150 multiple-choice questions, three hours including registration and introduction, a 65% pass mark, a 280 US dollar fee, administered by Prometric. What it does not do is set out who is exempt: for that it refers to the Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR) and the Licensing Manual.
We have since obtained both. The Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR), 3rd version, April 2025, served from the Sheryan portal itself; and the Manual For Licensing Healthcare Professionals, v1.3, effective 18 July 2025. What follows is from them, and it is more specific than anything published elsewhere.
Criteria 1 — the twenty-two countries. The PQR exempts holders of a recognised Tier 1 specialty certificate obtained in: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the Emirati Board, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, South Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Four constraints that apply to every exemption. The exemption covers the examination only — primary source verification, credentialing and experience all still apply. Equivalency documents must be valid, or are accepted for five years from issue if they state no validity. No exemption applies to anyone with a practice gap of more than three years. And the professional title on your certificate must match the title you are requesting.
| Authority | The general surgery exam | Who is exempt |
|---|---|---|
| DHA (Dubai) | 150 MCQ, 3 hours, 65% to pass, Prometric, code GEN5341, 280 USD | Tier 1 certificate from one of 22 named countries, or all six limbs of Criteria 2 (PQR, April 2025) |
| QCHP (Qatar) | 150 MCQ, 3 hours, 65% to pass, Prometric | Categories 1 and 2. Only Category 3 sits it |
| SCFHS (Saudi Arabia) | Not a written paper — an oral, 2 to 4 stations of up to 30 minutes, 70% of sections | Training completed in the UK, Ireland, France, USA, Canada, Australia or Saudi Arabia |
One consequence worth stating plainly, because it cuts against our own interest: the exemptions above remove a large share of Western-trained surgeons from these examinations entirely. If that is you, the preparation we sell is not something you need. If you are in Category 3 in Qatar, sitting GEN5341 in Dubai, or facing the Saudi oral without one of the seven nationalities of training, then it is.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need to sit the DHA exam if I have MRCS or FRCS?
The DHA sets exemption criteria in its Professional Qualification Requirements and Licensing Manual rather than in the examination guideline, so the honest answer is that it depends on how the DHA classifies your specific qualification, and you should confirm it with them directly. Qatar and Saudi Arabia publish clearer rules: Qatar exempts its Categories 1 and 2, and Saudi Arabia exempts anyone trained in the UK, Ireland, France, the USA, Canada, Australia or Saudi Arabia.
Which countries are exempt from the SCFHS exam?
The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties recognises programmes completed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, the United States, Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia. A surgeon who completed training in one of those does not sit the examination, although classification, document verification and registration still apply, and consultant classification adds an interview.
Is the Qatar QCHP exam the same as the Dubai DHA exam?
The syllabus is the same. Both publish an identical sixteen-domain general surgery blueprint, both set 150 multiple-choice questions with a 65% pass mark, and both are delivered by Prometric, and both allow three hours. The only difference is who has to sit it. One body of preparation covers both.
Does the licensing exam replace a specialty board certification?
No. These are licences to practise, not specialty certifications. Passing the DHA examination does not certify you as a general surgeon; it permits you to work in Dubai. Anyone who wants board certification has to obtain that separately.