How to become a psychologist in the United Arab Emirates

Checked on 16 October 2026 against the regulator's own pages and other official sources; every statement links the page it comes from. Rules and fees change; if a link says something different today, the link is right and this page is out of date.

The short version

1. A bachelor's in psychology, then a master's of at least two years (or a doctorate). PQR
2. Clinical experience after qualifying: two years after a master's, one after a doctorate, three if your bachelor's took three years. PQR
3. Primary source verification of your degrees, experience and licence through DataFlow. DOH
4. Pass the authority's exam (in English) and apply through Sheryan in Dubai or TAMM in Abu Dhabi. PQR TAMM

1. Who licenses you

The Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR) are issued jointly by MOHAP, DOH, DHA and the Sharjah Health Authority. DOH The current edition, dated April 2025, replaces the earlier ones. PQR 2025 In Dubai you apply to the Dubai Health Authority through Sheryan, DHA in Abu Dhabi to the Department of Health through TAMM, TAMM and in the other emirates to the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP).

In Dubai, DHA licenses psychologists only in addiction, clinical, forensic, health and neuropsychology. Other specialties, including counselling, apply to the Community Development Authority instead. PQR 2025

2. Titles and what each needs

• Psychologist: a bachelor's in psychology plus a master's of at least two years, with two years' experience; or a bachelor's plus a doctorate, with one year. PQR 2025
• Specialized psychologist (for example clinical, counselling, child, educational, forensic, health or neuropsychology): the same, with the master's or doctorate in that specialty. PQR 2025
• Psychometrist (a bachelor's in psychometrics) and psychologist assistant (for UAE nationals only) work only under a licensed psychologist. PQR 2025

A three-year bachelor's raises the experience needed to three years. Experience must be hands-on, paid clinical work as a licensed professional; teaching and non-clinical work do not count. PQR 2025 If you are short of experience, DHA can license you as a supervised trainee until you have it. DHA

An older 2022 edition, still on DHA's site, required a four-year bachelor's for the master's route and had no specialized psychologist title; the April 2025 edition says it replaces earlier versions. PQR 2022

3. The exam

You must pass the authority's exam, held in English, with three attempts across the authorities. PQR 2025 DHA's computer-based exams are run by Prometric: Clinical Psychology (CPS5071) is 150 questions in three hours, costs USD 240 and needs 55% to pass; specialties without a written exam are assessed orally. DHA exam guide DOH's exams are taken with Pearson. Pearson

4. Verification and fees

Your qualifications, experience certificates and licences are verified directly with whoever issued them, PQR 2025 through DataFlow; in Dubai you can do the verification and the exam at the same time. DHA Sheryan

• Dubai (DHA): AED 200 credentialing; licence activation, paid by the employing facility, from AED 1,000 for a year; plus a "Knowledge and Innovation" fee at checkout. DHA Sheryan
• Abu Dhabi (DOH): AED 100 to apply; exam and licence fees by category, from AED 50 and AED 200. TAMM

5. If you trained in Pakistan

Degrees must come from nationally accredited programmes; distance-learning and correspondence qualifications are not counted. For psychology, a bachelor's must be at least three years full time and a master's at least two years full time. One-year master's degrees are accepted only from a short list of countries, and Pakistan is not on it. PQR 2025 In practice, a four-year BS followed by a two-year MS or MPhil fits the psychologist route.

• Attestation: attest your degrees with Pakistan's Higher Education Commission first (Rs 3,000 per document). HEC
• Equivalency: DHA says it may ask, for certain qualifications, for an equivalency certificate from the UAE education ministry; DHA recognition of foreign degrees is now handled by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. MoHESR
• Good standing: a certificate of good standing no older than six months; where a country has no regulator, a letter from your last employer may be accepted. PQR 2025

What we could not confirm

• MOHAP's exam provider and fees for psychologists: its website could not be reached, only archived copies of its pages.
• The format of DOH's psychology exam, and which DHA psychology specialties sit a written exam rather than an oral one.
• DataFlow's fees and timelines, and whether it checks Pakistani degrees with the university, HEC or both.
• Whether every psychologist needs a UAE degree-recognition certificate, and what it costs.
• How the older Pakistani route (a two-year BA or BSc followed by an MSc) is assessed.

Know something here is out of date? Tell us through the contact page with a link, and we will check it. This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice.