OET for Qatar Nurses: UK and Australia Registration in 2026

Qatar’s healthcare system relies heavily on an international nursing workforce. Many nurses in Doha hold a Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP) licence — formerly issued under the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP) name — alongside their original qualification, and are well placed to pursue UK or Australian registration.

What the DHP (QCHP) licence is and is not

The Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP) regulates healthcare licensing in Qatar under the Ministry of Public Health. It was previously known as the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP), and both names still appear in recruitment material. Foreign-educated nurses obtain a DHP licence after meeting examination, experience, and verification requirements.

A 2026 change worth noting: from 1 January 2026, the DHP requires a Primary Source Verification (PSV) report to support any qualifying exam or exemption. This applies to your Qatar licensing process. It is separate from the NMC’s own verification, which the NMC arranges directly with your training institution.

When Qatar-based nurses apply to the NMC, the documentation error to avoid is submitting the DHP licence in place of home-country qualification evidence. The NMC needs:

• Your original nursing qualification with transcripts, verified directly by your training institution
• A certificate of current good standing from your home-country nursing regulator
• Employment references for your practice history

OET in Qatar

OET is computer-based and delivered at test venues in the Gulf, including Doha. Dates run through the year; confirm current venues on the official OET website.

DHP licensing in Qatar has accepted OET with a writing grade below B. The NMC and AHPRA do not. If your goal is UK or Australian registration, prepare for Grade B in Writing, not the lower threshold that satisfied your DHP licence.

NMC registration from Qatar: the steps

1. Start your NMC application online, selecting your training country (not Qatar).
2. Request qualification verification from your training institution, sent directly to the NMC.
3. Request a certificate of current good standing from your home-country regulator.
4. Complete OET and reach Grade B in all four sub-tests.
5. Pass the NMC CBT through Pearson VUE.
6. Receive NMC conditional registration pending OSCE.
7. Travel to the UK and pass the OSCE for full registration.

AHPRA from Qatar

For nurses targeting Australia, AHPRA generally requires an ANMAC skills assessment if you trained outside a recognised list of countries. ANMAC checks whether your qualification is comparable to an Australian nursing degree and takes three to four months. OET Grade B in all four sub-tests, less than three years old, is accepted as English evidence.

OET Writing preparation for Arabic-speaking nurses

Writing is the OET sub-test with the widest preparation gap for nurses who have practised in Arabic-language clinical settings. The clinical letter is scored across six criteria (see the OET writing criteria hub). The two criteria most often below Band 5 for Arabic speakers are Genre and Style (register) and Language (articles and tense).

These are structural transfer patterns from Arabic, each with a specific fix. The OET Writing for Arabic Speakers guide covers all five with before/after examples.

Qatar to UK: a realistic timeline

For the full scoring framework, see the OET writing criteria hub. The OET Writing for Arabic Speakers guide covers the five language patterns that affect Gulf-based Arabic-speaking nurses most. For the NMC’s English requirements overview, see NMC OET English requirements. Professional correction with per-criterion scoring is available at our pricing page. Are you a doctor rather than a nurse? See OET for Qatar doctors for the GMC and PLAB pathway.