Qatar DHP licence from Sri Lanka: PSV and good standing for Sri Lankan nurses, doctors and pharmacists

Which PSV package fits your Sri Lankan qualification?

DHP's approved providers – DataFlow, QuadraBay and AVS – sell packages by profession. This is how the common Sri Lankan qualifications map onto them:

Packages A and B at all three providers, and AVS's nurse package, cover the last five years of employment with up to three employers; DataFlow's and QuadraBay's Package E covers three years. The documents guide has the full scope table, and the PSV fees guide every price.

What DHP's rules mean for Sri Lankan qualifications

Nurses. DHP's Guidelines for Nurses accept, for a Registered General Nurse, a "Bachelor's Degree in nursing (duration: 4 years)" or a "Diploma in nursing (duration: 3 years after graduation from 12 years of high school)" – or an associate degree with RGN licensure in the country of origin or graduation – followed by two years of clinical experience after registration and licensing, and the Prometric exam. The Ministry of Health recruits student nurses for its schools of nursing from those who passed the G.C.E. Advanced Level in the science or mathematics streams, according to its 2026 recruitment notice as reported by Newswire, so current intakes start after the A/L. Check that your certificate or transcript shows the length of the course. DHP, not the PSV provider, decides equivalence at evaluation.

Doctors. DHP's Guidelines for Physicians ask general practitioners for a degree from a university in the IMED/FAIMER directory and a minimum six-year undergraduate medical degree (MBBS or equivalent), and say "The internship program can be considered for completion of the required undergraduate study years" when the programme is shorter – so keep your internship completion certificate with your MBBS degree. Overseas GPs need five years of experience and must pass the DHP qualifying exam; an exempting exam such as PLAB Part 1 or USMLE Step 2, verified through PSV under Circular DHP/2025/19, replaces the exam but not the experience. The Prometric exam guide lists the exempting exams.

Specialists. Sri Lanka is not in DHP's approved specialty qualification table, so Sri Lankan MD and MS degrees are assessed under Category 3: completion of structured postgraduate training of at least three years with a passed exit or board exam, three years of clinical experience after the postgraduate degree in a governmental or semi-governmental hospital or a hospital that runs postgraduate training, and a pass in the DHP qualifying exam.

A UK Royal College membership or fellowship moves you to Category 1 only with a UK certificate of completion of specialist training (CCST/CCT), or to Category 2 if it was awarded before 1996; otherwise it is assessed under Category 3 too.

Where does your certificate of good standing come from?

Since 1 August 2025 DHP accepts a certificate of good standing only as a PSV report (Circular DHP/2025/08). You obtain the certificate in Sri Lanka; your PSV provider verifies it; DHP sees the verified report. It is usually needed at the licensing stage and must be no more than six months old then – the good-standing guide explains the rules.

Nurses – Sri Lanka Nursing Council. The Sri Lanka Nurses Council Act, No. 19 of 1988 (now the Sri Lanka Nursing Council Act, as amended by Act No. 35 of 2005) gives the Council the register of nurses, and nurses who were registered under the Medical Ordinance were deemed registered with it; SLNC also has a re-registration form for nurses registered with the Medical Council. SLNC's list of application forms includes "Good Standing of Registration as a Nurse", "Verification for the Registration as a Nurse" and a separate verification for additional qualifications. A copy of SLNC's good-standing form published by a Sri Lankan licensing consultancy in 2023 (we could not open the current form on slnc.lk) says – treat the fee and timing as reported:

• hand in, at the SLNC office (weekdays 8:30 am to 3:00 pm), a request letter to the Registrar with a true copy of your SLNC registration certificate, your diploma or degree certificate, a service certificate from your employer issued within six months, your National Identity Card and passport, and a passport photo on a blue background;
• pay Rs. 5,100 at any Bank of Ceylon branch into SLNC's account (the form gives the account number; the same consultancy's own guide mentions Rs. 5,000, so confirm the current fee);
• the Council "takes 7 days for issuing the Certificate", and it is sent either to the overseas registration body or to you – "you need to indicate institution / council address";
• the application is rejected if the original certificates, NIC or passport are not produced at the office; if you have worked abroad, add true copies of the letters of leave you obtained, or a letter of attestation if you left the service.

SLNC's office is on the 1st Floor, Post Basic College of Nursing, Regent Street, Colombo 10 ([email protected]). Check the current form on slnc.lk before you pay, and ask your PSV provider which address to give the Council.

Doctors, dentists, pharmacists and allied health – Sri Lanka Medical Council. SLMC keeps the registers of medical practitioners, dentists, specialists, pharmacists, midwives and paramedical assistants, and offers two separate services:

• a Certificate of Good Standing – its services page for medical practitioners lists one, applied for with a downloadable form and "issued within 1-2 working days"; its allied health page offers one for pharmacists, midwives and 14 other registered professions, including radiographers, medical laboratory technologists and physiotherapists;
• a verification of registration for a foreign regulatory authority.

The Application for Verification of Registration – "Verification from Foreign Regulatory Authorities" – asks for the completed application and the certificate SLMC issued to you, with dates in dd/mm/yyyy, and lists:

• USD 55 (excluding bank charges) or Rs. 17,000, for a single verification;
• a payment reference with your NIC number and the payment category, or "the payment will be rejected";
• e-mail to [email protected] with the bank receipt and the documents, or hand the payment slip in at the SLMC counter.

SLMC's Verifications page says these services are not yet online and gives +94 71 741 2222 for guidance. The verification form asks for the name and address of the verification agency, so get those details from your PSV provider – and ask it whether DHP's verification needs the Certificate of Good Standing, the verification, or both – before you pay.

Which Sri Lankan documents should you upload?

• Degree or diploma certificate – the final certificate, front and back.
• Transcripts – for every year of the programme, in the same file as the certificate.
• Internship completion certificate – doctors, with the MBBS degree.
• Council registration – your SLNC or SLMC registration certificate. DHP asks for licences "accompanying the required years of work experience".
• Experience certificates – one per employer, on letterhead, with exact start and end dates, your designation and an issue date. Sri Lankan consultancies report that, for government service, the hospital director or chief nursing officer usually signs these, listing your service periods and units. The experience certificate guide has a sample.
• Passport – a clear, uncut copy.

You do not need attestation for these: DHP's guidelines say PSV replaces attestation. Anything in Sinhala or Tamil must be officially translated into English or Arabic and attached to a copy of the original.

Initials, NIC names and other name problems

Sri Lankan certificates often show initials and a surname ("W.M.S.K. Perera"), while the passport shows names in full – or a different order, or a married name. Type your name exactly as in your passport wherever a portal asks for your own name, list the initialled and other versions as alternative names, and upload a document that links them, such as your NIC, birth certificate or marriage certificate. The name-mismatch guide covers which evidence suits which case.

How do Sri Lankan institutions handle verification requests?

The provider writes to your university or school of nursing, the council and your employers, and waits for each to answer. Tell the examinations or registrar's office, and each hospital's administration, that a request is coming; pay any fee they charge quickly; and give the provider a named contact with an official e-mail address. Name each institution in full, as on the certificate. The follow-up guide has a schedule and e-mail templates.

Before you travel

Registration for foreign employment is a separate process from DHP licensing. The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment says that "every Sri Lankan who leaves for employment outside Sri Lanka should register with the SLBFE prior to such departure" – check the details on slbfe.lk and with your employer.

Checklist for Sri Lankan applicants

1. Package chosen to cover every qualification and the experience years DHP will count.
2. Nurses: course length on the diploma checked; SLNC registration current.
3. Final certificates, front and back, with transcripts in one file; internship certificate for doctors.
4. Specialists: Category 3 checked – structured training, exit exam, three years in a governmental or training hospital, qualifying exam.
5. Experience certificates with exact dates, designation and an issue date.
6. Initials and every name variant listed, with a document linking them.
7. Good standing planned for the licensing stage – SLNC for nurses, SLMC for doctors, dentists, pharmacists and allied health – and delivered the way your PSV provider asks.
8. SLBFE registration before you leave.