Last updated on 27-Oct-2026, by Dr. Muhammad

MOHAP Guidelines for MBBS/MD Graduates from Ukraine, China and Russia 2026

Every year thousands of students from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Africa finish an MBBS or MD in Ukraine, China, Russia, Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, and many of them aim for the UAE. The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) does not have a separate rulebook for them. It follows the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR), the same rules DHA and DOH use. What makes these graduates different is the path after graduation: where the internship was done, which council registered them and whether any of the course was taught online. This page goes through those points. The general eligibility rules for every doctor are on MOHAP exam requirements for GP, specialist and consultant.

Is an MBBS/MD from Ukraine, China or Russia accepted by MOHAP?

Yes, in principle. The PQR asks for a degree from a "formal recognized allopathic" medical school, issued by an institution recognised by the authorities that accredit education in that country, and from a programme that is nationally accredited. Nothing in it excludes a country. A Russian or Ukrainian "MD" (Doctor of Medicine) is the primary medical degree in those systems, so it is treated like an MBBS, not like a postgraduate MD.

Older versions of this page said your university must be "WHO listed". The WHO directory was replaced years ago by the World Directory of Medical Schools. A listing there is useful evidence, but the PQR test is national accreditation and recognition in the country that issued the degree. DataFlow checks the degree with the university during MOHAP DataFlow verification.

Degree recognition: what MOHAP will and will not count

What are the internship requirements for foreign graduates?

This is where most applications from these countries get stuck. The PQR says every physician must complete a one-year (12-month) internship after graduation, with two exceptions that matter a great deal to you:

• Internship built into the degree. If the internship is part of the undergraduate programme, no separate post-graduation internship is required (PQR 1.2.1.3). Many Chinese MBBS programmes for international students include a clinical internship year inside the degree. Your transcript or a university letter must show it.
• No proof of internship at all. A physician without evidence of an internship needs an extra 2 years of experience (PQR 1.2.1.2). For a GP that means 4 years in total instead of 2, so it is almost always faster to finish a proper internship.

Can you do the internship in the UAE instead? Not as a route into MOHAP licensing. The UAE does not offer stand-alone internships to foreign graduates through the licensing system, so complete it in your home country or in the country where you studied.

Internship and registration in your home country (India, Pakistan)

MOHAP also needs a valid licence or registration from your home country or your country of last employment (PQR 1.3.1), and a Good Standing Certificate from that regulator no older than 6 months. For most graduates of Ukraine, China and Russia, that means going home and passing the national screening first:

Once you are registered, the Good Standing Certificate (GSC) comes from that council, for example the NMC or State Medical Council in India or PM&DC in Pakistan.

How much experience do you need after internship?

For the General Practitioner title the PQR asks for 2 years of clinical experience after the internship, in specialties it accepts for GPs (internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, general surgery, emergency medicine, family medicine, cardiology and critical care). MOHAP counts experience from the date your professional licence was issued, and a gap in practice of more than 2 years is not accepted without further steps. Read our pages on the MOHAP two years clinical experience requirement and the MOHAP clinical gap policy.

What if my documents are in Russian, Ukrainian or Chinese?

MOHAP accepts certificates in Arabic or English. For any other language, its evaluation service says the certificate must be legally translated and duly certified, and you upload the original along with the translated copy. Get the translation done once, properly, and use the same version for MOHAP and DataFlow. Make sure your name is spelled the same way as in your passport; transliterated Cyrillic and Chinese names are a common cause of DataFlow discrepancies.

MOHAP application steps for foreign graduates

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