You are hereThe Saudi Arabia nurse route. 12 steps. SCFHS: 30 working days to classify by exam; results within 14 workdays. The job search sets the rest.
- 1Check you fitYou are hereStart this route
- 2Get your papers outYou can start this now
- 3Start your NMCN verificationCannot start yet: opens when the NMCN says where the form comes from and how to send it
- 4Verify your papers with DataFlowCannot start yet: opens when your papers are in one folder
- 5Apply for your SCFHS classificationCannot start yet: opens when DataFlow's final report and the NMCN's verification letter are ready
- 6Pass the SCFHS examCannot start yet: opens when the SCFHS approves you for the exam
- 7Win a job offer and read your contractCannot start yet: opens when the SCFHS classifies you
- 8Get your work visaCannot start yet: opens when you sign your contract
- 9Travel and arriveCannot start yet: opens when your visa is granted
- 10Register with the SCFHS and get your licenceCannot start yet: opens when you hold your resident ID
- 11Bring your familyCannot start yet: opens when you hold your resident ID
- 12Your first payslipCannot start yet: opens when you start with your employer
I am stuck
I am stuck
The desk explains what a step means and where the official answer lives.
Become a nurse in Saudi Arabia
For nurses on the NMCN register with at least a year of experience. Twelve steps to your first payslip in Saudi Arabia.
Why this order?
The steps run in the order the SCFHS, Saudi Arabia's nursing regulator, needs them. You can apply for classification from Nigeria, without a work permit, once DataFlow has verified your papers and the NMCN has verified your registration. Registration needs a resident ID, so it comes after you arrive. Your papers can start now. Ask the NMCN about your verification first: it does not yet say where its form comes from or how to send it.
The SCFHS's service level is 30 working days for a classification by written exam (7 for a direct decision, 35 for a practical evaluation), and exam results take at most 14 workdays. Your job search and the visa set the real length. Read 8 October 2026.
Free. About two minutes.
- 1Start here
Check you fit
Seven questions, about two minutes, no account.
See what this step needs
The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) classifies and registers nurses in Saudi Arabia. As a nurse who is not Saudi, you need at least one year of experience, a valid registration from the authority in the country where you worked, with a verification letter for it, and a letter from your employer issued within three months before you apply. Certificates must be in Arabic or English. Applicants over 65 add a medical report. Read on scfhs.org.sa, 8 October 2026.
You can apply for classification from outside the Kingdom, through the SCFHS's Mumaris Plus system, and the first stage does not require a work permit. Read 8 October 2026.
No number comes from your answers on this route: no verified rule set grades it.
Source: SCFHS, professional classification requirements, read 8 October 2026.
Read the SCFHS's classification requirements
Free.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Answer seven short questions. You need at least one year of nursing work, your NMCN registration with a verification letter, and a letter from your employer.
Where the official answer lives: The SCFHS's professional classification requirements page says what a nurse needs.
- 2You can start this now
Get your papers out
Put your papers in one folder, in Arabic or English, and check your name matches on every one.
See what this step needs
What the SCFHS asks for: your qualification, your internship certificate, your academic record, your clinical training certificate where your qualification includes training, your licence or registration from the NMCN, your experience certificates, your passport, and the equivalence of your certificates from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Education. Your qualification must show the date of issue, the date of graduation, the title of the certificate and the specialisation. Read on scfhs.org.sa, 8 October 2026.
How a nurse in Nigeria gets the Ministry of Education's equivalence: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the SCFHS's Mumaris FAQ, checked 8 October 2026.
Your employment letter must be issued within three months before you apply for classification (Step 5), by your hospital's personnel department, and must show your clinical practice, your professional category and the date you started work. So ask for it when Step 5 is close. Read 8 October 2026.
Check that your name and date of birth match on your birth certificate, passport and nursing certificates. Fix any difference before you pay a fee.
Source: SCFHS, professional classification requirements, read 8 October 2026.
Read the SCFHS's classification requirements
Free to do yourself.
The desk can get your transcript out for you.I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Put your certificates, your licence, your transcript, your passport and your Ministry of Education equivalence in one folder, and make sure your name is spelt the same on every one.
Where the official answer lives: The SCFHS's classification requirements page lists every paper; your school's records office issues your transcript.
- 3Cannot start yet: opens when the NMCN says where the form comes from and how to send it
Start your NMCN verification
Apply to the NMCN, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, to verify your registration, so the SCFHS gets its verification letter.
See what this step needs
For a country other than the UK, the NMCN's page lists verification of your certificates of registration, ₦66,875, and a letter of good standing, ₦8,750, each paid to the NMCN through REMITA. You pay it yourself; we never hold it. Read on nmcn.gov.ng, 8 October 2026.
What you send with each: an application letter, the completed verification form, a photocopy of your current practising licence, photocopies of your certificates of registration, and a photocopy of your birth certificate or declaration of age. Read 8 October 2026.
The SCFHS asks for your registration certificate with a verification letter. Which of the NMCN's two services gives the SCFHS that letter: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the NMCN's verification page, checked 8 October 2026.
Where you get the verification form, and how you send the papers: the NMCN does not publish this. Its verification page does not say, and its Forms page has no verification form. Its circulars page lists a "Circular on Ceasation of Manual Verification" and a "Commencement of Online Verification Circular", and its portal, myportal.nmcn.gov.ng, offers no verification application. Ask the NMCN before you pay: (234) 702-923-4588 or info@nmcn.gov.ng, 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. Read 7 October 2026.
How long the NMCN takes to verify: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the NMCN's verification page, checked 8 October 2026.
Source: NMCN, verification page, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: the date your licence runs out, worked out from the date your practising licence is valid until, which you enter in your plan. Enter it in your plan
Open the NMCN's verification page
Blocked until the NMCN tells you where the form comes from, how to send it and which service the SCFHS needs: ask it first. Then it is free to do yourself; the NMCN's fee is passed on at cost, with their receipt.
The desk can do this step for you.I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Call or email the NMCN to ask for the verification form, how to send it, and which service gives the letter Saudi Arabia needs. Then pay through REMITA and send your papers.
Where the official answer lives: The NMCN answers on (234) 702-923-4588 and info@nmcn.gov.ng, 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday; its Abuja office is Plot 713, Cadastral Zone Life Camp, Gwarinpa; its Lagos zone office is No. 8 Harvey Road, Yaba, on 08064703003 and lagoszo@nmcn.gov.ng.
- 4Cannot start yet: opens when your papers are in one folder
Verify your papers with DataFlow
Apply to DataFlow, the company the SCFHS names, to verify your degree, your licence and your experience.
See what this step needs
The SCFHS asks for the verification result of qualifications issued outside the Kingdom from the verification company it approves. If you apply on a bachelor's degree only, your bachelor's certificate is verified; if you apply on a postgraduate degree, that degree is verified and your bachelor's need not be. Its FAQ names the company: "You can refer to Dataflow Company, where it is necessary to attach the final report for authentication." Read on scfhs.org.sa, 8 October 2026.
Your experience certificates and your registration and licence certificates from Nigeria go to the SCFHS as issued by the verifying company too. Read 8 October 2026.
You apply on DataFlow's own site, from its SCFHS page. If DataFlow already holds a report for you, it transfers it and gives "your new SCFHS report within 5 days if no additional documents are needed". Read on dataflowgroup.com, 8 October 2026.
DataFlow's fee for an SCFHS nursing verification, the papers it covers and how long it takes: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, DataFlow's SCFHS page, checked 8 October 2026.
Source: SCFHS, professional classification requirements, read 8 October 2026.
Rekoja charges nothing here. You apply to DataFlow yourself.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Make an account on DataFlow's site and ask it to check your degree, licence and work letters for Saudi Arabia. You attach its final report to your classification.
Where the official answer lives: DataFlow answers on your own application from its SCFHS page; the SCFHS's Mumaris FAQ names DataFlow.
- 5Cannot start yet: opens when DataFlow's final report and the NMCN's verification letter are ready
Apply for your SCFHS classification
From Nigeria, open Mumaris Plus, choose Professional Classification, attach your papers, the NMCN's verification letter and DataFlow's report, and pay the fee.
See what this step needs
Apply only once you hold both: the NMCN's verification letter for your registration (Step 3) and DataFlow's final report (Step 4). The SCFHS asks for your registration certificate "attaching a verification letter for this certificate", and "it is necessary to attach the final report for authentication". Read on scfhs.org.sa, 19 October 2026.
"The healthcare practitioner can apply for the Professional Classification and Professional Re-Classification Services from outside the Kingdom through Mumaris Plus system. It does not require obtaining a valid work permit inside the Kingdom during the first stage of application." Read on scfhs.org.sa, 19 October 2026.
SAR 1,340, about ₦476,000, for a Nursing Specialist (registration SAR 240, classification SAR 900, administration SAR 200) when the SCFHS decides directly or by assessment. For the exam route the schedule prints a total of SAR 1,430 (about ₦508,000), though its parts are the same three and add up to SAR 1,340: ask the SCFHS on Mumaris Plus which it charges. SAR 760, about ₦270,000, for a Nursing Technician (SAR 160, SAR 400, SAR 200). Read on the SCFHS's fee schedule, 19 October 2026. At ₦355 to the riyal, 20 October 2026.
Which grade the SCFHS gives your qualification: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the SCFHS's classification requirements, checked 19 October 2026.
When the registration part (SAR 240 for a specialist, SAR 160 for a technician) is paid: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the SCFHS's fee schedule.
The SCFHS's service levels: a direct decision in 7 working days, a practical evaluation in 35, and classification by an electronic written exam (Prometric or Pearson VUE) in 30. Read 19 October 2026.
How long a classification stays valid: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the SCFHS's bylaws of classification and registration.
Source: SCFHS, Mumaris FAQ, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: the three months your employment letter is good for, worked out from the date on your employment letter, which you enter in your plan: it must be issued within three months before you apply. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: the SCFHS's service level for an exam classification, about 6 weeks (30 working days) after you submit, worked out from the day you submitted your classification on Mumaris Plus, which you enter in your plan. Enter it in your plan
The SCFHS's fee schedule (Arabic)
The SCFHS's bylaws of classification and registration (Arabic)
The SCFHS's classification requirements
Rekoja charges nothing here. You apply and pay the SCFHS yourself. Mark this step done once the SCFHS's classification has come, not when you apply.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Once you hold the NMCN's letter and DataFlow's report, open Mumaris Plus, ask for Professional Classification, attach them with your papers, and pay the SCFHS's fee. You can do this from Nigeria. Mark this step done when the SCFHS has classified you.
Where the official answer lives: The SCFHS's Mumaris FAQ holds the official answers; the SCFHS answers on your own application in Mumaris Plus.
- 6Cannot start yet: opens when the SCFHS approves you for the exam
Pass the SCFHS exam
Once the SCFHS approves you for the exam, register for it on Mumaris Plus, book it, and pass it.
See what this step needs
Whether the SCFHS sends a nurse to the exam, a practical evaluation or a direct decision: it decides on your file. Read 19 October 2026.
SAR 120, about ₦42,600, to register for the licensing exam through Mumaris Plus. Read on the SCFHS's service guide for the licensure exams, 19 October 2026. At ₦355 to the riyal, 20 October 2026.
Pearson VUE's SCFHS page: "You will be able to sit for the exam once credentialing has been done and approved." If you test outside your country of citizenship, bring a valid passport. Read on pearsonvue.com, 19 October 2026.
Results take at most 14 workdays to be approved and appear on Mumaris Plus. Read on scfhs.org.sa, 19 October 2026.
Pearson VUE's SCFHS centre finder lists three centres in Nigeria: Bellaz Education Services, 54 Dosumu Road, Surulere, Lagos; Emerging Trees Limited, 5 Keffi Road, Barnawa, Kaduna; and PAS Integrated Solutions Ltd, Zaria Road, Naibawa, Kano. Read on pearsonvue.com, 19 October 2026.
Whether a Prometric centre in Nigeria runs the SCFHS exam, and the fee at either centre: we do not know this yet; Prometric answers for its own centres. Here is the official page, Pearson VUE's SCFHS page.
How many attempts you have and the pass mark: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the SCFHS's bylaws of classification and registration.
Whether the SCFHS asks a nurse for an English test: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the SCFHS's classification requirements, checked 19 October 2026.
Source: SCFHS, Mumaris FAQ, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: your result on Mumaris Plus, about 3 weeks (14 workdays at most) after your exam, worked out from the day you sat the SCFHS exam, which you enter in your plan. Enter it in your plan
The SCFHS's service guide for registering for the exam
The SCFHS's bylaws of classification and registration (Arabic)
The SCFHS's classification requirements
Rekoja charges nothing here. You register and pay for the exam yourself.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
When the SCFHS says you can sit the exam, pay SAR 120 on Mumaris Plus, book a centre, and pass. Your result shows on Mumaris Plus within 14 workdays.
Where the official answer lives: The SCFHS's Mumaris FAQ holds the exam rules; Pearson VUE's SCFHS page books a Pearson VUE centre, and Prometric answers for its own.
- 7Cannot start yet: opens when the SCFHS classifies you
Win a job offer and read your contract
Find an employer in Saudi Arabia yourself, and read the contract before you sign it.
See what this step needs
The Ministry of Health's Recruitment Portal lets people who want to work at the Ministry of Health apply for employment online, with no fees. Read on HRSD's directory of services for expatriates, 8 October 2026.
The Ministry of Health's Recruitment Portal's address: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the Ministry of Health's site.
"The non- Saudi employment contract shall be fixed and in writing. If the term is not specified in the contract, the term of the work permit shall be deemed the term of the contract." (Article 37.) Read on hrsd.gov.sa, 8 October 2026.
Who pays the recruitment fees, your resident ID, your work permit and your return ticket, and how long probation lasts: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, HRSD's Labour Law page.
Who may recruit a nurse in Nigeria for work in Saudi Arabia: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the Federal Ministry of Labour's site.
Rekoja cannot get you the job or apply for you. Never pay anyone for a job offer.
Source: HRSD, labour education FAQ, read 8 October 2026.
Read HRSD's directory of services for expatriates (PDF, 15.5 MB, 601 pages)
The Federal Ministry of Labour
Free. Rekoja never sells a job.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Find a hospital in Saudi Arabia yourself and apply. Read the written contract before you sign, and never pay anyone for a job.
Where the official answer lives: HRSD's Labour Law page and its labour education FAQ hold the official answers; the employer's own careers page holds the post.
- 8Cannot start yet: opens when you sign your contract
Get your work visa
With your employer, get your work visa. Who applies, and where, is on the official visa pages.
See what this step needs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' visa platform lists "Work Visa Authorization", a service for the employer, and a service for a work or residence visa applicant to pay for the medical certificate. Read on visa.mofa.gov.sa, 8 October 2026.
Who applies for the work visa, its fee, the papers, the medical examination, how long it takes and how long it lasts: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, KSA Visa's home page.
The Saudi embassy in Abuja: ngemb@mofa.gov.sa, 002348087702230, Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm; the consulate in Kano: ngcon@mofa.gov.sa. Read on ng.saudiembassy.sa, 8 October 2026.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visa platform, read 8 October 2026.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' visa platform
Free. Rekoja charges nothing here.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Your employer starts your work visa. Ask your employer and the Saudi embassy in Abuja which papers and fees apply to you.
Where the official answer lives: Your employer's own recruitment office, and the Saudi embassy in Abuja on ngemb@mofa.gov.sa.
- 9Cannot start yet: opens when your visa is granted
Travel and arrive
Fly once the visa is granted, land, and get your resident ID.
See what this step needs
In your hand luggage: your passport with the visa, your signed contract, and your original nursing papers.
How your own resident ID is issued, and the checks it needs: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, HRSD's Labour Law page.
Once you are a resident, you check your health insurance on Absher, the Ministry of Interior's service. Read on HRSD's directory of services for expatriates, 8 October 2026.
Who pays for your own resident ID and your work permit: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, HRSD's Labour Law page.
Whether your employer must insure you and your family: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the Council of Health Insurance's site.
Social insurance for a nurse who is not Saudi, its rate and who pays it: we do not know this yet. GOSI sets it; your employer's personnel office answers on your own contributions.
Never sell what you live on, and never borrow against your first payslip.
Source: HRSD, directory of services for expatriates (PDF, 15.5 MB, 601 pages), read 8 October 2026.
Your clock: the date your visa starts, worked out from the date your visa is valid from, which you enter in your plan. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: the date your visa runs out, worked out from the date your visa is valid until, which you enter in your plan. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: the date you arrive in Saudi Arabia, worked out from the day you land in Saudi Arabia, which you enter in your plan. Enter it in your plan
Read HRSD's directory of services for expatriates (PDF, 15.5 MB, 601 pages)
The Council of Health Insurance
Free. The desk is not offered once you land.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Pack your passport, your contract and your nursing certificates, fly, and ask your employer's personnel office how your resident ID is issued.
Where the official answer lives: Your employer's personnel office answers on your resident ID; HRSD's directory of services for expatriates lists the services.
- 10Cannot start yet: opens when you hold your resident ID
Register with the SCFHS and get your licence
With your resident ID, apply for Professional Registration on Mumaris Plus before you start work.
See what this step needs
"After that, you should submit an application for the Professional Registration Service before starting your work in the Kingdom." Registration "requires a lawful residence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The validity of the Registration is two years." Read on scfhs.org.sa, 8 October 2026.
What it needs: your resident ID, valid when you submit, and a medical report if you are over 65. Read 8 October 2026.
Renew three months before your registration ends, with 40 hours of continuing professional development for a specialist, 20 for a technician, and a job letter signed and stamped by personnel affairs, issued no more than 3 months before. New experience outside the Kingdom means classifying again and retaking the licence exam. Read 8 October 2026.
Source: SCFHS, Mumaris FAQ, read 8 October 2026.
Your clock: the two years your SCFHS registration lasts, worked out from the date your SCFHS registration was issued, which you enter in your plan. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: a count of the days until you can renew: three months before your SCFHS registration ends, worked out from the date your SCFHS registration ends, which you enter in your plan: renew three months before it. Enter it in your plan
Rekoja charges nothing here. You apply and pay the SCFHS yourself.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Once you have your resident ID, register with the SCFHS on Mumaris Plus before you start work. It lasts two years; renew it three months before it ends.
Where the official answer lives: The SCFHS's Mumaris FAQ holds the official answers; your employer's personnel office signs your job letter.
- 11Cannot start yet: opens when you hold your resident ID
Bring your family
Once you are a resident, apply for your family's visas and resident IDs.
See what this step needs
The fees in HRSD's directory: SAR 200, about ₦71,000, for the escort residence visa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' service for a resident's family; SAR 200, about ₦71,000, for a family visit visa for parents, a wife or children, which needs a work residence, not an escort's; SAR 600, about ₦213,000, to issue a family member's resident ID on Absher, after a medical examination at an approved centre and fingerprints; and on renewal SAR 600, about ₦213,000, for the resident and SAR 500, about ₦177,500, for a family member aged 18 or over. Read on hrsd.gov.sa, 8 October 2026. At ₦355 to the riyal, 20 October 2026.
Whether a woman working in Saudi Arabia can bring her husband as her escort: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the national portal my.gov.sa.
The escort residence visa is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' service. If my.gov.sa will not open, ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 920011114 or customercare@mofa.gov.sa. Read on HRSD's directory of services for expatriates, page 279, 8 October 2026.
A family member on an accompanying visa may work for a health or education employer through Accompanying Ajeer, with no fee: the relationship to you must be "spouse, wife, or mahram (guardian)", both of you must hold valid residence, the family member must be at least 18 and hold any professional certificate the job needs, and the employer must be in the low green zone or higher. Read 8 October 2026.
The monthly levy on each family member, and who pays it: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the national portal my.gov.sa.
Source: HRSD, directory of services for expatriates (PDF, 15.5 MB, 601 pages), read 21 October 2026.
Read HRSD's directory of services for expatriates (PDF, 15.5 MB, 601 pages)
The national portal, my.gov.sa
Free. The desk is not offered once you land.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Once you have your resident ID, you can apply for your family's visas and resident IDs. The fees are in riyals, and your spouse may be able to work for a hospital or school.
Where the official answer lives: HRSD's directory of services for expatriates lists the services; Absher and my.gov.sa answer on your own family's residence; if my.gov.sa will not open, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs answers on the escort visa on 920011114 and customercare@mofa.gov.sa.
- 12Cannot start yet: opens when you start with your employer
Your first payslip
Check your pay against your contract, and know where your wages and end of service are recorded.
See what this step needs
Your pay is the figure in your signed contract. What a nurse is typically paid: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, the Ministry of Health's site.
The Salary Protection Program "monitors wage payments for all male and female workers in the private sector (both Saudis and expatriates), assessing establishments compliance with paying wages on time and as agreed upon". Your end of service benefit is worked out under Article 84, and the Qiwa platform calculates it. Read on hrsd.gov.sa, 8 October 2026.
Whether your salary is taxed in Saudi Arabia: we do not know this yet. Here is the official page, ZATCA's taxes page.
Send home what you can spare, not what you need. Never borrow against your next payslip.
Source: HRSD, directory of services for expatriates (PDF, 15.5 MB, 601 pages), read 8 October 2026.
Read HRSD's labour education FAQ
Free.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Check your first payslip against your contract. Your employer's payroll office answers questions about it.
Where the official answer lives: Your employer's payroll answers on your payslip; HRSD's labour education FAQ on your contract and end of service.
See everything about this route
Cost. About ₦543,000 for the NMCN's verification (₦66,875) and the SCFHS's classification and registration (SAR 1,340); about ₦585,000 with the exam registration (SAR 120). Not the NMCN's letter of good standing (₦8,750) if it is asked for, DataFlow's fee, the visa or flights. SCFHS fees read 21 October 2026; NMCN fees read 8 October 2026.
The NMCN's fees. For a country other than the UK, verification of your certificates of registration is ₦66,875 and a letter of good standing ₦8,750, each paid to the NMCN through REMITA. Read on nmcn.gov.ng, 8 October 2026.
How long. The SCFHS's service level is 30 working days for a classification by written exam (7 for a direct decision, 35 for a practical evaluation), and exam results take at most 14 workdays. Your job search and the visa set the real length. Read 8 October 2026.
Who it fits. A nurse with at least one year of experience and a valid registration from the country where she worked, with a verification letter. Classification can start from Nigeria. Here is the official page, checked 8 October 2026.
Who pays.The SCFHS's fees are paid on Mumaris Plus. Who pays your resident ID, your work permit and your recruitment: we do not know this yet. Step 7 links the official page.
Your papers.Your qualification, internship certificate, academic record, clinical training certificate, NMCN licence and its verification letter, experience certificates and an employment letter issued within three months, DataFlow's final report, your passport, and the equivalence of your certificates from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Education. How a nurse in Nigeria gets it: we do not know this yet. Step 2 links the official page.
The official page for this route. Checked 8 October 2026. Naira at the official rate of 20 October 2026.
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