A clinic in Dubai cannot see a single patient until DHA activates its facility licence, and that only happens when the premises, design, systems and licensed staff are all in place. Here is the sequence as the DHA facility licensing manual describes it, and where owners usually lose time.
Talk to usDHA licenses a facility by category and by the specialties it offers. The category (for example general or specialised clinic, polyclinic, day surgery centre) drives the design rules, the staffing and the inspection checklist, so fix it first.
All DHA facility applications go through Sheryan, the DHA e-licensing system (the Invest in Dubai platform can also be used). The process can start with DHA or with the trade licence authority. The first result is an initial approval: a facility licence with inactive status.
Fit-out should follow the approved layout. Changes later go through an amendment in Sheryan, so it is far cheaper to fix the design on paper than on site.
A facility with an inactive licence can already apply for professional licences for its doctors, nurses and therapists. Those licences stay inactive and activate automatically together with the facility licence. DHA checks that there are enough licensed professionals to deliver the approved services.
After a successful final inspection the facility licence is activated for one, two or three years, and the linked professional licences activate with it. From then on the clinic is subject to DHA inspections, needs prior DHA approval for advertising materials and must keep licensed staff on site: a facility left without licensed professionals can be temporarily closed. Fees are set by DHA and DET and change, so take them from the official service pages, not from blogs.
We plan the team around your licence timeline: medical director, doctors, nurses and clinic manager in the right order, with the DHA status of every candidate checked before the interview. For a fixed opening date we bring candidates who already hold a DHA licence; for the rest we give an honest timeline. After launch we set up CRM so the schedule fills. Recruitment fee: one month's salary of the placed employee, 50% when they start and 50% after probation, with a free replacement within 2 months. Consulting and CRM projects are priced after a free review.
It depends on the category, the premises and how fast the design is approved and the staff licensed. The DHA initial approval is valid for one year, which is the window to finish fit-out, staffing and inspection. The longest item is often licensing the doctors, so run it in parallel with fit-out.
Ownership rules depend on the legal form and the licensing authority and can change, so confirm them with DHA and DET for your case. What does not change: the clinic must appoint a licensed medical director and have licensed professionals for every service it offers.
Yes. A facility with an inactive licence can apply for professional licences, which activate together with the facility licence. Nobody may treat patients before activation.
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