Article 2 of the Saudi Healthcare Professions Practice Law

This article sets the basic rule of the Law: no healthcare profession may be practiced without a license from the Ministry of Health. Holding a certificate or experience is not enough to work as a physician, nurse, pharmacist or health technician.

To obtain the license, a person must meet four conditions:

1. Qualification: a certificate from a medical, pharmacy or applied medical sciences college, or a health college or institute, or other qualifications recognized by the Authority, or a certificate from abroad recognized by the Authority.
2. Training and fitness: having completed the mandatory training period set for the profession, and being medically fit.
3. Registration: registering with the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties according to its requirements.
4. Good conduct: not having previously been sentenced for a crime involving moral turpitude or breach of trust, unless rehabilitated.

Paragraph (c) provides that appointment in government bodies to healthcare profession posts is treated as a license to practice the profession in those bodies, provided that registration with the Authority comes first. So registration is required in all cases.

Article 3 complements this provision: it refers the license period to the Implementing Regulations, and prevents anyone who has stopped practicing for two consecutive years, other than for study and training in the field of the profession, from returning to it before renewing the license. To check your legal position, you may consult a lawyer specialized in healthcare practice and medical malpractice cases.