New rules for Indian nurses going abroad

Nurses are high in demand in the UAE as new medical facilities and hospitals open up in the country but the hiring process for Indian nurses has changed a bit, with Indian authorities putting some measures in place for bringing in personnel from the country.

Effective June 1, 2015, foreign employers who seek to recruit Indian nurses need to register in eMigrate system (www.emigrate.gov.in).

The duly filled-in registration application will then be vetted by the Indian Mission. Thereafter, foreign employers can raise their demand for Indian nurses on the eMigrate system with terms and conditions of their employment. With this no further attestation of demand would be required from the Indian Missions.

Recruitment of nurses for overseas employment will be through three state-run recruiting agencies. These are Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs Department (NORKA-ROOTS), Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants Ltd. (ODEPC), and Overseas Manpower Corporation Limited (OMCL).

These recruitment agencies, which are authorised to recruit Indian nurses, will not charge any fees towards recruitment expenses from Indian nurses. Moreover, foreign employers in UAE will not recover any amount towards the cost of recruitment from Indian nurses, initially or subsequently, during their contract, it specifies.

Further, with effect from the same date, emigration of nurses for Overseas Employment in UAE will require prior emigration clearance from Protector of Emigrants’ offices in India.

However, the age restriction on 30 years imposed on all women emigrants emigrating on Emigration Check Required passports irrespective of nature/category of employment will not be applicable in case of nurses visiting UAE for employment.

“I was thinking of hiring some nurses from India and have to now relook at my plans. I hope it doesn’t become a more time-consuming affair,” said an Indian doctor who is in the process of setting up his clinic in Dubai.

The demand for medical professionals, which includes nurses, has been consistently going up over the past years in the UAE and authorities are developing strategies to generate manpower to keep with the growing needs of this sector.

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced in December last year that it recruited 531 nurses from various countries such as India, Philippines and Jordan, in order to increase their numbers in the medical field.

According to an Economist Intelligence Unit report commissioned by Abu Dhabi-based investment company Waha Capital, the growth of private healthcare provision has increased the number of doctors and nurses in the country – with those in the private sector jumping by over 40 per cent in 2012 alone, when seven new hospitals opened.

But with the number of healthcare workers needing to rise by 50 per cent over the next six years to meet government targets, staff turnover remains high, the report found, adding more pressure on staffing in the sector.