Saudi CV format 2026, with free template

How is a Saudi CV different from a UK CV?

The layout is the same: newest role first, two A4 pages, achievements with numbers. The difference is what sits at the top. Gulf recruiters screen on nationality, visa status, location, package and notice before they read your experience. We saw it every day on our Gulf desks: a strong CV without those details went to the maybe pile, because the recruiter could not tell whether the candidate was placeable.

Saudi Arabia adds two things of its own. Your work licence is issued for a named profession, and the Labour Law says an employer may not use you in a different one without the legal process to change it, so job titles matter more than in the UK. And GOV.UK warns that you may need your qualifications recognised to work there, so they must be easy to verify.

What goes at the top of a Saudi CV?

Five lines, in this order. Your name. The job title you are targeting and your nationality. Your location and visa status. Your mobile with the +44 code, your email and LinkedIn address. Then your package and, if it is short, your notice period.

For visa status, most UK applicants write Requires employer sponsorship. That is the normal position: GOV.UK says you need a sponsor, normally your employer, to live in Saudi Arabia. If you already hold an iqama, say so and name the city. A move between Saudi employers is a job transfer, requested through the Qiwa and Absher platforms and subject to eligibility rules, so the employer will want to know whether it is transferring you or bringing you in from abroad.

Then say where you will work. Write where you are now and the cities or sites you will accept: Riyadh, Jeddah, the Eastern Province or a project location. Recruiters filling site roles pass over anyone who looks city-only.

Should you put your salary on a Saudi CV?

Yes. In the UK it is a mistake. In Saudi Arabia, as in Dubai, leaving it off is the mistake. The employer has a budget and will not guess whether you fit it, and an unstated salary loses to a stated one.

Write it the way a Saudi offer is built. The ministry's standard employment contract sets out the agreed pay including benefits and allowances, and Gulf packages are usually a basic salary plus allowances such as housing and transport, quoted monthly. Give your current UK package once, as an annual gross figure in pounds, and your expectation as a monthly figure in riyals, split into basic and allowances if you know the market rate.

If you are not ready to name a number, write Expected package: open to discussion within the advertised range. It is weaker than a figure, but stronger than silence.

Do you need a photo on a Saudi CV?

No. Photos are still common on Gulf CVs, and some recruiters will tell you to add one. We leave it off. Many employers, agencies and job boards run CVs through applicant tracking software first, and an image can break the parsing so your details land in the wrong fields or not at all. Your face belongs on LinkedIn, which the recruiter will open anyway.

The same test applies to other personal details. Nationality goes on, because it decides the visa process. Date of birth, marital status, religion and passport number stay off. If you plan to bring your family, raise it at interview or offer stage, not on the CV.

A driving licence line is worth adding for roles with site visits or travel. GOV.UK says your sponsor can help you exchange a UK licence for a Saudi one.

How should you write job titles and experience for Saudi employers?

Use the plain market title for every role. Article 33 of the Saudi Labour Law says a non-Saudi may only work after the ministry issues a work licence, and Article 38 says an employer may not use you in a profession other than the one on that licence. Head of Commercial Delivery tells a Saudi recruiter very little. Commercial Manager tells them which licence they would apply for.

If your employer uses an internal title, put the market title first and the internal one in brackets. Ask the recruiter early which profession the work licence will name, and make sure your CV supports it.

Under each UK employer, add one line on what the organisation does, its size and where it operates. A Saudi reader will know the big UK names and almost none of the rest.

For project roles, open each job with scale: contract value, headcount, area or capacity, and delivery dates. Then three to six achievements with numbers. Recruiters filling project roles screen on scale before anything else.

How do you show UK qualifications on a Saudi CV?

Write each qualification exactly as it appears on the certificate: full degree title, classification, university and year. GOV.UK says you may need your foreign qualifications recognised to work in Saudi Arabia, and Article 33 ties the work licence to holding qualifications the country needs. Whoever checks your degree will compare it with the certificate, so do not shorten or translate the title.

Saudi Arabia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, in force there since 7 December 2022, so UK documents are legalised with an apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office. A qualification certificate first needs certifying by a UK notary or solicitor. Start this before you apply, then add a line such as Degree certificate apostilled, March 2026 under the qualification. Ask your employer whether it needs any further check on the Saudi side.

In healthcare, the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) registers practitioners and runs classification exams in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and medical science, booked through Prometric. Put your UK registration and number on page one, and add your SCFHS status once you have started.

What should you leave off a Saudi CV?

Everything on this list either breaks the software, wastes space or gives a recruiter a reason to pause.

• A photo, logos, text boxes and two-column layouts. Software reads them badly.
• Date of birth, marital status, religion and the number of children.
• Passport number, National Insurance number and any iqama number. These go on forms after an offer, not on a CV.
• A long notice period. State it only if it is immediate or 30 days.
• Your salary history role by role. Give the current package once, at the top.
• Full referee details. One line offering references is enough.
• UK shorthand a Saudi reader will not know, such as internal programme names or unexplained acronyms.

Do Saudi employers expect a cover letter, and do they use ATS?

Send a short cover note when you apply directly or through a job board that allows one. Three paragraphs: the role and why you fit, one or two results that match the advert, and your availability and relocation position. Recruiters read the CV header first and the letter second, if at all.

Assume software reads your CV before a person does. Large employers, agencies and job boards such as LinkedIn screen applications against the advert. Use the advert's own words for skills and systems, standard headings such as Professional experience and Education, and a single column. Save it as a PDF unless the portal asks for Word.

Then make LinkedIn match the CV. Gulf recruiters search LinkedIn for candidates, and a job title or date that differs between the two raises a question you do not want asked.