Singapore CV format 2026, with free template

What does a Singapore CV look like?

It looks a lot like a good UK CV: reverse chronological, achievements with numbers, clean single column layout. The differences sit at the top of page one and in what you leave out.

Singapore employers hiring a foreign professional have to think about the work pass before they think about you. An Employment Pass application needs a qualifying salary, a points score under the COMPASS framework and, in most cases, a job advert on MyCareersFuture first. So the first thing a recruiter checks is your nationality and whether you will need sponsorship. Put that on the CV and you save them a question.

Length is a little more generous than in the UK. Jobstreet's Singapore advice says management CVs often run to two or three pages. We still aim for two, because a tighter CV reads as more senior, and use three only where each role genuinely earns the space.

UK CV vs Singapore CV: what changes?

Use this table to convert a UK CV line by line. Anything not listed works the same way in both countries.

Do you need a photo on a Singapore CV?

No. Photos still turn up on Singapore CVs, and some local job sites describe them as common. But TAFEP, the official tripartite body for fair employment, tells employers to remove photograph fields from job application forms and to ask for one only at the point of offer, or with a stated reason. If the employer is not supposed to ask for it, you lose nothing by leaving it off, and you avoid an image confusing an applicant tracking system.

The same guidance lists the other personal details employers should not collect at application stage: age or date of birth, gender, race, religion, marital status and family responsibilities, disability, mental health conditions and national service liability. It also tells employers to accept a passport number instead of an NRIC number, because NRIC numbers reveal age.

This is going to be backed by law. Parliament passed the first Workplace Fairness Bill on 8 January 2025 and the second, on dispute resolution, on 4 November 2025. MOM says it aims for the Workplace Fairness Act to take effect in end-2027. TAFEP says the Tripartite Committee recommended that the Act protect age, nationality, sex, marital status, pregnancy, caregiving responsibilities, race, religion, language, disability and mental health conditions at every stage, including recruitment. Until then, the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices apply.

• Keep: full name, mobile with country code, email, LinkedIn, current city and country.
• Keep: nationality and work pass status, on one line.
• Leave off: photo, date of birth, age, NRIC or passport number, race, religion, marital status, children.

How to write a CV for Singapore, section by section

Work down the page in this order. Each heading below matches the template you can download from this page.

• Header: name, target job title, contact line, city and relocation date, then 'Nationality: British | Work pass: Requires Employment Pass sponsorship'. If you already hold a Singapore pass, name it and its expiry month instead.
• Professional summary: three or four lines. Your level, your sector, what you run and one result with a number. If your remit covers several countries, say how many here.
• Key skills: eight to twelve terms lifted from the advert. MyCareersFuture adverts state the occupation, so mirror its wording where it is true of you.
• Professional experience: most recent first. Job title, employer, city, month and year. One line explaining what the employer does and how big it is, then four to six bullets that start with a result.
• Education: degree, classification, university, country, year. Write the classification in words as well as numbers, for example Upper Second Class (2:1).
• Professional qualifications: chartered status and memberships, with the awarding body named in full.
• Languages and additional information: honest levels only. Conversational Mandarin, Malay or Tamil is worth listing; school French usually is not.
• Referees: two professional referees, or a line saying they are available on request.

How should you present UK qualifications and employers?

Your degree can matter more in Singapore than at home. Under COMPASS, the Employment Pass points test, a degree from a top 100 university in the QS World University Rankings scores 20 points, and other degree-equivalent qualifications score 10. MOM judges foreign degrees against a UK bachelor's degree, using UK ENIC as a reference, so a UK honours degree counts. Write the university name in full and add 'United Kingdom', so nobody has to look it up.

If your employer needs those points, they must upload proof that your qualification has been verified. MOM accepts reports from its selected background screening companies, certain official verification portals and OpenCerts certificates. It specifically does not accept screenshots from HEDD, the UK degree verification service, or education certificates on their own. You do not need to put this on the CV, but have your original certificate and transcript ready to send.

UK employers that are household names at home can mean nothing in Singapore. Add one line under each employer: what it does, its revenue or headcount, and where it operates. 'FTSE 250 insurer, 4,000 staff, operations in 12 countries' tells a Singapore hiring manager more than the brand ever will. If you worked for a global firm that has an office in Singapore, say so.

What should you leave off a Singapore CV?

Most of this list matches UK practice. The difference is that in Singapore it is backed by official fair hiring guidance rather than just convention.

• Photo, date of birth and age.
• NRIC number, passport number or any other ID number.
• Race, religion, marital status, pregnancy or children.
• Health information, including mental health.
• Salary history. Give it on the application form or when asked, not on the CV.
• Reasons for leaving each job. Save them for interview.
• A career objective that talks about what you want rather than what you offer.
• Graphics, skill rating bars, columns and text boxes.

Do Singapore employers use applicant tracking systems?

Yes. Jobstreet's Singapore guidance says most large employers use them to screen CVs, and recommends PDF or Word files, standard headings and no tables, text boxes or columns. That matches what we tell UK candidates.

Singapore adds one twist. For Employment Pass roles, the employer must first post the job on MyCareersFuture, the government jobs portal, and keep the advert open for at least 14 consecutive days. The occupation in that advert must match the occupation in the pass application. So the job title and skills in the advert are the words your CV will be searched against. Use them, honestly, in your summary and skills section.

Do you need a cover letter for Singapore jobs?

Send one when the advert asks for it or when you apply direct to a hiring manager. Keep it to four short paragraphs: the role, why you fit in two or three proof points, why Singapore and when you can move, and a close.

The cover letter is the right place for the practical detail a recruiter will want before calling: your relocation date, that you understand the employer will need to apply for an Employment Pass, and your notice period. Do not put salary in the letter unless the advert asks for it. Employers and recruiters may ask for current and expected salary, so decide your figures before you start applying.