CV for jobs abroad: the checks to make before you write it

Start here: four questions to answer before any template

Most of the work in an application abroad happens before the first line of the CV. Answer these four questions on paper first, because each answer changes what the document has to say.

1. Which country is the job in, and on what basis could you work there: citizenship, a permit you already hold, or a permit the employer would have to sponsor?
2. Which language is the ad written in? That is the language of your CV unless the ad says otherwise.
3. Which of your documents will someone check later: the degree, a professional licence, a criminal record certificate? Find out whether each needs recognition, a translation or an apostille.
4. Is the employer real and is the vacancy on its own website or an official job portal? Check this before you send personal data.

Write the answers down. They become the header line about your work status, the wording of your education entries and the list of papers you start ordering now, because other offices issue those papers on their schedule, not yours.

How the decision path works

Whose conventions apply

The reader decides the format, not your passport. A German employer expects a tabular Lebenslauf and a US employer a resume, whatever the applicant's nationality. Where the words CV and resume differ, the CV vs resume guide covers it; photo habits by country are in the CV photo guide. For anything else about daily life and work in an EU or EEA country, EURES, run by the European Labour Authority, publishes living and working conditions per country next to its job search.

Which language to write in

Our rule of thumb, not an official one: write in the language of the ad. An English ad at a company in Berlin or Amsterdam is an invitation to apply in English; a German ad from the same company is not. If you send a CV in a language you speak at B1, the interview will be in that language too. The guide on language levels shows how to state a level so the reader does not have to guess.

Which documents someone will check

Three separate checks often get mixed up. Recognition says what your degree is worth in the other country; the ENIC-NARIC centres, which cover 56 countries under the Lisbon Recognition Convention, tell individuals and employers how to get it. A translation makes a document readable; the UK, for example, asks Skilled Worker applicants for a certified translation of any document not in English or Welsh. An apostille confirms that a public document is genuine; under the Hague Convention it replaces the older chain of legalisation between the 130 contracting parties.

On the CV itself only the result appears: a recognised equivalent next to the degree, a reference number if you have one. The degree recognition guide shows the sample lines.

Your work permit status, in one line

Employers ask early whether they can hire you at all. In the UK, GOV.UK tells workers they must prove their right to work before they start, and a Skilled Worker needs a job offer from an employer approved by the Home Office before applying. In Canada an employer-specific work permit needs a job offer, an open one does not. USCIS warns that even a legitimate offer does not let you work in the US without a Green Card, an EAD or an employment-related visa.

So put one factual line under your contact details. It saves a recruiter the question and stops you being filtered out by a form that asks it anyway.

Checking the offer is real

Before you send a passport scan or pay anything, confirm the employer and the vacancy through an official register or the employer's own site. The overseas job scams guide lists the warning signs and where to report them.

The pre-application checklist

Work through the rows in order. The right-hand column names the official place where the answer lives; none of them is a recruiter's summary.

Work status lines you can adapt

These lines are our suggestions, not wording any authority prescribes. Use the one that is true for you and keep it to a single line under your contact details.

• EU citizen: "EU citizen (Italian passport), no work permit needed in Germany"
• Permit already held: "Resident in the Netherlands, residence permit with free access to the labour market, valid to 03/2028"
• Sponsorship needed: "Requires Skilled Worker visa sponsorship; available to start 8 weeks after the certificate of sponsorship"
• Open permit: "Open work permit holder in Canada, valid to 11/2027"
• Applying from Türkiye: "Turkish citizen, based in Ankara; will apply for the national work visa after an offer"

Where to start, region by region

Each table names the official starting point for that region and the guides on this site. Germany is the only country with a full set of guides so far; other rows point to the official site until a guide exists.

EU and EEA

United Kingdom

North America

Gulf

Proof: who accepts an apostille, read 12 October 2026

The apostille question trips people up most often, so here is the status of the countries above, taken from the HCCH status table (last updated 30 June 2026) on 12 October 2026. An apostille can only be issued and verified by the designated competent authorities of contracting parties.

Canada is the change most older advice misses: before January 2024 Canadian documents and documents going to Canada needed legalisation instead. Visa and immigration rules change too; check the linked official page before you apply.

Who this page is not for

• Students applying to a university abroad: the programme's own admission rules decide the format, and a visa file adds its own CV rules.
• Seasonal farm work in the UK: GOV.UK says to apply only through the licensed scheme operators it lists, so a general CV is not the first step.
• Regulated professions such as nursing, medicine or teaching: professional recognition is a separate procedure from academic recognition, so start it before you apply.
• People who want one CV for every country: this page assumes you adapt the document to each destination.

Next steps and other ways to get there

• A EURES adviser, if you are looking within the EU or EEA: EURES offers chat with advisers on its portal.
• The recognition centre of your destination country, as soon as you know where you are applying.
• In Türkiye, an employer taking workers abroad, whether found through İŞKUR, a private employment agency or directly, must have the overseas service contract approved by an İŞKUR provincial office; ask there if your offer comes that way.
• CitedCV, if you want the CV drafted from facts you confirm: it writes in English, Turkish or German and follows US, UK, EU, Turkish or German conventions, such as no photo for the US and UK.

Then go one level down: the Europass and CEFR guides for European applications, the visa CV guide for consulate files, and the degree recognition guide for the education lines.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. HCCH, Status table: Apostille Convention (last updated 30 June 2026)www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41
2. HCCH, Apostille Sectionwww.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/specialised-sections/apostille
3. ENIC-NARIC Networks, recognition of foreign qualificationswww.enic-naric.net/
4. EURES, European Employment Services (European Labour Authority)eures.europa.eu/index_en
5. European Commission, EU Immigration Portalhome-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/eu-immigration-portal_en
6. GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: your jobwww.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/your-job
7. GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: documents you must providewww.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/documents-you-must-provide
8. GOV.UK, Register of licensed sponsors: workerswww.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers
9. GOV.UK, Prove your right to work to an employerwww.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work
10. IRCC, Work permitswww.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/permit.html
11. USCIS, Common scamswww.uscis.gov/scams-fraud-and-misconduct/avoid-scams/common-scams
12. The Official Portal of the UAE Government, Jobsu.ae/en/information-and-services/jobs