Photo, Age and Personal Details on a Resume by Country

The contact details everyone needs

Before getting into the regional differences, some details belong on every resume, everywhere. They sit at the top, under your name, and should be easy to copy.

• Full name, written the way you want to be addressed. If you go by a shorter name, you can write it as “Venkata Subramanian (Venkat)”.
• Phone number with country code, for example +91 98765 43210, especially if you’re applying abroad.
• A professional email address — ideally some form of your name. Avoid old nicknames and work email addresses from your current employer.
• Location: city and country is enough. A full street address is no longer needed in most countries and takes up space.
• A LinkedIn profile URL if yours is up to date, and a portfolio or GitHub link if it’s relevant to the role.

Everything beyond this — photo, age, nationality, marital status, gender, religion — is where countries diverge.

Why the conventions differ: anti-discrimination norms

The split mostly comes down to how hiring discrimination is handled. In the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and similar countries, employment law broadly prohibits employers from making hiring decisions based on characteristics like age, race, sex, religion, disability or marital status. The exact protections and how they apply differ by country and sometimes by state or province, but the practical effect on resumes is similar everywhere in this group.

Employers in these countries generally don’t want information they’re not allowed to use. A photo reveals apparent age, gender and ethnicity; a date of birth reveals age directly. If a rejected candidate later alleges discrimination, the employer doesn’t want to have seen those details. So recruiters are often trained to disregard them, and some organisations remove photos or ask candidates to resubmit without one. That’s why a photo on a US or UK resume tends to read as a sign that the applicant isn’t familiar with local norms.

In other places, the tradition runs the other way: the resume began as a fuller personal record, and photos, age and family status were part of the standard form. Many of those countries also have anti-discrimination rules, and the norms are shifting, but the conventions change more slowly than the law. That’s why you’ll see a lot of “it depends” below.

United States, Canada, the UK and Ireland

Keep it to name and contact details. No photo, no date of birth or age, no marital status, no nationality, no gender, no religion. Don’t list hobbies that indirectly reveal these unless they’re genuinely relevant to the job.

• Graduation years are optional. Many experienced candidates drop them for degrees completed long ago; recent graduates usually keep them.
• Work authorisation is the exception worth mentioning. If you’re an international applicant who already has the right to work, a short line such as “Authorised to work in Canada (permanent resident)” can stop a recruiter from assuming you need sponsorship.
• In the US, a city and state is enough for location. In Canada, city and province.

The United Kingdom and Ireland are the same as North America in practice: no photo, no date of birth, no marital status. Many UK employers use separate equality monitoring forms that ask about age, ethnicity and similar details; those are handled apart from the CV and are often optional. Put nothing of that kind on the CV itself.

• Right to work is worth stating if it isn’t obvious, for example “Right to work in the UK: Skilled Worker visa holder” or “Irish citizen”.
• A full postal address is no longer expected. Town or city and the first part of a postcode is plenty.
• Driving licence status is sometimes listed for roles that involve travel; leave it off otherwise.

Germany and much of continental Europe

This is the region with the most variety. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the traditional Lebenslauf included a professional photo, date and place of birth, nationality and sometimes marital status. Because anti-discrimination rules now discourage employers from requiring these, many German employers treat the photo and personal data as optional, and a growing number of international companies there prefer applications without them. Even so, a professional photo on a German CV is still common and unlikely to count against you at a traditional employer.

• Germany, Austria, Switzerland: photo optional but still frequently included; date of birth and nationality common on traditional CVs; marital status increasingly left off.
• France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal: photos have historically been common and are still seen; practice is mixed and moving towards leaving them off, especially at large or international employers.
• Netherlands and the Nordic countries: photos are less expected; a LinkedIn link often does the same job. Nationality can be useful if work authorisation is relevant.
• Across the EU, if you’re a non-EU applicant, stating your work permit or visa status is more useful than any personal detail.

If you do include a photo for a European application, it should be a recent, professional headshot: neutral background, plain clothing, head and shoulders. A cropped holiday picture does more harm than no picture.

India

Indian resumes traditionally ended with a “Personal Details” section listing date of birth, gender, marital status, father’s name, nationality, languages known and permanent address, often followed by a signed declaration. That format is still widely used and accepted, especially for government jobs, public sector units and many traditional employers, where an application may follow a prescribed format anyway.

In technology, consulting, startups and multinational companies, practice has moved closer to the international style. Recruiters there mostly care about skills, experience, current CTC, expected CTC and notice period — and many portals capture those in separate fields rather than on the resume. Father’s name, religion and marital status add nothing for these employers, and leaving them off is increasingly the norm.

• Photo: optional. Common on fresher and campus placement resumes and in some sectors; rarely expected for private-sector tech or corporate roles.
• Date of birth: optional for private-sector jobs; often required in government and PSU application forms, which will ask for it explicitly.
• Languages known: genuinely useful for customer-facing, sales and field roles.
• Notice period: worth stating in your summary or header if it’s short, since recruiters screen on it.
• Declaration: “I hereby declare that the above information is true…” is optional; it’s harmless on traditional applications and unnecessary for most corporate ones.

Gulf countries

In the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, resumes often include more personal information than in the West. A professional photo is common, and nationality, date of birth, visa status and sometimes marital status are frequently listed. Part of the reason is practical: visa sponsorship, family visa eligibility and the cost of relocating a candidate depend on these details.

• Visa status is the most useful single line: “UAE residence visa (transferable)”, “Visit visa, valid until March 2027”, or “Requires employment visa”.
• Nationality is commonly listed and often asked for in application forms.
• Notice period and availability to join matter, especially for candidates relocating.
• A driving licence valid in the country, such as a UAE licence, is a real advantage for many roles and worth listing.

Practice varies here too. Multinational companies and international recruiters in Dubai or Doha often prefer a Western-style resume, while many local and regional employers expect the fuller version. When in doubt, include nationality and visa status, and treat photo and marital status as optional.

Australia, New Zealand and Japan

Australia and New Zealand follow the UK and North American model: no photo, no date of birth, no marital status. State your work rights clearly if you’re not a citizen or permanent resident, for example “Full working rights in Australia (Subclass 482 visa)”. Referees are sometimes listed at the end of Australian resumes, though “References available on request” or leaving them off entirely is also common.

Japan is a special case. Domestic employers traditionally expect a rirekisho, a standard-format form that includes a photo, date of birth and other personal details, often alongside a separate document describing work experience in detail. Foreign-affiliated companies in Japan and English-language roles frequently accept a regular resume. If you’re applying to a Japanese company, check whether they want the standard form.

What never to include, anywhere

Some details have no place on a resume in any country. Resumes get forwarded, uploaded to portals, stored in databases and printed — you lose control of them the moment you send one.

• Government ID numbers: Aadhaar, PAN, passport number, Social Security number, national insurance number, Emirates ID number. Provide these only on an official form after an offer, through the employer’s own system.
• Bank account details, card numbers, or anything financial.
• Passwords, login details, or scans of identity documents attached to the resume file.
• Health information or disability details, unless you choose to raise them separately for an accommodation.
• Salary history on the resume itself. If an employer or portal asks for current or expected salary, give it in the field or conversation where it’s requested.
• Religion, caste, political affiliation, or a photo that isn’t a professional headshot.

A quick comparison and how to decide

• US and Canada: no photo, no date of birth, no marital status; mention work authorisation if helpful.
• UK and Ireland: same as above; state right to work if not obvious.
• Germany, Austria, Switzerland: photo optional but common; date of birth and nationality often included on traditional CVs.
• France and southern Europe: mixed; photo still seen, moving towards optional.
• Netherlands and Nordics: photo uncommon; keep it lean.
• India: personal details section still common for government and traditional employers; lean format for tech and multinationals.
• Gulf countries: photo, nationality and visa status common; marital status optional.
• Australia and New Zealand: no photo, no date of birth; state work rights.
• Japan: standard rirekisho form for many domestic employers; regular resume often fine at foreign companies.

These are norms, not rules, and they vary by employer, industry and over time. The most reliable guide is always the employer itself: if an application form or posting asks for a photo, a particular format or specific details, follow that. If it says to leave out a photo, leave it out. When nothing is specified, match the country of the job, not your own.

If you need two versions — one with a photo for a European or Gulf application and one without for a UK role — keep them as separate files. In this site’s builder the photo step is optional, and a template with a photo slot simply shows no picture if you skip it, so you can produce both from the same content.

Frequently asked questions