International CVsAIResume Editorial TeamLast updated Sep 28, 2026

UK CV Rules for International Applicants: Personal Data, Right to Work and Supporting Statements

If you are applying to UK employers from abroad, or have just relocated, the hardest part of the UK CV is usually not the layout. It is knowing which personal details to leave off, how to show that you can legally work, and when the CV is not enough on its own because the employer wants a covering l

By AIResume Editorial Team

Last updated: 28 September 2026

This guide covers those rules. It does not cover section order, length or layout. For those, see our UK CV format guide.

Before you apply

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The short version

Question	UK practice in 2026	Why
Photo?	No, unless the role is acting or modelling	UK careers services advise against it. Appearance can link to protected characteristics.
Date of birth or age?	No	Age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
Marital status, children, religion?	No	These are also protected characteristics. They are not evidence of ability.
Nationality?	Usually no. State your right to work instead.	The employer needs your immigration status, not your passport country.
National Insurance number?	No	It is onboarding data, not screening data.
Full street address?	Town or city and postcode area is enough	Recruiters need location for commuting and relocation, not your door number.
Right to work?	Yes, one short line if you are not a British or Irish citizen	It answers the recruiter's first eligibility question early.
Referees?	No names on the CV. Provide them when asked.	"References available on request" is now seen as a wasted line.

The pattern behind the table matters more than any single row. A UK CV is a screening document, not an identity document. Anything that proves who you are belongs in the right-to-work check and onboarding, after an offer. Anything that proves you can do the job belongs on the CV.

UK CV rules for international applicants: what to leave off, how to show right to work, and when a supporting statement is needed

1. Personal data: what to leave off and why

The Equality Act 2010 (section 4) lists nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including nationality and ethnic origin), religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Employers must not discriminate on these grounds at any stage of recruitment, including shortlisting.

This is why UK careers services, including the National Careers Service and Prospects, advise leaving off your photo, date of birth and marital status. The law does not ban you from including them. But if you do, you hand the employer information they are trying not to see. Many UK recruiters also remove it before sharing CVs with hiring managers, so it only makes your CV longer.

Acas advises employers to collect equality monitoring data separately from the application and keep it away from the people making the hiring decision. If an application portal asks for your age, ethnicity or disability status in an optional monitoring form, that is the right place for it. It is not the CV.

Health questions are restricted too. Under section 60 of the Equality Act 2010, employers generally may not ask about health or disability before a job offer, apart from limited exceptions such as asking whether you need adjustments for the interview. Do not volunteer medical history on your CV.

On data protection, UK GDPR applies to the CVs employers receive. The ICO's current guidance, Employment practices and data protection: recruitment and selection, expects employers to collect only the data they need for the stage they are at. Keeping your CV lean fits what employers are already expected to do.

Translating a CV from another country

If your home-country CV includes…	On a UK CV…
Passport-style photo	Remove it
Date of birth, age, gender	Remove them
Marital status, number of children	Remove them
Nationality or place of birth	Replace with a right-to-work line
National ID or tax number	Remove it
Father's name, religion, height, health	Remove them
Full home address	Keep town or city (and postcode area if local)
Signature and "I declare the above is true"	Remove them

If you are converting a CV from a market where these fields are standard, our guide to CVs for international applications explains how to keep one master CV and adapt it by country.

2. Right to work: how to show it on your CV

Every UK employer must check that a new hire has the right to work before employment starts. The Home Office publishes the rules in Right to work checks: an employer's guide. Employers who skip the check risk a civil penalty. That is why "can this person legally work here?" is often the first filter a recruiter applies.

What changed in 2025–2026

Change	Status on 28 September 2026	What it means for you
Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) replaced by eVisas	In force. The Home Office guidance updated on 26 June 2025 says that expired physical BRPs are not acceptable proof of right to work.	Prove your status online with a share code from gov.uk/prove-right-to-work, not with a card.
Skilled Worker general salary threshold raised to £41,700	In force since 22 July 2025 (previously £38,700)	Some roles you could be sponsored for before no longer qualify. Check before relying on sponsorship.
Skilled Worker skill level raised to RQF level 6 (degree level)	In force since 22 July 2025, with a temporary shortage list for some lower-skilled roles	Many mid-skill roles are no longer eligible for new sponsorship.
Graduate visa cut from 2 years to 18 months	Announced and confirmed, but not yet in force. It applies to applications made from 1 January 2027. PhD graduates keep 3 years.	If you apply before 1 January 2027, you still get 2 years. Say what your visa actually allows.

Immigration rules change several times a year through statements of changes. Check the current statement of changes before you rely on a threshold in a cover letter or interview.

How to write the right-to-work line

Put one factual line under your contact details. It should state your status and the date it runs to, and say whether you need sponsorship. Keep document numbers off the CV.

Your situation	Example line
British or Irish citizen	Usually no line needed. You can write "Full right to work in the UK" if your name or work history suggests otherwise.
Settled or pre-settled status (EU Settlement Scheme)	Right to work: EU Settlement Scheme (settled status)
Graduate visa	Right to work: Graduate visa, valid until 31 August 2027 (no sponsorship needed until then)
Skilled Worker visa with current employer	Right to work: Skilled Worker visa; will require a new Certificate of Sponsorship
Outside the UK, needs sponsorship	Requires Skilled Worker sponsorship; available to relocate from [month/year]
Dependant or family visa	Right to work: Dependant visa, unrestricted work, valid until [date]

None of this wording is official. It is a common UK convention. What matters is that it is true, specific and short. Hiding that you need sponsorship does not help. The employer will find out at the right-to-work check, and by then you will have spent interview time on both sides.

If you need sponsorship, check that the employer is a licensed sponsor before you apply. The Home Office publishes the Register of Licensed Sponsors: workers and updates it daily. An employer that is not on the list cannot issue a Certificate of Sponsorship, however strong your CV is.

3. Covering letters and supporting statements

Many private-sector employers accept a CV alone, or a CV plus a short covering letter. Public-sector recruitment is different. In the NHS and the Civil Service, the supporting statement often matters more than the CV, because it is what gets scored against the criteria.

Employer type	What they ask for	What gets scored
Private sector (most roles)	CV, sometimes a covering letter	CV evidence against the advert
NHS (via NHS Jobs)	Application form with "supporting information"	Evidence against the person specification's essential and desirable criteria
Civil Service	CV and/or personal statement, plus behaviour examples	Success Profiles elements named in the advert
Universities and schools	Application form or CV plus a supporting statement	Evidence against the person specification

NHS supporting information

Every NHS vacancy has a person specification that lists essential and desirable criteria. Shortlisters usually check your supporting information against the essential criteria one by one. NHS Jobs guidance on making successful applications recommends addressing the criteria directly.

A practical method is to use the criteria as your structure. Take each essential criterion in order and give one short example with a clear result. If you use the headings from the person specification, the shortlister does not have to search for the evidence.

Civil Service Success Profiles

Civil Service jobs are assessed using Success Profiles, which have five elements:

Behaviours
Strengths
Ability
Experience
Technical

Each advert says which elements and which behaviours will be assessed at each stage. Only those count.

Behaviour examples are usually written with the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). The National Careers Service also recommends it. Word limits are set in each advert. 250-word behaviour statements and 500- or 750-word personal statements are common, but they are not universal rules. Always write to the limit stated in the advert you are applying for.

A covering letter for a private-sector role

Keep it to one page and do not repeat the CV. For an international applicant, a good letter answers the three questions the CV cannot:

Why this employer and role? Name something specific.
Can you work here, and when? Repeat your right-to-work line and your start date or notice period.
How does your overseas experience translate? Name the UK equivalent of your qualification, employer type or market where it helps.

4. References and pre-employment checks

You do not need to list referees on a UK CV. The line "References available on request" is also widely treated as unnecessary, because every employer assumes it. Prepare two referees, ideally including your most recent manager, and send their details when asked. That is usually at the offer stage.

Acas notes that most employers have no general legal duty to give a reference, but any reference they do give must be accurate and fair. Some employers give only factual references (dates and job title). This is common in the UK, so tell your referees what the role involves so they can comment where they are able to.

Some roles also require a criminal record check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS):

DBS level	What it shows	Who can request it
Basic	Unspent convictions and conditional cautions	Anyone for any role. You can request your own.
Standard	Spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings (subject to filtering)	Employers, for specified roles such as some finance and legal jobs
Enhanced	As standard, plus relevant local police information	Employers, for roles such as many in healthcare and education
Enhanced with barred list(s)	As enhanced, plus a check of the children's and/or adults' barred lists	Employers, for regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults

If you have lived abroad, employers may also ask for an overseas criminal record certificate from the countries you lived in. Getting those can take weeks, so start early if you are applying for healthcare, education or care roles.

5. Common mistakes international applicants make

These come up repeatedly in guidance from UK university careers services (including Exeter and Liverpool) and from recruiters such as Hays:

Keeping home-country personal data. A photo, date of birth and marital status mark the CV as not adapted to the UK.
Leaving right to work unclear. The recruiter has to guess, and many will not.
Using one CV for every application. UK shortlisting is criteria-driven, especially in the public sector.
Not explaining overseas context. An unknown employer name or qualification means nothing without a one-line explanation (for example "largest private hospital group in Kerala, 4,000 staff").
US spelling and date formats. Use UK spelling ("organised", "programme") and write dates as "March 2024" rather than "03/2024" to avoid confusion.
Applying for sponsored roles at employers that cannot sponsor. Check the sponsor register first.

FAQ

Is it illegal for a UK employer to ask my age?

Asking is not automatically unlawful, but using age to make a hiring decision usually is, unless the employer can objectively justify it. That is why most employers avoid asking at all, and why you should leave age off your CV.

Should I put my nationality on my UK CV?

Usually not. What the employer needs to know is whether you can work in the UK, so a right-to-work line is more useful and avoids drawing attention to a protected characteristic.

Can I use my old BRP card to prove my right to work?

No. The Home Office's right-to-work guidance says that expired physical BRPs are not acceptable proof. Use your eVisa and generate a share code at gov.uk/prove-right-to-work.

Is the Graduate visa now 18 months?

Not yet. The reduction to 18 months applies to applications made from 1 January 2027. Applications made before that date still receive 2 years (3 years for PhD graduates).

Do I need a cover letter for every UK application?

No. Follow the advert. If it asks for a supporting statement or personal statement, that document is usually what gets scored, so give it as much effort as the CV.

How to use AIResume

Keep one international master CV in AIResume. Duplicate it for the UK and remove the photo, date of birth, marital status and ID numbers. Add a one-line right-to-work statement under your contact details. Then write each supporting statement against the specific advert's criteria rather than reusing one letter. For the ATS side of the process, see how to write an ATS-friendly CV.

Sources

Equality Act 2010, sections 4 and 60 — legislation.gov.uk
Home Office, Right to work checks: an employer's guide (updated 26 June 2025) — GOV.UK
GOV.UK, Prove your right to work to an employer — GOV.UK
Home Office, Register of Licensed Sponsors: workers — GOV.UK
Immigration Rules: statements of changes — GOV.UK
ICO, Employment practices and data protection: recruitment and selection — ico.org.uk
Acas, Using protected characteristics in recruitment — acas.org.uk
Civil Service Careers, Success Profiles: behaviours — civil-service-careers.gov.uk
NHS Jobs, Making successful applications — jobs.nhs.uk
GOV.UK, Request a basic DBS check — GOV.UK
National Careers Service, CV sections explained — nationalcareers.service.gov.uk