Resume rules in Botswana
What employers in Botswana expect on a Curriculum Vitae (CV), what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for Botswana or a resume for Botswana: it's the same document. Employers there usually want it written in English.
This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.
Law and practice, side by side
The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.
Photo: Not found
Not required unless applying for acting or modelling jobs
What the law says: No law requiring CV photo; Data Protection Act 2024 applies to processing photos as personal data
Date of birth: Avoid
Avoid including date of birth
What the law says: No legal requirement on CV; described as 'irrelevant'
Marital status: Not found
Not found
What the law says: No legal requirement on CV
Sex or gender: Uncommon
Uncommon, not typically included
What the law says: No legal requirement on CV; employment discrimination based on gender covered under general law
Nationality: Not found
Not typically included
What the law says: No legal requirement on CV
National ID number: Uncommon
Uncommon on CV itself
What the law says: No legal requirement on CV
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Language to submit in
- English
- Typical length
- 2 pages maximum (A4)
- Address detail expected
- Full address expected (home address required in contact details)
- Signature and date
- Not specified as requirement
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- Not specified in CV law
- Health, disability or pregnancy
- Not specified in CV law
- Other customary attachments
- For foreign nationals: employment contract/appointment letter, work application, CV, certified copies of birth/marriage/educational certificates (translated to English), medical report, passport copies, 4 passport-size photos
- Employer may not ask for
- Employment discrimination based on sexual orientation prohibited since 2010
- Named statutes
- Data Protection Act No. 18 of 2024 (effective 14 January 2025); repeals Data Protection Act No. 32 of 2018; Employment law through Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development
- Data protection regime
- Data Protection Act No. 18 of 2024, modelled on GDPR; requires Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), data protection officers, increased fines, potential prison terms 3-12 years for violations
- Anti-discrimination statutes
- Employment discrimination on basis of sexual orientation banned since 2010
- Local language source
- English only
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. High confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.
Notes: Botswana guidance explicitly states date of birth is 'irrelevant' to include on CV, differing from some other African countries. Recently updated data protection framework (2024) follows GDPR model. One of few African countries with explicit LGBTQ employment protections.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this