Resume rules in Cuba
What employers in Cuba expect on a Currículum Vitae, what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for Cuba, a resume for Cuba, or Currículum Vitae: it's the same document. Employers there usually want it written in Spanish.
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: Expected
Expected - photos, date of birth, and marital status are typical in Cuban CVs, reflecting local convention and state hiring practices
What the law says: No legal requirement for photo on CV under Law No. 116 (Labor Code, 2013); protected under constitutional and labor law equality provisions
Date of birth: Expected
Expected - typically included in personal data section; gender and date of birth appear standard in Cuban practice
What the law says: No legal requirement to include; protected under non-discrimination provisions in Law No. 116 (Código de Trabajo)
Marital status: Expected
Expected - commonly included in CV alongside gender and number of children
What the law says: No legal requirement; protected under Law No. 116 non-discrimination provisions
Sex or gender: Expected
Expected - often disclosed in personal data section
What the law says: Protected under Law No. 116 (prohibits discrimination based on gender, age, race, religion, disability)
Nationality: Optional
Optional - may be listed if relevant to foreign work eligibility
What the law says: No CV requirement; separate from hiring process
National ID number: Uncommon
Uncommon
What the law says: No requirement on CV
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Currículum Vitae
- Language to submit in
- Spanish
- Typical length
- 2-3 pages
- Address detail expected
- Full address or city typical
- Signature and date
- Not standard; electronic submission is typical
- Officially prescribed form
- None officially prescribed; state sector may have specific forms for government employment
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- Protected under Law No. 116 (prohibits discrimination based on race, religion); should not be disclosed
- Health, disability or pregnancy
- Protected under Law No. 116; not to be included unless specifically job-relevant and mutual agreement exists
- Other customary attachments
- Academic diplomas and work history documentation frequently required; references may be requested
- Employer may not ask for
- Age, race, religion, disability, gender (though these are sometimes conventionally listed despite protections)
- Named statutes
- Ley No. 116: Código de Trabajo (Labor Code, effective December 20, 2013)
- Data protection regime
- Limited published data protection law; Law No. 116 (Labor Code) provides some protections; Constitution provides equality and dignity safeguards; not found: formal comprehensive data protection statute comparable to GDPR or Law 1581
- Anti-discrimination statutes
- Ley No. 116 (Labor Code, 2013) - prohibits discrimination based on gender, age, race, religion, disability; Constitution provides equality protections
- Local language source
- Spanish
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. Medium confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.
Notes: Cuba's CV conventions include personal information (photo, DOB, gender, marital status) that would be discouraged in many Western markets. Law No. 116 prohibits discrimination but the statutes protecting these rights are not as comprehensive as data protection laws in other countries. Information on data protection regime was difficult to verify; Cuba may not have a standalone comprehensive data protection law.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this