Resume rules in Malta

Q: Should you put a photo on your CV in Malta?

In practice: Common but not mandatory; professional headshot if included; acceptable in Malta unlike UK/US markets What the law says: Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR regulate personal data including photos; no legal requirement but common practice; photo retention must comply with GDPR necessity principle

Q: Should you include your date of birth in Malta?

In practice: Best omitted per EU anti-discrimination norms to prevent age bias in hiring What the law says: GDPR allows inclusion with consent; no legal prohibition but not required

Q: Should you state your marital status in Malta?

In practice: Not required; increasingly omitted What the law says: Employment and Industrial Relations Act prohibits discrimination based on marital status; no CV requirement

Q: Should you state your sex or gender in Malta?

In practice: Inferred from name; not explicitly stated What the law says: Equality for Men and Women Act and Employment and Industrial Relations Act prohibit gender discrimination; no disclosure required

Q: Should you state your nationality in Malta?

In practice: Important to specify; EU citizen status is advantageous; non-EU candidates should clarify work permit status What the law says: No legal prohibition; EU/non-EU status relevant for work eligibility

Q: Should you include a national ID number in Malta?

In practice: Not standard practice What the law says: Not mentioned in employment/CV context

What employers in Malta expect on a Curriculum Vitae, what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.

Call it a CV for Malta or a resume for Malta: it's the same document.

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: Common

Common but not mandatory; professional headshot if included; acceptable in Malta unlike UK/US markets

What the law says: Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR regulate personal data including photos; no legal requirement but common practice; photo retention must comply with GDPR necessity principle

Date of birth: Not found

Best omitted per EU anti-discrimination norms to prevent age bias in hiring

What the law says: GDPR allows inclusion with consent; no legal prohibition but not required

Marital status: Not found

Not required; increasingly omitted

What the law says: Employment and Industrial Relations Act prohibits discrimination based on marital status; no CV requirement

Sex or gender: Not found

Inferred from name; not explicitly stated

What the law says: Equality for Men and Women Act and Employment and Industrial Relations Act prohibit gender discrimination; no disclosure required

Nationality: Not found

Important to specify; EU citizen status is advantageous; non-EU candidates should clarify work permit status

What the law says: No legal prohibition; EU/non-EU status relevant for work eligibility

National ID number: Not found

Not standard practice

What the law says: Not mentioned in employment/CV context

The rest of the entry

Local name of the document: Curriculum Vitae
Language to submit in: English; Maltese acceptable
Typical length: Detailed format, typically longer than UK/US style; typically more comprehensive
Address detail expected: Not specifically required; contact details sufficient
Signature and date: Not typically required; modern CVs typically unsigned and undated
Officially prescribed form: Europass CV format commonly used; no official format mandated
Religion, ethnicity or caste: Law: Employment and Industrial Relations Act prohibits discrimination based on race and ethnic origin. Practice: Avoid disclosure
Health, disability or pregnancy: Law: Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act (2000) requires 2% disability employment quota for companies with 20+ employees; reasonable accommodations mandated; indirect discrimination also prohibited. Practice: Avoid voluntary disclosure unless seeking accommodations
Other customary attachments: Detailed education, work experience, and skills sections typical; references available upon request; certificates and licenses may be required for regulated professions
Employer may not ask for: Employers cannot discriminate on: sex/gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status; disability discrimination includes failures to provide reasonable accommodations
Named statutes: Employment and Industrial Relations Act; Equality for Men and Women Act; Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act (2000, Cap. 413); Data Protection Act 2018 (Chapter 586, Laws of Malta); General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) EU 2016/679; Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (prior regime)
Data protection regime: GDPR (EU 2016/679, effective 25 May 2018) + Data Protection Act 2018 (Chapter 586, effective 28 May 2018); Information and Data Protection Commissioner as supervisory authority
Anti-discrimination statutes: Employment and Industrial Relations Act; Equality for Men and Women Act; Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act (2000); Constitution of Malta
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: Malta's CV culture reflects its English-speaking heritage and international business environment. Photos are common but optional, and date of birth is best omitted per EU anti-discrimination norms. The Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act is particularly stringent, requiring 2% disability employment quota. EU citizen status is strongly advantageous in applications. No specific government CV format prescribed; Europass widely used. The distinction between maltese practice and mainland EU is minimal due to island status and GDPR/EU law alignment.

Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this