Resume rules in Pakistan
What employers in Pakistan expect on a Curriculum Vitae (سی وی), what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for Pakistan, a resume for Pakistan, or سی وی: 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: Optional
Optional; common for government/public sector jobs, rarely expected for private/international roles
What the law says: No law mandating or prohibiting photos on applicant CVs
Date of birth: Common
Common for government positions; should be omitted from international applications
What the law says: No law on date of birth in CVs
Marital status: Uncommon
Uncommon; should be dropped from international versions
What the law says: No law on marital status in CVs
Sex or gender: Uncommon
Uncommon; implied via photo if included
What the law says: No law on gender in CVs
Nationality: Common
Common for government jobs; CNIC dropped from international versions
What the law says: No law requiring nationality disclosure
National ID number: Common
Common for government roles; CNIC should be omitted for international applications
What the law says: No law on national ID numbers in CVs
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Curriculum Vitae (سی وی)
- Language to submit in
- English (international); Urdu (local)
- Typical length
- 2 pages
- Address detail expected
- Not specified; likely omitted in modern practice
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- No law; practice is to drop religion from international CVs. Religion disclosure common only for government/public sector
- Other customary attachments
- None mentioned
- Employer may not ask for
- No specific prohibitions found; general data protection may limit personal data collection
- Local language source
- Urdu not checked
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. Medium confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.
Notes: Limited published data on legal requirements. Information primarily from job board guides. Government vs. private sector practices diverge significantly. No authoritative statutory source located.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this