🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia CV format

Conventions follow the Gulf pattern, with local factors that affect hiring more than formatting does.

Include personal details

Photograph, nationality, date of birth and marital status are conventional and often expected.

Iqama and transfer status

If you already hold a Saudi residence permit, say so, and state whether it is transferable. This is a substantial practical advantage and employers screen on it.

Saudisation (Nitaqat)

Quotas require employers to maintain a proportion of Saudi nationals in their workforce, and this genuinely affects which roles are open to expatriates. It is not something your CV can address, but it explains rejections that are not about you.

Certificate attestation

Degrees typically require attestation through the issuing authority, the foreign ministry and the Saudi embassy. Professional roles — medicine, nursing, engineering — also require registration with the relevant Saudi authority. Stating that these are in progress or complete is worth a line.

Language

English is standard in the private sector. Arabic is a strong differentiator and increasingly a requirement in government-adjacent work.