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    Germany · Austria · Switzerland

    When do you need a CV in Germany, Austria and Switzerland? Not only for job ads

    Visas, recognition of qualifications, universities, employment services and naturalisation can all ask for a CV. See official examples, what they want, and how to start without one.

    By DraftApply · · 7 min read

    Short answer

    In Germany, Austria and Switzerland a CV (Lebenslauf) is asked for well beyond job ads: on visa checklists of several German embassies, by some recognition authorities, by universities and scholarship programmes, by employment services, on cantonal work-permit forms and by some naturalisation offices. Most want a tabular CV that accounts for every period; some want it signed, in German or handwritten. The lists differ from office to office, so use the checklist of the office that handles your case.

    Where you will be asked for a CV

    Each row is one office’s official list. Another embassy, authority, canton or university handling the same procedure may ask for more, less or something different. Use the checklist of the office that handles your case.

    Germany

    Your situationAn official list that asks for a CVWhat it wants
    Your situationOpportunity Card (Chancenkarte) visaAn official list that asks for a CVGerman Embassy Helsinki: “tabellarischer Lebenslauf über den bisherigen beruflichen Werdegang”What it wantsA tabular CV of your career so far
    Your situationEU Blue Card visaAn official list that asks for a CVGerman Embassy San José: “Lebenslauf, verfasst auf Deutsch oder Englisch”What it wantsA CV in German or English
    Your situationJob-seeker visa for skilled workersAn official list that asks for a CVGerman missions in the Netherlands: “Zumindest die bisherigen Abschlüsse, die Arbeitserfahrung und die Kompetenzen müssen sichtbar sein”What it wantsAt least your qualifications, work experience and skills; two copies
    Your situationVisa for self-employment or freelance workAn official list that asks for a CVGerman Embassy Cairo: a CV written by you, without gaps, signedWhat it wantsSelf-written, gap-free, signed
    Your situationRecognition of a foreign qualificationAn official list that asks for a CVFederal portal Anerkennung in Deutschland: a brief tabular CV, listed as optional. Regierung von Mittelfranken (health professions): “Aktueller lückenloser und unterschriebener Lebenslauf”What it wantsDepends on the authority and profession: optional in the federal list, required, gap-free and signed in Mittelfranken
    Your situationUniversity admission via uni-assistAn official list that asks for a CVuni-assist: “Some universities require a CV without any omissions which is current up to the date of application.”What it wantsDepends on the university
    Your situationDAAD scholarship (Master studies)An official list that asks for a CVDAAD: “Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages)”What it wantsTabular, at most three pages; other DAAD calls ask for other formats
    Your situationTraining place (Ausbildung)An official list that asks for a CVBundesagentur für Arbeit: a tabular CV written on the computer “wird als Standard angesehen” (is seen as the standard)What it wantsGuidance, not a rule
    Your situationNaturalisation (Einbürgerung)An official list that asks for a CVLandkreis Stade: “Lebenslauf im Original (handschriftlich und ausführlich)”. Saxony: a typed CV is usually enoughWhat it wantsVaries by Land and city; Berlin and Munich list no CV

    Austria

    Your situationAn official list that asks for a CVWhat it wants
    Your situationRed-White-Red CardAn official list that asks for a CVLand Niederösterreich: “Lebenslauf mit Bekanntgabe der bisherigen beruflichen Tätigkeiten”What it wantsA CV listing your jobs so far; varies by authority
    Your situationRegistering with the AMSAn official list that asks for a CVAMS: asks for documents such as your CV and can publish your CV in its eJob-RoomWhat it wantsUsed to find you work
    Your situationCitizenshipAn official list that asks for a CVBH Kirchdorf, Upper Austria: “Persönlicher Lebenslauf aller Personen über 14 Jahre”What it wantsVaries by Land and district

    Switzerland

    Your situationAn official list that asks for a CVWhat it wants
    Your situationWork permit for non-EU/EFTA nationalsAn official list that asks for a CVCanton Aargau: a CV with education and work experience; “Sämtliche Unterlagen/Dokumente müssen in Deutsch abgefasst sein”. Canton Solothurn also lists a CVWhat it wantsVaries by canton; in German in Aargau
    Your situationRegistering with the RAVAn official list that asks for a CVCanton Zürich: “Komplettes Bewerbungsdossier (aktueller Lebenslauf, Arbeitszeugnisse, Diplome etc.)”What it wantsA current CV with references and diplomas
    Your situationNaturalisationAn official list that asks for a CVCity of St. Gallen: a CV for each person aged 16 and over, “bitte handschriftlich und eigenhändig ausfüllen”What it wantsHandwritten in St. Gallen; varies by canton and municipality
    Your situationUniversity admissionAn official list that asks for a CVETH Zürich: a “full and continuous history (no biographical gaps)”, written “in the language of instruction”What it wantsTabular, gap-free, in the language of instruction
    Your situationApprenticeship (Lehrstelle)An official list that asks for a CVberufsberatung.ch: a complete application has a letter, a CV and attachmentsWhat it wantsGuidance

    What these CVs have in common

    Read side by side, the lists repeat a few requirements:

    • Tabular. Embassy checklists, the DAAD, ETH and the Bundesagentur für Arbeit’s guide for training places ask for a tabular CV: one line per period, with dates, what you did and where.
    • No unexplained gaps. Mittelfranken, the Cairo embassy, uni-assist and ETH ask for a CV without gaps or omissions. Every period needs an entry, including time spent studying, looking for work, caring for family or moving country.
    • Signed, sometimes. The Cairo embassy and the Mittelfranken checklist ask for a signed CV.
    • In the right language. Canton Aargau wants all documents in German, ETH wants the language of instruction, and the San José embassy accepts German or English.
    • Handwritten, rarely. Some naturalisation offices want it handwritten, such as Landkreis Stade and the City of St. Gallen. Saxony’s rules say a typed CV is usually enough.

    One well-kept CV can serve a job application, a visa and a recognition procedure, as long as you add what each office asks for. See a complete German example of a tabular CV.

    A CV for your situation, even if you never had one

    Many people meet these lists without ever having written a CV: students, people who grew from waiting tables to running a shift, tradespeople hired by word of mouth, people who ran their own business, people with many years at one employer, people returning after caring for family, and people who had to leave their country. The layout is rarely the hard part. Remembering what you did, and knowing what counts, is.

    DraftApply’s guided start begins from your situation. Pick what sounds most like you; the example CV and the questions follow from it:

    If this sounds like youYour example CV starts withWhat we ask about and remind you of
    If this sounds like youI’m studying or just finishedYour example CV starts withYour studies, one side job, one project, languages, volunteeringWhat we ask about and remind you ofWhat counts besides a job: side or holiday jobs, internships, tutoring, helping in a family business, volunteering, study projects. If you had no job, the example job goes and your studies and projects carry the CV.
    If this sounds like youI worked my way upYour example CV starts withThree steps at one employer, from your first job to your current one; school; languages; certificatesWhat we ask about and remind you ofEach step with the title you actually held. Responsibility you took on without the title is written out as what you did.
    If this sounds like youI have a trade or vocational trainingYour example CV starts withTwo jobs, your training, certificates, the recognition status of your qualification, languagesWhat we ask about and remind you ofThe work you can do with your hands and tools, your certificates, and whether your qualification is recognised in the country yet.
    If this sounds like youI ran my own businessYour example CV starts withYour business and the job before it; your training; languagesWhat we ask about and remind you ofWhat you ran, for whom, and what you decided: staff, suppliers, money, customers.
    If this sounds like youI worked many years at one employerYour example CV starts withTwo roles at the same employer; your training; languages; certificatesWhat we ask about and remind you ofHow your role grew inside one company, and what people relied on you for.
    If this sounds like youI’m a specialist or professionalYour example CV starts withTwo roles, a degree, one project, recognition status, languagesWhat we ask about and remind you ofA classic CV: roles, projects and tools, with what you were responsible for.
    If this sounds like youI’m returning after a breakYour example CV starts withTwo jobs before the break, your training, the break itself, languages, volunteeringWhat we ask about and remind you ofYour experience before the break, the break as an honest entry, and what you do now.

    You also choose your field (12 of them, from care and hospitality to IT, logistics and trades), the country (Germany, Austria or Switzerland) and whether the CV is in German or English. The examples are written for that field and country.

    How the guided start works

    1. See a complete example CV. Every example line is marked in the preview. Nothing in it is yours until you confirm or replace it.
    2. The basics, with a click each. Your name and contact details, then your work permit status (available, not needed as an EU/EFTA citizen, applied for, not yet) and your language levels from A1 to C2 or native.
    3. Your jobs, one by one, newest first. A chat asks where, what and since when, then shows the tasks people in your role often have so you can tick what you did and add what is missing in your own words. When you say “I didn’t have this job”, the example goes and the chat asks what else counts.
    4. Education, then skills and certificates, the same way.
    5. Your headline and short profile last, written from your answers. You say whether they fit; you never have to write them from scratch.

    For hospitality, the example for someone who worked their way up includes lines like these:

    Schichtleitung · Café Aurora (Beispiel)

    • Leitung des Serviceteams während der Schicht (Led the service team during the shift)
    • Erstellung von Schichtplänen und Organisation von Vertretungen (Planned shifts and covered for sick colleagues)
    • Verantwortung für den täglichen Kassenabschluss und die Schließung (Responsible for the daily cash-up and closing)

    If you did those things, you confirm them. If you didn’t, they go. The employer is always an example, so you type your own.

    What stays yours. You can download the CV or add it to your library only once no example text is left. The assistant is set up to use your own answers for job titles, dates and numbers, and to write the title you actually held. Every change shows in the preview, and you can undo it.

    Before you send it

    • I have the checklist of the office that handles my case, not a general one.
    • Every period from school to today has an entry, including study, job search, family time or a move.
    • Dates are complete and in one format; months are given where the office asks for them.
    • The language matches what the office asks for: German, English or the language of instruction.
    • I signed it where the list says unterschrieben, and wrote it by hand where it says handschriftlich.
    • Every job title is the title I held; extra responsibility is described as what I did.

    Start a CV without an existing one

    Open the CV Builder and choose “Start without an existing CV”. Pick your situation, field and country; to see and keep your example CV, you sign in with a free account.

    Open the CV Builder

    Sources and example context

    Sources checked . Each official list applies to its own office and may change; the office handling your case decides. This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice. The example CV lines are DraftApply’s fictional examples.