Can Americans Visit Croatia after July 1, 2020 EU Border Update?

Romulic & Stojcic

Update (July 11, 2020): While all of these were true when this article was written, a major change took place on July 10, when the new rules for entering Croatia were introduced. Please follow the article about those changes to get the latest information, as it becomes available.

July 2, 2020 – Can Americans visit Croatia after the latest EU borders update on July 1? Feedback from the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community provides some answers from actual travellers yesterday.

After weeks of uncertainty in this most uncertain of times, some clarity is emerging on the most common question in the Total Croatia Travel Viber community (you need to download the app) – can Americans visit Croatia with the new border rules?

It seems that they can.

First, the soundbite sentence to put things in a nutshell. I have asked the Croatian border police to confirm everything stated in this article, which they have done, making the advice stated here official:

Croatia is open for tourism with paid accommodation outside the EU. Croatia is not in the Schengen zone, and so you can transit through a Schengen airport and come to Croatia, no problem, as long as you have the right documentation.

The main advice is the more documentation, the better. This should include at least:

1. Proof of paid accommodation.

2. The confirmation email after you fill in the entercroatia.mup.hr form.

3. Some of the testimonies you will see below to help you argue your case.

4. The latest IATA guidelines for travel to Croatia.

Now let’s hear the feedback from tourists who posted in the Viber community on July 1.

Hey everyone—more positive signs! A few days ago, I tried filling out the IATA “passport, visa, & health” section, where it asks for all the info regarding your exact air travel plans, carrier, transit countries/dates/times, passport info, etc. Then, the result I received was NO. But just now I tried it again. The result? YES! Specifically, “Yes, the documentation you hold is sufficient based on your details and the itinerary provided.” FYI I selected “tourism/vacation” as my reason, and I am a US citizen residing in the US, planning to arrive in Croatia on July 15. I recommend that in the interest of providing as much documentation as humanly possible, everyone also fill that out—take a screenshot or save as PDF each screen as you go through the process, and do the same with the result. Then, if you have any trouble while checking in, just hand it to the airline agent so that they can copy your exact details into the online form and get the same result! Fill it in here.

From Dubai via Amsterdam:

Hi guys! I just checked into my first leg (Dubai-Amsterdam). Gate agent was super nice, asked: do you have documentation to enter Amsterdam? I said yes, Do you have documentation to enter Croatia? Answered yes. He asked to see it. He was basically reading whatever the screen asked him to, he told me….”it says here I have to see it” and he barely looked at my printed MUP form and gave me the tickets for both legs. I am hoping Amsterdam-Zagreb will be as easy! ( I hold and American passport and have not been to the US in 3 years).

The border police in Copenhagen:

We fly SAS… Chicago – CPH – SPU

Leave on July 9. Border police in Copenhagen said no issue with transit with an onward ticket to Croatia if we stay in the international transit terminal.

From Newark to Zagreb via Amsterdam:

A buddy of mine traveled Monday from Newark, Amsterdam, Zagreb and arrived perfectly fine in Croatia. He has NO Croatian paperwork, citizenship, documents, etc – however, his father who was born in Croatia had all of his docs, including Croatian passport. The two of them traveled together. To prove identity and relation as father/son, my friend was only asked and required to show his birth certificate to officials in Newark.

Some advice transiting through Paris:

I just called KLM and my flight for Friday is confirmed through CDG which means people should be able to transit! Here is the link to the document you will need! Scroll down to where it says “certificate of derogatory travel” and open up the English PDF. You have to print this out and sign it and show it before takeoff in both your departure city and Paris. I’m going to print a French version out as well but will only sign the English one. The woman said there is a similar process for those transiting through Amsterdam but I don’t have the info on that. Be sure to use google chrome so you can translate the website as it is in French. Here is the link.

San Francisco via Munich:

I am currently in Munich airport. Came from San Francisco. Because we booked it all together we got both boarding passes in SF and bags are checked through to Zagreb. We have not had to talk to the German border control at all.

New York via Paris:

Okay, I was the one that asked about traveling with US passport and domovnica…. so far was allowed on the plane to France and am now seated on the plane to Zagreb…. last check will be if they allow me and kids in Zagreb. We flew Air France from New York.

Some other useful bits of information from our Viber community:

THIS IS THE MOST COMMON ANSWER TODAY SENT OUT BY CROATIAN BORDER POLICE – THEY PROVIDED IT TO US SO SHARE

Dear sirs/madam,

By the decision of the Civil Protection Headquarters from 30. 06. 2020. citizens of the Member States of the European Union or the Member States of the Schengen area as well as members of their families and third-country nationals who are long-term residents under Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 on the status of nationals third countries with long-term residence and persons entitled to reside under other EU directives or national law do not have to prove the reason for their entry (business, economic, tourist, etc.). Those persons can enter under the same conditions as before the disease COVID-19, but still with epidemiological control, and with the obligation to comply with general and special recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

In order to shorten the waiting time at the border crossing point, it is recommended that foreign nationals who will come to Croatia, send additional data in advance via web address https://entercroatia.mup.hr/.General and special recommendations and instructions are available at the following web address: https://www.koronavirus.hr/recommendations-and-instructions-of-the-croatian-institute-of-public-health-for-croatian-and-foreign-nationals-who-are-crossing-the-state-border-and-entering-the-republic-of-croatia/633

The dedicated information page from the US Embassy in Zagreb.

A printout of the latest regulations from the Timatic system (this is used by airlines for the latest entry data for each national)

National USA (US) /Embarkation USA (US)Destination Croatia (HR)Croatia (HR)

Passport required.- Passports and other documents accepted for entry must be valid for a minimum of 3 months beyond the period of intended stay.

Passport Exemptions:- Nationals of USA with an emergency passport.

Admission and Transit Restrictions:

– Passengers are not allowed to enter.

– This does not apply to family members of nationals of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland (Rep.), Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

– This does not apply to family members of British nationals.

– This does not apply to passengers entering Croatia to transit by land to a third country. They must prove that they can enter the destination country.

– This does not apply to passengers traveling as tourists.

– This does not apply to passengers traveling on business.

– This does not apply to passengers traveling as students.

Visa required, except for Nationals of USA for a maximum stay of 90 days. (SEE NOTE 53527)NOTE 53527: The maximum stay is granted within 180 days.

Additional Information:

– Visitors are required to hold proof of sufficient funds to cover their stay as follows:

– at least EUR 70.- per day of stay; or- at least EUR 30.- per day of stay if holding a confirmed invitation or a tourist voucher.

Warning:

– Passports and passport replacing documents issued more than10 years prior to date of travel are not accepted.

– Visitors not holding return/onward tickets could be refused entry.

– Brexit: The United Kingdom stopped being member of the European Union (EU) and of the European Economic Area (EEA).

Regulations related to the EU and the EEA apply to the United Kingdom until 31 December 2020.Croatia (HR)

Vaccinations not required.

This article will be updated as more experiences are shared.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.

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Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

The Netherlands – as of July 21, Croatia is placed on the “Orange” list by the Dutch government, which means that both the Croatian nationals and the Dutch nationals returning to the Netherlands from Croatia are strongly advised to self-quarantine for 14 days.