The much talked about Croatian digital nomad visa is finally here as Croatia finally opens its arms to the idea, and MUP have clarified some updates to the digital nomad visa requirements.
Temporary residence for digital nomads in Croatia
A digital nomad in Croatia is a third-country national who is employed or is otherwise performing work through communication technology for a company or indeed for their own company that is not registered in the Republic of Croatia. This means that the individual isn’t and cannot perform work or provide services to employers headquartered/registered here in the Republic of Croatia.
Temporary residence for this purpose is granted for up to one year (in some cases for less than a year), and cannot be extended. After the expiration of the first six months of the first issued temporary residence document, a request for re-regulation of residence for a digital nomad may be submitted.
Digital nomads who have been granted temporary residence in the Republic of Croatia may be joined in the Republic of Croatia by members of their immediate family (temporary residence for the purpose of family reunification).
Let’s delve deeper into MUP’s recently updated Croatian digital nomad visa requirements.
The submission of an application for temporary residence as a digital nomad in Croatia
The application can be submitted in two ways, depending on whether or not the individual seeking residence as a digital nomad requires a visa to enter Croatia or not.
If a visa is needed for entry:
In this case, a request for the Croatian ”digital nomad visa” must be submitted at the appropriate Embassy/Consulate of the Republic of Croatia abroad (a list can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs/MVEP). Prior contact with the competent embassy/consulate is advised due to possible limitations in the work being carried out as result of the spread of the novel coronavirus and by epidemiological measures relating to it.
If no visa is required for entry:
In this case, the same request must be submitted either to the appropriate embassy/consulate of the Republic of Croatia (as detailed above) or to the competent administrative police station according to the place of residence of the individual seeking this permit (a list of administrative police stations by location across the country can be found here). Please note that due to the same situation with the pandemic described above, processing times may be longer and certain functions may not be running as normal.
How to make an application and what sort of documentation you’ll need
A copy of the documentation you’re required to submit must be submitted in either Croatian or English.
1. Fill in Form 1a and attach it to the request/application:
2. You’ll need a copy of your valid travel document (the validity period of the travel document must be three months longer than the period of validity of your intended stay).
3. Proof of health insurance (travel or private health insurance which must have coverage for the territory of the Republic of Croatia).
4. Proof of your purpose for submitting the request.
This can be: (an employment contract or other document proving that your work is performed through communication technology for a foreign employer or for your own company that is not registered in the Republic of Croatia), such as a statement from your employer or from you (as proof that the business being done is through communication technology) and a contract of employment or proof of the performance of work for a foreign employer, or a copy of the registration of your own company and proof that you perform all of the stated tasks through your own company.
5. Proof of sufficient funds to cover your stay in Croatia.
This can be: a bank account statement or proof of regular income, both will be enough to be recognised and accepted as evidence. Pursuant to the Decree on the Method of Calculation and Amount of Maintenance Allowances for Third-Country Nationals in the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette 14/21), which entered into force on the 13th of February 2021, a third-country national regulating their temporary residence in Croatia as a digital nomad must have funds in the amount of at least 2.5 average monthly net salary sums for the previous year based on officially published data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CES), and for each additional family member, or formal or informal life partner, that amount is increased by an additional 10 percent of the average monthly net paid salaries. At the moment, the amount of funds required on a monthly basis is a minimum of 16,142.5 kuna, or if your intended period of stay in the Republic of Croatia is 12 months, it is necessary to prove that you have funds in the amount of a minimum of 193,710.00 kuna..
6. Proof that you haven’t been convicted of any criminal offenses in your home country or the country in which you resided for more than a year immediately before your arrival in the Republic of Croatia. (Information on the processes for the legalisation of such documents can be found here).
7. You must state your intended Croatian address.
When submitting the application, you’ll be required to state the address of your place of residence or intended stay in Croatia on the form you’ll be given to complete. This is important for the purpose of determining the administrative police station that will deal with your application. If your first application is submitted and you don’t yet have an address in Croatia, it’s been made possible for you to state your temporary address (hostel/hotel if a reservation is booked/confirmed) as the address of your intended stay for the purpose of application processing.
What about after the delivery of MUP’s notice approving your temporary residence as a digital nomad in Croatia?
If you require a visa in order to enter the country:
Once you’ve been informed that your temporary residence as a digital nomad has been granted, you will need to contact the embassy/consulate again to obtain an entry visa for Croatia or a biometric residence permit (please inform yourself in advance about whether or not this is a possibility at your embassy/consulate).
You can also fill in the visa application form online.
All other information on visas (application, required documentation, etc.) can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs/MVEP.
If you don’t require an entry visa for Croatia:
Third-country nationals who don’t need an entry visa for the Republic of Croatia don’t need to take any of the aforementioned steps and may enter Croatia without a visa in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Foreigners (often referred to as the Aliens Act).
An important note: A third-country national must register their residence with the administrative police station responsible for their place/area of stay within thirty days of being granted a temporary residence permit (in this case a digital nomad permit), to ensure that their temporary residence is not revoked.
On arrival in Croatia – Residence registration and the issuance of a biometric residence permit
The registration of residence:
As a third-country national, you’re obliged to register your place of stay/residence and an address within three days of entering the Republic of Croatia at the administrative police station responsible for your area of stay.
You’ll need to apply using Form 8a with the attachment of a lease agreement or a statement of the property owner confirming the situation.
The issuance of a biometric residence permit:
Third-country nationals who don’t need a visa to enter Croatia, as well as those who entered the Republic of Croatia on the basis of needing an entry visa, are required to obtain a residence permit which is a biometric document (it is mandatory to attach photographs and provide biometric data) immediately upon arrival at the competent administrative police station.
What are the costs?
If the application is submitted to a consulate/embassy outside of Croatia, it is paid for at the time of application:
420.00 kuna for a temporary residence permit
460.00 kuna for a visa (with the additional payment of a service fee if the visa application is submitted through the VFS visa centre)
310.00 kuna for the biometric residence permit form (check the possibility of obtaining it at the embassy/consulate)
If the application is submitted in Croatia at an administrative police station, the associated fees are paid after your stay is approved by MUP:
350.00 kuna for a temporary residence permit
70.00 kuna as an administrative fee for issuing a biometric residence permit
240.00 kuna for a biometric residence permit form
Payment of all of the admin fees if the application is submitted at a Croatian administrative police station
Admin fees for temporary stay:
Via internet banking, the payment of administrative fees for the issuance of temporary residence (350 kuna) are to be made directly to the Croatian state budget, more precisely to the IBAN of the state budget, the details of which are below:
HR1210010051863000160, model HR64, reference number: 5002-713-OIB (if you have an OIB (personal ID number/tax number), then that is entered).
For those who haven’t been assigned an OIB, the reference number is: 5002-713-number of your valid travel document.
(An important note: a maximum of 10 numbers, and if the numeric label initially contains zeros (0), they are not to be entered. Do not enter letters, slashes, periods, commas, etc.).
For example, let’s say the number of the travel document/identity card of a foreign citizen is AZ004586, then the reference number is: 5002-713-4586 (without any letters and zeros, and with a maximum of ten numbers).
The fees for a biometric residence permit:
Via Internet banking, the payment of a fee in the amount of 240 kuna for the preparation of a biometric residence permit will be made directly to the Croatian state budget, more precisely to the IBAN of the state budget, the details of which are below:
HR1210010051863000160, model HR65, reference number: 7005-485-OIB (enter the OIB only if you’ve been given one).
For those who have not been assigned an OIB, the reference number is: 7005-485-RKP-case number.
Through Internet banking, the payment of an admin fee in the amount of 70 kuna for the preparation of a biometric residence permit will be made, yet again, to the Croatian state budget, more precisely to the IBAN of the state budget, the details of which are below:
HR1210010051863000160, model HR64, reference number: 5002-713-OIB (again, you obviously only enter your OIB if you have one).
For those who do not have an OIB, the reference number is: 5002-713-number of your valid travel document.
(The same important note written above about a maximum of 10 numbers and no letters, slashes, commas etc applies here, too.)
For more on digital nomads in Croatia, as well as any more digital nomad visa requirement updates, follow TCN’s dedicated section.
