1. You are the first person from the Middle East to get the Croatian digital nomad permit. Congratulations! Tell us firstly about yourself, and how your interest in Croatia started?
Thank you so much, my name is Saad Al Sulaibi, from Jordan. I am an account manager for a US-based company, and I work remotely from home in Amman. Through a group of friends I met a Croatian guy who lived in Amman for three years. During that time, he always used to tell me about and show me pictures of Croatia, and especially his home town, Split. This made me curious to read more about Croatia. While researching, I found an article talking about the Digital Nomad Visa. I found this an interesting opportunity and decided to apply.
2. We do not have so many Jordanian tourists. Do you think Croatia could be a good destinations for them? What are Croatian tourism’s best selling points to the Middle Eastern market?
Definitely. Croatia is a good destination for Jordanians and other Middle Eastern countries. As in large parts of Jordan, Croatia boasts of ancient cities and historic ruins and is full of stunning natural attractions. It also has great a Mediterranean lifestyle with a very affordable standard of living.
3. Why did you decide to apply for the digital nomad permit?
When I read about Croatia and the Digital Nomad Visa option, I asked myself – why not? Croatia has beautiful and very green nature, amazing food and wine, nightlife, is affordable to live in, has good healthcare, a great internet connection for work, and there is no need to pay income tax in Croatia while I am working from there.
4. There is lots of interest in the permit, but not so much information from successful applicants. Can you tell us in some detail how long the application took, what was involved, how much it cost, and any problems you had?
The application took from 1 – 2 months to get approved, and it cost me around 55 USD. The biggest challenge was not having a Croatian embassy in Amman. As a result, I had to ship my application and other documents to the Croation embassy in Cairo. Also it worth mentioning the daily effort that Ministry of Interior in Croatia to make this application approved.
5. Now that you have a 12-month permit to stay in Croatia, what are your plans?
The plan for now is to Stay in Split to meet with my friend, then to Zagreb then to Krk, Hvar, Dugi Otok, Brač, Vis, Rab, Korčula, Šipan.
6. In your opinion, what makes Croatia a great nomad destination, and what does it need to do better?
Again, Croatia is one the best places to live in for the reasons I mentioned before. What needs to be improved is marketing Croatia in Jordan and the Middle East.
I would like to use this chance to introduce Jordan to my second family, Croatians. Jordan is great destination to visit, we have many historical places to visit like Petra, Roman theaters, Amman citadel and many others. Also we have a religious sites to be visited like Al-Maghtas where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Mount Nebo where Moses looked on to the Promised Land, Umm ar-Rasas a fortified Roman garrison that contains 16 Byzantine churches, Madaba that holds the Madaba Map which is the oldest mosaic map of the Holy Land.
The latest statistics on the Croatian digital nomad permit. 132 applications so far (12 in the last week), with 38 permits granted, and 85 in process.
For the latest news and features on digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.
Are you a digital nomad considering the switch to Croatia? Why not join us online or in person at Zagreb Digital Nomad Week 2021, which starts on Monday?
Or be a Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassdor with a free month of accommodation from July to December, as a guest of the city.
