March the 8th, 2024 – There are an increasing number of foreign nationals employed in Croatia, and more startling yet, approximately 600 agencies are involved in foreign labour import into the country.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, under the organisation of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), a workshop was held in Split for companies that have expressed a need to employ foreign workers. As expected, the interest was generally high because these needs are pressing, and the preseason is just around the corner, as reported by HRT.
The fact that there are already 600 agencies operating in Croatia which deal solely with foreign labour import sounds somewhat incredible. It probably won’t come as much of a surprise to learn that not all of them are operating correctly, nor are they all in line with the appropriate regulations. This conference, as well as the police, highlighted the very real need for Croatian employers hoping for foreign labour import to pay very close attention to every little thing. Nothing must be permitted to ever threaten Croatia’s reputation as a safe destination for tourists.
“The individuals in question absolutely must not pose a danger to public order and national security. SOA gives an opinion for each and every submitted request for a work permit,” revealed Dijana Jakšić, head of the Immigration Department at the Split-Dalmatia Police Department (MUP/Interior Ministry).
That’s why the Split County Chamber gathered together local employers to show them all of the often quite extensive procedures, the required documentation, and the procedure for employment. This was all deemed necessary because local interest is high and time is now quite short. In the first two months of 2024 alone, 3,200 work permits for foreign nationals working here were issued in Split-Dalmatia County.
“We’re going to gather a large number of people in one place, in this case 70 Croatian employers, who will know at the very start what type of documents they must obtain and provide them as soon as possible in order to obtain a permit to employ a foreign (non-EU) national,” explained Joze Tomaš, president of the Split County Chamber.
In the ever-demanding Croatian hospitality and catering industry, the need for foreign workers in Split and its surroundings is 10 percent higher than it was last year. This is leading more and more employers to turn towards foreign labour import without checking everything they need to first, and then doing so again.
In addition to the regional market of non-EU countries that have traditionally come and worked in Croatia (Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina), the most present will foreign labour import from the much more distant Asian market, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Since these are regulated countries with very strict laws, they are currently considered to be the safest choice for domestic employers.
