June the 14th, 2023 – Visiting Croatia now it’s a fully fledged Schengen member? Using a Schengen calculator will help you know how far the clock has ticked on your time, whether you need a visa or not.
If you’re visiting Croatia in 2023, you’ll know that on the very first day of this year, it joined both Schengen and the Eurozone. It was the first nation to ever join both on the same day, and it fulfilled two huge strategic goals. Next comes OECD membership, hopefully.
Schengen: Visa or no visa?
Whether or not you need a visa to enter Croatia or the Schengen area depends on your nationality. This is also true for the ETIAS travel authorisation (which is not a visa), currently planned for 2024. You can read more here about whether or not you need a visa, and you can read more here about whether or not you’ll need an ETIAS in the future.
What if I have legal residence in Croatia?
If you’re a legal resident of Croatia and have a residence permit to prove it, you don’t need a visa and you won’t need an ETIAS when the system is introduced.
The Schengen calculator
If you’ve been visiting Croatia as part of a trip around the part of Europe which has abolished passport controls and border crossings, you’ll need to be keenly aware about how much time you’ve spent in the Schengen area. Overstaying your time in the Schengen area can see you landed with a fine and uncomfortable questioning at best and a ban for a certain time frame at worst.
Unless you’re an EU citizen or someone (with any citizenship) who has legal residence in Croatia and can evidence that, you’re permitted to be visiting Croatia (and now anywhere in the Schengen zone) for a maximum period if 90 days in any 180 days.
A handy Schengen calculator can help you out should you be confused about what counts as a full day, what counts as the first full day of entry, and so on. The calculator has been designed and made available by the European Union itself, and as such isn’t a cheaper knock off which could throw out miscalculations.
The Schengen calculator is available in different languages
While admittedly rather basic looking, the Schengen calculator is a no frills machine which allows you to accurately calculate your time spent in the borderless zone. It is available in English, German, French, Russian, Turkish and Spanish and an additional user guide is available here if it is needed.
