April the 2nd, 2024 – There have been 78% more work permit applications filed in Zadar County before April 2024 than there were back during the same period in 2023.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the demand for foreign workers in Zadar County has been growing from year to year, as evidenced by the Zadar police department’s data. According to them, 7,121 residence and work permits were issued across Zadar County back in 2022, while 10,037 permits were issued in 2023. There were more requests over the first three months of 2024 (during which 3,050 permits were issued, representing an increase of 78 percent) compared to the same period back in 2023.
Foreign workers in Zadar County (without the inclusion of the public sector) currently make up over 25% of employees, as reported by Večernji list. This information has been taken from the Zadar County Chamber of Commerce on the topic of foreign labour in the wider Zadar area, especially in tourism.
There’s more demand than in just tourism and hospitality in Zadar County
HGK – Zadar County Chamber pointed out that there is demand from all sectors of the economy, not only from the hospitality/tourism industry.
The main problems are the lengthy work permit procedures, and their accommodation, especially in the height of the summer season with regard to the touristic nature of Zadar County. There’s also a lack of quality accommodation facilities and consequently high accommodation prices for foreign employees. Because of that, some employers resort to the construction of special accommodation facilities to solve this burning problem.
The Croatian Chamber of Commerce – Zadar County Chamber has thus focused its activities on solving the labour force problems of its members and, in cooperation with the Croatian Employment Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it has organised workshops on the topic of procedures for hiring foreign workers. In addition, they have put together events with the aim of facilitating the path for companies to their desired employees.
construction and manufacturing
The majority of foreign workers living and working across Zadar County are employed in tourism, mainly in the hospitality and hotel industry, followed by construction and manufacturing.
“As far as the hotel industry is concerned, it should be noted that certain hotel companies in this county decide to employ only the resident population, and these are mostly facilities that continue to operate all year round.
When it comes to the countries from which foreign workers typically come to Zadar County, they’re usually from neighbouring non-EU countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania). Then come those from much more distant nations. They’re mostly from Nepal, the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Egypt and Georgia,” they emphasised from HGK, adding that in order for foreign workers to adapt to work and life in Croatia as quickly and qualitatively as possible, they launched the first integration programme for foreign workers in Croatia, “Welcome to Croatia”, which will be implemented across six cities in Croatia, and the Zadar County Chamber will hold it from April the 22nd to the 26th, 2024.
