December 9, 2020 - As the digital nomad visa inches closer to reality, the Croatian Digital Nomad Association is founded. More on that, and a visa update.
It all started with an open letter on LinkedIn to the Prime Minister last than four months ago. 44 days later, PM Plenkovic tweeted his assent - his government would push for the introduction of a digital nomad visa for Croatia, which would make it only the fifth place in the world and the second in Europe after Estonia (Dubai and Iceland have since also announced nomad visas). And the word is getting out, with the Washington Post the latest global media to feature digital nomads in Croatia, including the Dubrovnik for Digital Nomads conference, which was recently co-organised by TCN, Saltwater, the City and Tourist Board of Dubrovnik.
Jan de Jong, the Split-based Dutch entrepreneur whose LinkedIn post in July started the whole process rolling, announced plans at the Dubrovnik conference to found a Croatian digital nomad association in order to help make Croatia a more attractive destination for nomads, by offering a range of services to help build and serve the nomad community.
The new Croatian Digital Nomad Association will have five key areas of focus, as explained in the infographic below.
De Jong took to LinkedIn once again this morning to announce that the Croatian Digital Nomad Association has been officially founded:
YES!! We have officially founded the Digital Nomad Association Croatia ??. Together we shall unite & serve digital nomads in Croatia.
It looks like Croatia will not only be among the first countries in the world to welcome digital nomads - but we shall also have among the most attractive visa programs currently out there.
Changing the laws in Croatia in order to welcome digital nomads was just the start of a great and exciting journey.
Croatia has a chance to position itself among top destinations globally. There is a lot of work ahead of us - both in the private & public sector. That is the reason why we wanted to organize ourselves in an association.
If you want to:
✅ Join the association
✅ Support the association
✅ Volunteer at the association
Then please, follow Digital Nomad Association Croatia on #LinkedIn as more updates will follow soon - stay tuned.
I would like to thank my co-founders Tanja Polegubic & Karmela Tancabel for their efforts and insight. Thank you Younited Agency for our visual identity.
Last but not least, thank you all for your support. We would not have come here without your comments and shares
Give this post a ❤ as your first action to support the Association!
Pozdrav,
Jan de Jong
#Croatia
#DigitalNomads
#Remotework
What is the latest with the Croatian digital nomad visa?
Apart from the many questions I get about the new rules for entering Croatia at the moment, the most common request for information I am getting these days is a progress report on the availability of the digital nomad visa. There has been a LOT of interest in the visa, with Croatia perfectly positioned to offer a great nomad lifestyle experience to visiting remote workers. There is also understandable frustration from the initial tweet from the Prime Minister back in late August, and the still-undefined terms of the visa or the timing of its availability.
Here's my take on the current situation and what and when I think might happen (PLEASE NOTE that this is just my personal observations only, and you should wait for official confirmation before making any firm decisions).
What we know for sure is that the legal framework is now in place for the digital nomad visa to be available from January 1, 2021, as a result of a change in the Aliens Act a couple of weeks ago, as previously reported on TCN.
What is still to be finalised (and various ministries are working on the final details, to be completed by the end of the month) are the exact conditions of the visa, details of which are yet to be announced. Here are some of the main
Who can apply for the digital nomad visa?
I would expect that anyone who has a bone fide remote business will be able to apply for the visa. Key restrictions on the visa would be that no business can be done in Croatia or with Croatian companies. This visa is for remote workers earning their money abroad and spending locally.
How much will it cost?
I have not yet heard a figure for the visa fee, but I would be very surprised if it was anything more than a nominal fee, or even free of charge. Barbados is charging US$2,000 for an individual, US$3,000, which defeats the point of what Croatia is trying to achieve. There is little point creating a product and then making it prohibitively expensive.
Will proof of a minimum income be necessary? If yes, how much?
As more and more countries are introducing digital nomad visas, it would be understandable to assume that the products are basically the same. They are not. Just as Barbados is charging US$2,000 for the visa, so too others have prohibitive minimum income requirements. Dubai requires a minimum of US$5,000 a month, Iceland more than US$7,000 a month. I have not heard a figure mentioned for Croatia yet, but I would expect it to be considerably lower, but high enough to ensure that those who do come have the spending power to help the Croatian economy. A figure of 1,500 - 2,500 euro a month minimum would make Croatia much more accessible, as well as providing a new generation of word of mouth promoters for the country's tourism.
What about tax payable in Croatia?
This is one of the big unknowns, and one which will be 100% certain next week. Will digital nomads have to pay tax in Croatia? My feeling is that the Croatian visa will come without a tax requirement to Croatia. These may seem strange to some people until you take a closer look at the realities of who might be using the visa. Perhaps the best example I can give to illustrate the point is the Russian/Ukrainian couple from Munich who I came across last year in Jelsa who truly opened my eyes to the possibilities.
They both worked in IT, and their Munich boss told them that he was happy for them to remote work 10 months of the year, as long as they were available online during Munich working hours. They could have stayed at home and enjoyed remote work in Munich, but they decided instead to rent out their apartment and spend the time travelling - 3 months in Jelsa, then to Sicily, Spain and Portugal. They came to Jelsa from April 1 - June 30, renting an apartment for three months out of the main season. So happy were they that they planned to return for the same dates this year. They ate in the restaurants, drank in the cafes, bought local in the markets, took Croatian classes. Income coming into local businesses in Croatia which would otherwise have been spent in Munich.
Multiply these remote workers and there is a slow effect not only on the Croatian economy but also on local businesses and communities. By making Croatia an attractive destination in terms of tax liabilities, visa cost, and minimum income, this is a real opportunity. The market will only get more competitive, as more visas are offered. It should be noted that my example above does not require a visa, as they are EU residents, but I wanted to give a concrete example based on the economic benefits, even with no tax liability.
KPMG Croatia has kindly agreed to provide a tax guide article for digital nomads in Croatia, which we will be publishing later in the month.
What about health insurance?
I would expect health insurance to be a prerequisite.
Criminal record?
I would expect proof of no criminal record to be a prerequisite.
How to apply for a Croatian digital nomad visa?
We are also still waiting for details of this. I would expect this to be an online process, devoid of the usual bureaucratic obstacles. The Ministry of the Interior did an outstanding job this year with its border control, and its Enter Croatia form was an unqualified hit. This is the ministry which is driving the introduction of the visa, and this is the ministry which really performed this year in dealing with border and tourist movement. It was impressive to watch.
How long will the application take to be approved? That I have no answer to.
Will the visa be available on January 1? While technically, it could be, whether or not the final pieces of the jigsaw are in place is not certain. But I think it is fairly certain that it will be available in the first quarter of next year.
We will post any updates on our dedicated digital nomad section, which you can follow here.
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