February 8, 2021 - Guidelines for the application process for the Croatian digital nomad visa have been published by the Ministry of the Interior.

As we await the online application process and dedicated website, the Ministry of the Interior has published guidelines and costs for the application process for the new Croatian digital nomad visa. So far, 11 successful applications have been accepted and in processing - from the UK, USA, South Korea and New Zealand. 

The guidelines in full:

Temporary stay of digital nomads

A DIGITAL NOMAD IS a third-country national who is employed or performs work through communication technology for a company or his own company that is not registered in the Republic of Croatia and does not perform work or provide services to employers in the Republic of Croatia.
 
Temporary stay is granted for up to a year (possibly even less) and it cannot be extended. A new application for regulating a stay of digital nomads can be submitted 6 months after the expiry of the previously granted temporary stay of digital nomads.
 
Close family members of a digital nomad who has been granted temporary stay in the Republic of Croatia may join him in the Republic of Croatia (see temporary stay for the purpose of family reunification here).

APPLYING FOR TEMPORARY STAY

The application is submitted to the competent authority depending on whether a third-country national is or isn’t required to hold a visa to enter the Republic of Croatia. Information on the visa system can be found here.

IF YOU ARE REQUIRED TO HOLD A VISA TO ENTER THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA:

you can submit your application abroad at a diplomatic mission/consular post of the Republic of Croatia (list of diplomatic missions/consular posts can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs http://www.mvep.hr/hr/predstavnistva/dmkurh-u-svijetu/). 

IF YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HOLD A VISA TO ENTER THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA:

you can submit your application at a diplomatic mission/consular post of the Republic of Croatia or at the competent police administration/police station according to your temporary residence address (you can find the list of police administrations/police stations here or you can contact the competent police administration/police station for further information on submitting your application in compliance with the epidemiological measures in force due to the COVID-19 epidemic). 

APPLICATION AND DOCUMENTATION

Copies of documents should be submitted in the Croatian or English language.
 
1. Fill in Form 1a (bilingual form available here) and enclose the following:
2. copy of a valid travel document (period of validity of a travel document must be three months longer than the period of validity of intended stay)
3. proof of health insurance (travel or private health insurance must cover the territory of the Republic of Croatia)
4. proof of purpose (contract of employment or other document proving that the person performs work through communication technology for a foreign employer or his own company which is not registered in the Republic of Croatia), that is

• statement from the employer or third-country national (as proof that the person performs work through communication technology), and          
• contract of employment or service contract with a foreign employer, or
• copy of the registration of his own company and proof that he performs the said tasks through his own company          

5. proof of means of subsistence during his stay in the Republic of Croatia,Until the adoption of a new Regulation on the manner of calculating and the amount of means of subsistence for third-country nationals in the Republic of Croatia, you can submit a bank statement or proof of regular income to your account in which you must have available a minimum of HRK 28,800 for a period of 12 months.

6. proof that he/she has not been convicted of criminal offences from his/her home country or a country in which he/she resided for more than one year immediately before arriving in the Republic of Croatia. Information on the legalization of documents can be found here. 

7. provide address in the Republic of Croatia

When submitting your application and filling in your form, you will be required to provide your address of stay or of intended stay in the Republic of Croatia. This is important for determining the police administration/police station which is locally competent for processing your application. If this is the first time you are applying and you do not have an address in the Republic of Croatia, you can provide a temporary address as the address of your intended stay (hostel/hotel if you have a reservation/confirmed reservation of accommodation).
 
AFTER YOU RECEIVE NOTIFICATION ON GRANTED TEMPORARY STAY

IF YOU ARE REQUIRED TO HOLD A VISA TO ENTER THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA:

Once you are informed that your temporary stay was granted, you have to contact the diplomatic mission/consular post once again to obtain a biometric residence permit (please inquire beforehand about this possibility at the diplomatic mission/consular post) or a visa to enter the Republic of Croatia.
You can also submit your visa application online here. 

IF YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HOLD A VISA TO ENTER THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA: 

You are not required to take the steps described above and you can enter the Republic of Croatia in line with the provisions of the Aliens Act.  

NOTE: Third-country nationals are obligated to register their temporary residence address at a police administration/police station within 30 days from being granted temporary stay or obtaining the visa, or otherwise their temporary stay will be revoked.
 
UPON ARRIVAL IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA - REGISTERING TEMPORARY RESIDENCE ADDRESS AND ISSUANCE OF A BIOMETRIC RESIDENCE PERMIT 

REGISTERING TEMPORARY RESIDENCE ADDRESS

Third-country nationals are obligated to register their temporary residence address within 3 days from their entry in the Republic of Croatia at the competent police administration/police station according to the location of their stay.
You can do this by filling in Form 8a (available here) and enclosing a lease contract, a statement from the landlord, or a title deed.
 

ISSUANCE OF A BIOMETRIC RESIDENCE PERMIT
Both third-country nationals who are not required to hold a visa to enter the Republic of Croatia and those who are required to hold a visa have to obtain a residence permit - biometric card (mustprovide photos and biometric data) in person at a police administration/police station.

More information available here,

Chapter 6.

COSTS 

If the application is submitted at a diplomatic mission/consular post - the costs are paid when applying

• HRK 420.00 for granting temporary stay, and
• HRK 460.00 for the visa, or
• HRK 310.00 for the biometric residence card (check with the diplomatic mission/consular post about the possibility of obtaining the card). 

If the application is submitted at a police administration/police station - the costs are paid after the stay is granted

• HRK 350.00 for granting temporary stay, and
• HRK 70.00 for administrative fees for the issuance of the biometric residence permit and HRK 240.00 for the biometric residence card. 

IF THE APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED AT A POLICE ADMINISTRATION/POLICE STATION-PAYMENT OF FEES ONLINE

ADMINISTRATIVE FEE FOR TEMPORARY RESIDENCE

Payment of administrative fees for the issuance of temporary residence through Internet banking (350 HRK) will be made in favor of the State Budget.
IBAN of the State Budget is: HR1210010051863000160, model: HR64, reference number: 5002-713-OIB (enter OIB of the person for whom the administrative fee is being paid, if OIB has been assigned).

For persons who do not have an assigned OIB, the reference number is: 5002-713-number of a valid travel document. (IMPORTANT: a maximum of 10 numbers, and if the number code initially contains zeros (0), they are not entered. NO letter marks, slashes, periods, commas, etc. are being entered).

For example, the number of the travel document / identity card of a foreign citizen is AZ004586, then the reference number is: 5002-713-4586 (without letters and zeros, the maximum is ten numbers).
 
FEES FOR BIOMETRIC RESIDENCE PERMIT

a) The payment of a fee in the amount of 240 HRK for biometric residence permits via Internet banking will be made in favor of the State Budget.IBAN of the State Budget is: HR1210010051863000160, model: HR65, reference number: 7005-485-OIB (enter OIB of the person for whom the payment is being made).
For those who have not been assigned an OIB, the reference number is: 7005-485-RKP-case number.

b) The payment of an administrative fee in the amount of 70 HRK for the biometric residence permit through Internet banking will be made in favor of the State Budget.IBAN of the State Budget:  HR1210010051863000160, model: HR64, call number: 5002-713-OIB.

For those who do not have an OIB, the reference number is: 5002-713-number of a valid travel document. (IMPORTANT: a maximum of 10 numbers, and if the number code initially contains zeros (0), they are not entered. NO letter marks, slashes, periods, commas, etc. are being entered).

For more information on the Croatian digital nomad visa and lifestyle, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

Meet Melissa Paul, the first foreigner to obtain the Croatian digital nomad visa. Find out how she did it.