All internet providers in alphabetical order along with documents required to obtain the service
If you are a foreigner in Croatia and have decided to settle in, you will probably want to have an Internet connection in your new home. We pretended to be an Irish immigrant and tried to research our options with major Internet providers in Croatia. Most of them will ask you to present the Croatian Personal Identity Number (OIB), but a few of them can set you up without it. Here is our piece on how to get the OIB in Croatia. Either way, along with an OIB you will be asked to show one valid form of ID (passport or international drivers license).
When in Croatia, be prepared to do some footwork, since you cannot do too many things online, and unfortunately, even Internet providers are not the exception in this case. Pretty much all of them will ask you to come to their branch offices to sign the contract, or simply provide them with your personal data. After finishing the research, it is our opinion that meeting them in person would be the best way to manage this process.
We conducted our research in alphabetical order, and here are the options;
We opened their website and found out there is no English version. Ok, there is a link “info telefon” with a number provided, and here is first info for you; 0800 numbers are toll-free in Croatia too, but only if you're calling from Croatia. We got the sales agent, and he informed us (in good English) that, in order to apply for their service, you will need an OIB. Sales agent informed us that they can provide their service only in the City of Zagreb as we asked about some Dalmatian islands.
Web- site in Croatian, no trace of an English version. We tried the search option, typing the word English, we got a link to commercial for Al-Jazeera TV in English. There is a toll-free telephone number, we called, the agent spoke English, and again, we were informed that we require an OIB. They claim to be available in most of the cities, and as for the islands and other small places, you will have to provide them with your new home address, and they can check immediately. They are definitely not available in Kaštela, as one of our colleagues found out when trying to apply for their service.
Their website was again not much help for non-Croatian speakers, but in time, we obtained their telephone number. Agent was English speaking, and this was the first to inform us that the copy of your passport would be enough, but with a deposit of 1000 HRK. If one does not want to leave a deposit, OIB is required. They claim to be available throughout Croatia.
Their website is also not available in English. Phone agent informed us, in English, that you will need a valid home address in Croatia, issued by the Croatian Police, and 600 HRK paid to them to set up an Internet connection at your home. To avoid this cost, you are required to have an OIB. Their service is available throughout Croatia. And you do not need to come into their sales office, all documents can be sent via e-mail.
Web-site available in English. Unfortunately, they only provide services to companies, so it is not a big help if you are not setting up your own business in Croatia. Also, they are available in most of the cities, and not everywhere else.
Another website in Croatian, only the wholesale department provides some information in English. Agent spoke English, and they also need an OIB to set you up. They are available in major cities and cover the inland well, but you will need to give your address for them to check whether their services are available in your area.
There is a corporate web-site in English, but for any enquiries, you will be redirected to the Croatian site, with no English available. After few minutes of surfing, we were approached by a live chat agent, and as we wrote in English, she redirected us to another, English speaking agent. We tried to find out if one needs an OIB, and if we can set up an Internet connection online, but with not much help, her insisting on offers, and not really answering our questions. We got the toll free number, and after some 20 minutes of listening to their menus, we talked with an agent, informing us that we need an OIB, as they need it to start the process.
Halleluyah! They have a web-site in English! They claim to be available throughout Croatia, and they need only a copy of your passport along with a valid credit card, no OIB required.
Please note that we did not go into technical details such as price, speed and quality of offered services. From our own experience, we know that even their advertised speed and packages can be misleading since it all depends on your address and infrastructure in your area. One thing is clear, in most cases you will need an OIB to obtain any of these services in Croatia, given that, as most of the agents we talked to explained, their operating systems require an OIB to be entered. As for Internet connection, you will need to prepare yourself for some waiting in queues, since you will have to visit their stores in order to set up an account.
