March the 1st, 2023 - Once you've been approved for Croatian residence, the main bulk of your administrative woes will be over. No more standing in lines, stamps, and being frowned at by ill-informed clerks at MUP. No more limbo. But there are still rules to follow when it comes to how long you can be absent from the country for.
Citizens of the European Union/European Economic Area with temporary Croatian residence
If you're an EEA/EU citizen and you've been approved for temporary Croatian residence (this is typically approved for a period of five years, but it can be less), you're free to be absent from Croatian territory for no more than six calendar months per year.
This means that as long as you're present in Croatia for six months every year, your temporary Croatian residence remains valid.
If you've sought specific permission from the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) to be gone for longer without endangering the validity of your residence permit, then you can be. It's worth noting that if you're gone longer than six months, or longer than one year (without permission in the case of the latter), your temporary residence permit and those tied to you, such as for your family members, can end up being terminated.
At the end of your five years of temporary Croatian residence, you're entitled to permanent residence in Croatia by way of EU law. In your case (unlike in the case of third country nationals), you are entitled to permanent residence after five years and one day of holding temporary Croatian residence (uinterrupted). You still need to get the green light from MUP and obtain your new permanent residence card, but once you have it, the rules change slightly, and I'll outline them below.
Citizens of the European Union/European Economic Area with permanent Croatian residence
If you're an EEA/EU citizen and you've been approved for permanent Croatian residence (this means you are free to live in Croatia without needing to adhere to any particular rules for as long as you want), you're free to be absent from Croatian territory for no more than two consecutive years at a time.
This means that as long as you don't spend two entire years on the trot outside of Croatia, your permanent Croatian residence remains valid.
British nationals who are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement and have temporary residence
Citizens of Great Britain and Northern Ireland who exercised their rights to freedom of movement within the EU back when they were EU citizens (pre-Brexit) are protected by something called the Withdrawal Agreement. This gives them acquired rights and separates them both from British tourists and British citizens who applied for Croatian residence after Brexit was concluded (more precisely after the UK's transition period out of the EU ended on the 31st of December, 2020).
British nationals who are protected under the Withdrawal Agreement have residence cards which prove that, setting them apart from their post-Brexit counterparts and affording them more generous rules.
If you're a pre-Brexit Brit (and you can prove it with the aforementioned residence card) with temporary residence, you're treated as if you were an EU/EEA citizen, meaning that you're free to be absent from Croatia for up to six months per calendar year without a problem.
British nationals who are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement and have permanent residence
Citizens of Great Britain and Northern Ireland who exercised their rights to freedom of movement within the EU back when they were EU citizens (pre-Brexit) are protected by something called the Withdrawal Agreement. This gives them acquired rights and separates them both from British tourists and British citizens who applied for Croatian residence after Brexit was concluded (more precisely after the UK's transition period out of the EU ended on the 31st of December, 2020).
British nationals who are protected under the Withdrawal Agreement have residence cards which prove that, setting them apart from their post-Brexit counterparts and affording them more generous rules.
If you're a pre-Brexit Brit (and you can prove it with the aforementioned residence card) with permanent residence, you're free to be absent from Croatia for up to five consecutive years without endangering the validity of your permit.
Third country nationals with temporary Croatian residence
Third country nationals are citizens of countries which aren't member states of the EEA or the EU, or they're British citizens not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.
While holding temporary Croatian residence, third country nationals shouldn't be outside of Croatia for more than thirty days in one go, or for more than ninety days in total, if their temporary Croatian residence permit has been approved a period of one year.
If their temporary Croatian residence has been approved for two years, then they risk their permits being cancelled if they spend more than sixty days in one go, or 180 days in total outside of Croatia.
If you have justified reasons for being outside for longer periods, then you can let MUP know and see if you can get permission.
Third country nationals with permanent Croatian residence
Much like pre-Brexit Brits, third country nationals who hold permanent Croatian residence are free to be absent from Croatia for a decent chunk of time. If you've resided outside of Croatian territory for longer than six years, your permit can be terminated. It can also be terminated if you've resided outside of the EEA for longer than one year consecutively.
For more on moving to and living in Croatia, make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle section. An article exploring everything to do with How to Croatia is published each Wednesday.
