As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 31st of May, 2020, the Croatian Employment Service (CES/HZZ) has published the conditions for the receiving of Croatian Government support for job preservation for June on its website.

Here's a list of what's changing and an explanation of who can obtain Croatian Government support next month. The support for June will continue to amount to 4,000.00 kuna per full-time employee/worker.

The CES will receive applications in the period from June the 8th to June the 30th, 2020, and the support can be provided by employers from the following sectors:

Agriculture, forestry and fishing - only crop and livestock production, hunting and related service activities, as well as fishing.

Transport and storage - primarily passenger transport (rail, land, air and water).

Accommodation and food and beverage service activities.

Administrative and support service activities - only rental and leasing activities, as well as travel agencies, tour operators and other reservation services and related activities.

The arts, entertainment and recreation - only creative, artistic and entertaining activities, entertainment and recreational activities and the production and showing of films, sound recording and music publishing activities and their distribution.

Other service activities - the repair of computers and personal and household goods and other personal service activities.

Organisers of cultural, business and sports events, organisers of fairs and weddings, and related activities such as companies for equipment rental, audio and video recording, ticket sales, hall rental and other companies that generate most of their income from events and public gatherings.

Eligible employers: companies, crafts, family farms and self-employed natural persons.

What is the application criteria for Croatian Government support in June?

The criteria for Croatian Government support in June is as follows:

An employer wishing to use the support must prove that in May 2020 he had a decrease in income of at least 50 percent when compared to May 2019, based on the submission of submitted VAT forms for 05/2020 and 05/2019 to the Tax Administration.

If the employer has been operating for less than one year, it is necessary to prove a decrease in turnover by at least 50% percent in May 2020 compared to February 2020 based on the submitted VAT forms for 05/2020 and 02/2020 to the Tax Administration.

For employers who are eligible for support for fifty or more employees for May, the criteria has been supplemented. According to the amendments to this group of employers, the conditions for receiving support for May have been tightened up and can be found in more detail here.

For more on Croatian Government measures, follow our lifestyle page.

May 31, 2020 - There is a LOT of confusion and misinformation about travel requirements to Croatia at the moment, and it hurting the tourism industry. It is possible to fix, one email at a time. 

This is a year for first time experiences. 

Yesterday, I wrote to a newspaper about an article correction for the first time in English (I tried last year in Croatia - unsuccessfully -  with Slobodna Dalmacija after some naughty local official tried - and continues to try - to slander me, but that's another story). 

The email was to the digital editor of The Irish Times, whose email was on their website. 

Here is what I wrote. 

Hi Paddy, 

May 31, 2020 - Accurate travel info is hard to find at the moment, but the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community is answering many tourists' questions - such as 'can you drive from Holland to Croatia?' A Dutch national speaks. 

Driving across Europe to Croatia? Is it even possible? It seems that it is. I am very grateful to Dutch national Enrico from the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community for sharing his experiences. In his own words:

Just to inform people from Holland. I am a Dutch national with a Dutch passport. Yesterday we (my girlfriend and I) travelled from Holland to the south of Germany by car without any problem. We stayed in a hotel near the Austrian border. Today we travelled from the South of Germany to Austria, Slovenia and Croatia without any problem.

Our passports were checked on all borders. 

At the Austrian border, we told them that we were in transit to Croatia and we showed the document on which we declared to use Austria only for transit. No problem, have a safe drive they told us. At the Slovenian border, they asked us why we were entering Slovenia. On transit to Croatia...where is your proof of booking? We showed them our reservation. Ok, have a good drive. 

At the Croatian border, I showed them the document, which I received by e-mail when I filled in all info on the website at home just before we left.  They scanned my passport and automatically the details of my trip were on her screen. Oke, have a nice stay. 

So, without any problems, we arrived in Croatia for a vacation for two weeks in Opatija. Thanks to the people on This forum. THANK YOU ALL.

Thank you too, Enrico - I am sure this will be very useful for many people. Now relax and enjoy gorgeous Opatija. If you are looking for things to do, here are 25 things to know about Opatija. 

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

July 1 update: Please follow Can Americans Visit Croatia after July 1, 2020 EU Border Update to find the latest info.

European Union isn’t likely to blacklist U.S. travelers (Washington Post June 22)

EU May Bar American Travelers as It Reopens Borders, Citing Failures on Virus (New York Times June 22)

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

June 23 update: Please follow Can Americans Visit Croatia Now? Rules, Tips and Exceptions to find the latest info.

May 31, 2020 - One of the most frequently asked questions I am being asked at the moment - when will Americans and Australians be allowed to visit Croatia? The short answer? Come tomorrow! Read on for the longer explanation...

Twelve days ago, TCN started the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community in an attempt to provide some clear information about the current travel situation to Croatia. 

It has been quite a ride... 

One thing that became immediately clear is that there is a LOT of confusion out there, and there were several topics that featured again and again. 

When will Americans be allowed to visit Croatia?

When will Australians be allowed to visit Croatia?

I have learned a LOT from the Viber community in the last 12 days, including how badly Croatia is communicating the simplest information. 

So here is my answer to the question of when Americans, Australians and other non-EU residents can visit Croatia. The info is actually rather simple. 

At time of writing (please note that corona can change things in an instant), FROM June 15, all Internal EU/EEA borders are expected to be fully open on June 15 (31 countries EU + UK + Norway + Switzerland + Iceland). Croatia has already opened its borders to 10 EU countries. No announcement has yet been made regarding external EU borders, but a date of July 15 is expected. Europe Travel: EU Borders May Stay Shut After June 15 Due To Covid (Forbes). 

BEFORE June 15, EU external borders are closed to all but returning nationals and special cases. IF, however, you are a non-EU national currently inside the EU who can visit Croatia in normal times, AND you can get to the Croatian border AND have proof of paid accommodation, you will be allowed entry. 

And it really is as simple - or as complicated - as that. 

Please note that 

1. Things can change in an instant due to corona. 

2. I hold no official office, and so you are best to confirm all with the Croatian authorities here. 

Looking for the latest travel info to Croatia? Follow the TCN daily update.

Flying to Croatia anytime soon? We strongly suggest you print out the IATA guidelines. You can learn more about why, and all the other documents you should carry with you when traveling, in the link. 

Do you have a question about travelling to Croatia? Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community, currently the only place answering Croatian travel questions in real time (you will need to download the Viber app).

For the latest relevant travel info articles, click here.

ZAGREB, May 31, 2020 - The Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) has called on the Agriculture Ministry to amend the so-called wine envelope in order to help the viticulture and winemaking sector by allocating most of the HRK 43 million grants to be used to distill surplus wine and thus reduce unsold stock.

The HGK said last Thursday that the crisis caused by the coronavirus had strongly impacted the sector of viticulture and winemaking, too.

A survey conducted by the Chamber's Association of Wine Producers has shown that there are problems with the sale of about 50% to 60% of wine stock, and it is expected that sales will go down by up to 80% in the first six months.

"The Chamber has proposed that the biggest part of the HRK 43 million grants be allocated to reduce the unsold stock by distilling surplus wine," said the vice-president of the HGK Agriculture and Tourism Sector, Dragan Kovacevic.

He also noted that the proposal entailed favourable loans for winemakers through the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) and the Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovations, and Investments (HAMAG-BICRO), with good insurance instruments and interest rates, a five-year maturity and one-year grace period.

The HGK says that the reduced consumption, the unsold stock which has reached its highest level since 2009, additional import duties on European wines in the USA, which is the EU's main market, and the pandemic have all significantly destabilised the wine market in the EU, including Croatia's market.

Currently, wine stocks are accumulating, notably, with bigger wine producers, which also leads to a lack of storage capacity, the HGK said.

May 31, 2020 - Great news for British tourists wanting to visit Croatia this summer - work is ongoing to establish an air bridge from the UK to Croatia, with no self-isolation requirement on return. 

TCN recently launched a Viber community called Total Croatia Travel INFO in an attempt to bring more clarity to the current chaotic travel information. The response has been outstanding, with community members contributing their own experiences, which has enabled us  to build a clearer picture for all. You can join the community here and get your questions answered in real time (you will need to download the Viber app).

Some of the contributions are public in the group, and some come by private message from the UK.

Like this one.

Just now live on BBC Breakfast Siman Calder of Independent Newspaper said he Has spoken to Croatian minister of tourism and he has said British Tourists are welcome as long as they have booked accommodation, and are negotiating with UK government to launch an airbridge between Croatia and UK which would mean on return to UK there would be no need to isolate for 14 days.

We will see what more we can find out about this breaking news and update this article as soon as we do. If you have any useful and verifiable travel information for Croatia, then please join the community and share. 

Croatian Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli called me a couple of days ago and invited me to a meeting with him in his office on Wednesday. So I will use the opportunity to try and get as much information. 

Sky News report on plans for air bridges (June 2)

For the latest travel info, this is the TCN Croatian travel update. 

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community for the latest news from Croatia. 

For the latest and most relevant travel info articles, click here. 

May 30, 2020 - The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (CNIPH), Krunoslav Capak, attended a session of the Health Commission of the Croatian Olympic Committee (COC) and spoke about returning sport to normal in Croatia. 

"You know yourself that in mid-May, with the easing of measures, we allowed training for top athletes. The football Cup will be played this weekend, and we also have pressure to let the fans into the stadiums. For now, however, this will not happen," said Capak on HRT, who also commented on the possibility of holding sports competitions indoors:

"Bowling and bowling competitions will start on June 12, and after that, we will consider the possibility of spectators in the stands."

The secretary of the COC Health Commission, the famous nutritionist Mimi Vurdelja, emphasized the agility of the members of the Commission in the beginnings of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We from the COC were the first to start making and sending recommendations to federations and clubs for the protection of athletes' health. I have to inform you that immediately after the appearance of the coronavirus, we received a number from Dr. Capak that athletes can call. We are very grateful to him for that."

Because the virus no longer circulates among us and that Croatia has one of the best epidemiological situations in the world, Dr. Capak spoke with a lot of optimism about the current epidemiological situation in the country, although he never lacks caution.

"We must still be careful because the virus is still there, and it can easily come to us from the outside. Due to tourist motives, we are currently the most open country in Europe, and the situation in our environment is not great - Germany, France, Spain, and hotspots in South America; all this suggests caution."

In addition to making continuous recommendations for preserving the health of athletes, the COC Health Commission intends, in cooperation with partners from the CNIPH, to initiate serology testing of Croatian Olympians and the development of an immunological health card of Olympic athletes. These are 64 individual top athletes and three men's national teams. Dr. Capak promised support in the implementation of the mentioned activities, which, according to the information of the secretary of the Commission, will bring savings of around 200,000 kuna.

The head of the CNIPH anti-doping service, Dr. Roman Latinović, reported that anti-doping testing of athletes in individual sports was launched on May 26, and that football competitions will also begin in team competition. He also reminded of the fact that his service is in the process of implementing the new anti-doping code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The proposal of the Secretary-General of the Croatian Automobile and Karting Association, Zrinko Gregurek, was also considered. At a recent session of the COC Council, he introduced the COC's leading body to the foreign practice of installing the so-called tunnels for the disinfection of spectators of sporting events. Praising all the measures to protect people at sports competitions, doc. Dr. Dinko Pivalica said that, regardless of the external decontamination of those who enter, this method cannot eliminate asymptomatic phenomena.

Therefore, the COC Health Commission unanimously supported the conclusion of its president, Dr. Miran Martinac, who said:

"We consider this type of prevention desirable for all closed spaces, but experts should give the final word on this, i.e., epidemiologists, from whom we asked for an expert opinion."

At the end of the session, a proposal was agreed to hold a roundtable meeting on June 17, which should be attended by the Minister of Health in the Government of the Republic of Croatia Vili Beroš, CNIPH Director Krunoslav Capak, State Secretary of the Central State Office for Sports Tomislav Družak and COC President Zlatko Mateša in the role of host, but also a representative of WADA.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 30, 2020 - The lack of clear travel advice from the Croatian authorities is leading to misleading headlines in the European media, which is affecting the tourist sector which is 20% of GDP in a good year. 

The most interesting mini-project I started this year - with the considerable help of Kresimir Macan and two of his interns from Manjgura - was to start the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community, a project that is way outside my comfort zone. 

But what a great and useful resource it has become in just 10 days. Community participation from its members all over the world is helping build a picture of both what the real travel situation is in Croatia, as well as the perception of being able to travel to Croatia. 

I don't blame the European media for not getting things completely right, as it is incredibly difficult to have accurate information in such fast-changing times when the authorities are so reluctant to present information transparently, but there is some dangerous misinformation, as well as some inaccurate reporting going on. 

Here are three examples that I have been sent to the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community. 

Perhaps the most worrying example was from the BBC, which stated that visitors need to produce a negative COVID-19 test. This is currently NOT the case. You do NOT require a test to enter or leave Croatia, and there is NO self-isolation/quarantine requirement. Our Viber community is slowly building a resource of links to the official pages of other countries so that tourists can find out what happens when they return home. You can get info for some links here, and if you would like to send the link for your country, we will happily add it. 

Our community member was kind enough to recommend TCN as the best source of information. You can see our comprehensive Croatian travel update here (updated daily).

Last night, The Irish Times published an article about travel to Croatia and Greece.

"Croatia and Greece have announced that they will be opening their countries to some foreign visitors for the tourist season, but Irish holidaymakers will not be allowed."

This was the opening sentence. I can understand why the journalist wrote this, but it is actually not true. Irish tourists CAN come. 

It was the same in Belgium, according to this article, sent in by another community member. 

The reason that these articles were written, and the reason these journalists are saying Irish and Belgian tourists cannot come is a direct result of the very poor communication from the Croatian tourism authorities. 

What changed on May 28 was that Croatia opened its borders fully - and without conditions - to 10 countries with a good corona record. Citizens of Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and Germany can now enter Croatia without restriction.

Before that decision (and still true today), people from EU countries were allowed to come if they could prove ownership of property in Croatia, proof of paid accommodation or proof of a business meeting. 

There is an important technical distinction which has obviously not been picked up by the European media. Croatia is open for tourism for those 10 countries. It is technically not open for tourism until June 15 for the rest (assuming things go well with the virus), BUT you can come on holiday. The difference is that you will enter not as a tourist, but as someone engaged in an economic activity (spending money in the hotel). 

So while it is technically correct to say that Croatia is not open for tourists from Ireland and Belgium, it is very misleading, as tourists can come under the umbrella of economic activity. A very Balkan solution. 

The Irish Times also gives the impression that Irish tourists will not be allowed to Croatia this summer. That is also misleading, as everything will open up on June 15 IF the corona situation is at an acceptable level in Ireland. 

If you have any more examples of misleading information being published in European media, please email link to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject European Media. Or why not join our vibrant Viber community (you will need to download the app)? 

ZAGREB, May 29, 2020 - A Croatian Member of the European Parliament and Deputy Leader of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) Valter Flego on Friday reacted to a decision by Austria not to include Croatia among safe countries for its citizens to travel to, saying that this was un-European and discriminatory.

"Our country is among those countries in Europe and the world with the best epidemiological situation. Each day we are drawing closer to being corona-free however, it is not on the list of safe countries where Austrian citizens may spend their annual vacation as of mid-June, which I consider to be incomprehensible," said Flego.

He considers that the Austrian government's decision "is simply not in the European spirit - it is discriminatory and in no way solidary and it is illogical."

On the one hand, he underscored, the European Commission is proposing a record large budget to bail out the European economy and on the other hand member states are sabotaging each other and putting up obstacles.

"We must not allow politicking about the tourism season. We know where politics belongs and where not," said the Croatian MEP

Flego together with two Slovenian MEPs Irena Joveva and Klement Gorselj sent a letter to the European Commission and they expect an urgent response from the EC President Ursula von der Leyen. They also sent a copy of the correspondence to Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic and Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli.

ZAGREB, May 29, 2020 - Minister of Labour and Pension System Josip Aladrovic and unions representing state administration employees on Friday signed an annex to the basic collective agreement.

"Today we held a fourth meeting with state administration employees' unions. What we hoped for and expected was achieved - a compromise, which is the same as the compromise with public sector employees. This closes our negotiations. On Monday we expect the signing of the annex after the government approves it," Aladrovic said after the meeting.

He reiterated that the same annex was signed with public servants, envisaging the deferral of the base pay rise that was to have occurred on 1 June and 1 October.

A representative of a union of interior ministry employees, Zdravko Loncar, said that they had decided to initial the annex because they wanted to be stakeholders in the process so as to meet their obligations towards union members.

"This is damage control. We did not wish to leave it up to some new government to take everything from us after the election. This is our contribution at this moment, we empathise with everyone, we are part of the people and live with the people. We believe that we are in a much better position," said Loncar.

Local and state administration employees' union leader Iva Suskovic, too, said that union bodies had agreed to accept the government's offer.

She expressed hope that the negotiations with the government would continue.

"We hope to sit at the table with the new government in the autumn and discuss all the problems in state administration services, not only the low salaries but primarily working conditions, material rights and ways of improving the status of state administration employees. We do not want to negotiate only about the suspension of the base pay increase and Christmas bonuses because the problem in state administration is much deeper," said Suskovic.

Police union leader Dubravko Jagic said that the membership of his union had also decided to sign the annex.