March 1, 2021 - An important milestone as the Croatia digital nomad online application form is launched in English and Croatia by the Ministry of Interior.

The next phase of the digital nomad story in Croatia is complete, as the Croatian digital nomad online application form has been added to the official website of the Ministry of the Interior. 

Visitors to Croatia last year will be very familiar with the website, as it was also the place where the hugely successful Enter Croatia form was hosted, which helped speed up border crossing times considerably. 

As with the Enter Croatia form, there are bound to be some initial teething problems, which will hopefully be quickly ironed out as they were with Enter Croatia back in May. 

The launch of the online application option is the latest in a very swift (at least by Croatian standards) introduction of the digital nomad visa for Croatia. 

It was only on July 11 last year that Dutch entrepreneur Jan de Jong wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic requesting that Croatia introduce the visa. On August 25, following a meeting with de Jong, Plenkovic tweeted his decision to introduce the visa, and proposed changes in legistlation were put before Parliament the very next day. 

Changes to the tax code and the Aliens Act at the end of last year provided the legal conditions for digital nomads to regulate their stay for a 12-month period, provided the appropriate conditions were met. 

An American in Istria became the first digital nomad to successfully apply in late January - you can read her first interview here: Meet Melissa Paul, Owner of Croatia's First Digital Nomad Visa.

We will bring you more on the process shortly, but for now you can check out the Croatian digital nomad online application form here.

For the updated requirements to apply, check out Croatia Publishes Updated Digital Nomad Visa Requirements.

For the latest on the digital nomad scene in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

And for a taste of digital nomad life in Croatia, watch how this couple from San Francisco is adapting to winter life on Hvar. 

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. 

December 11, 2020 - Falkensteiner is the latest to join the digital nomad trend, offering their Premium Senia apartments as part of the Welcome Home Office offer! 

Remote work or "long stay" offers for digital nomads is a new global trend, which has been accepted by many Croatian hoteliers and camps. Falkensteiner is the latest to join the new trend, offering Premium Senia apartments to digital nomads and business people through long-term rentals in the top Punta Skala resort, just ten minutes by car to Zadar!

The apartments are bright and spacious, in a variety of sizes, with a fully equipped kitchen and a large terrace, and, of course, high-speed internet. 

The Welcome Home Office offer is based on a minimum of seven nights, with a price of 80 EUR per day onwards, including one free massage and a twenty percent discount on spa treatments at the Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Iadera.

The service also offers a meeting room with conference equipment, and the possibility of printing and scanning is available. There is also a "Premium living" service, a weekly purchase according to your needs, and the possibility of breakfast or half board.

In addition to work, additional content is important, in which the Punta Skala resort has a sure advantage. The resort offers a full range of facilities for sports fans - from a fitness room to endless promenades and jogging trails by the sea and an outdoor sports center with tennis courts, golf course, mini-golf, badminton, basketball, five-a-side football, beach volleyball, rental of sports equipment.

On the other hand, in the AquaPura Spa center on as much as 6,000 square meters, there are outdoor and indoor pools, Turkish hammam, steam baths, numerous saunas, including a panoramic earthen sauna overlooking the sea, Kneipp pool, and private spa.

Even better, back in August, Falkensteiner introduced free COVID-19 testing to the guests in its hotels. 

You can read more about Falkensteiner's Welcome Home Office offer for digital nomads HERE.

Source: HRTurizam

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

November 11, 2020 – Last week, the Croatian government took the first step to introducing a digital nomad visa. In his statement, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković pointed out that the Law on Foreigners, under which the digital nomad visa is regulated, is an important law.

As Lider Media / Nikolina Oršulić reports, the first concrete regulatory steps have been taken to legalize the residence and work of digital nomads in Croatia. Namely, on Thursday, November 5, 2020, at the Government session, the final proposal of the Law on Foreigners was adopted, which will be sent to the Croatian Parliament.

"I think this is an important law. We are among the first countries to legally regulate the issue of digital nomads, and this will be accompanied by appropriate changes to the law in the tax domain, as well as in the health insurance domain," said Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, announcing further legislative steps.

The idea of launching digital nomad visas was first presented in Croatia by Dutch entrepreneur Jan de Jong, who has been building new business opportunities in Croatia for more than a decade.

"I can say that I am satisfied with the pace at which we are working to bring the legislative package needed to attract digital nomads to Croatia. We are currently making great steps forward in answering health insurance questions. With the Prime Minister's statement, we have an official obligation from the highest political level to continue to make extraordinary efforts to adapt the laws regarding taxation and health insurance. I am happy that Croatia will become the leading country in the world in attracting digital nomads," said the entrepreneur for Lider Media.

The legislative story has heated up, so the initiator of introducing a digital nomad visa is already working on the next step – the establishment of a kind of central point to support digital nomads.

"Since we are going in the right direction, I am working on establishing the Croatian Association for Digital Nomads (Digital Nomad Association Croatia - DNA Croatia) whose mission will be to connect digital nomads in Croatia and support them. We are currently in the process of founding this association," said de Jong, who is entering the project with Tanja Polegubić, a returnee from Australia who runs Saltwater Nomads - remote work and lifestyle services for digital nomads in Split, and Karmela Tancabel, a member of the Ilok Cellars (Iločki podrumi) Marketing and Export Board.

The plan is to complete the legislative part to introduce a digital nomad visa by the end of the year, and visas should be available in the first quarter of 2021. In addition to the legal regulation of the status of digital nomads, the draft of the Law on Foreigners brings some other changes.

"The most important novelty is prescribing a new model of employment of foreigners, according to which the employer must first request the implementation of the labor market test from the Employment Bureau to find labor on the domestic market. If there are no unemployed in Croatia, then a request is sent to the Ministry of the Interior seeking an opinion from the Croatian Employment Service. Exceptions to this test are for deficit professions that are usually used during the season," said Interior Minister Davor Božinović at the Government session.

In the draft of the Law on Foreigners, a digital nomad is defined as a third-country national who is employed or performs business through communication technology for a company or 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.

For the latest about the digital nomad scene in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN news section.

September 16, 2020 - Will Croatia be one of the first countries to introduce a digital nomad visa? A closer look into what this means for the country.

Vecernji List reports that digital nomads are people that work online, and all they really need is a high-speed internet connection. Thus, they can have a temporary office on the beach, in a cafe, on a train, in a park, or wherever the internet is fast and accessible enough. For this reason, digital nomads like to switch up the places and countries they work, because they are their own employer or are almost never obliged to meet their employers. They are mostly IT experts, writers, journalists, designers, or various creatives, and there are more and more jobs that can be done remotely due to technological advances and the development of online tools. Soon, digital nomads could become frequent Croatian guests, and Croatia could be one of the few countries in the world that will regulate the status of digital nomads and issue them a digital nomad visa.

The first step has been taken, the institute of digital nomads has been included in the proposal of the Foreigners Act, which had its first reading in Parliament on Friday, and should be debated and adopted by the end of the year and come into force at the beginning of 2021. 

Credit is due to Dutch entrepreneur Jan De Jong, who is mostly responsible for bringing digital nomads to the attention of Croatian legislation. Namely, when asked what Croatia should do to improve its revenues, help Croatian companies survive, and make Croatia a year-round destination, not just a temporary visit for tourists in the three summer months, Jan answered that Croatia needs to regulate the rules on digital nomads, create a digital nomad visa, and open up the country to the world. 

"Unfortunately, we have seen that many Croats leave Croatia solely for economic reasons. They didn't leave because they did not like the lifestyle in Croatia. Who wouldn't want to live in Croatia if you could live here on a German, Austrian, Swiss or Dutch salary? And that's where I see a big new industry emerging in Croatia - digital nomad tourism," wrote Jan De Jong and listed the advantages of Croatia, such as EU membership, great lifestyle, good internet, amazing climate, security, and affordable private health care.

Jan De Jong is interesting from several angles and has been on the Zagreb - Split route living his Croatian dream for almost 14 years. He arrived from the Netherlands to study and stayed. He started a business, successfully sold it, started a new one, and is just about to start another. But this time, we won’t tell you the story of Jan, his companies, his family, and business plans. This is the story of his mission to push Croatia in the direction that unites tourism and work, and of course, consequently generates additional revenues for the state and the economy.

Jan De Jong did not invent digital nomads, the nomad trend strengthened even before the corona crisis, but what he did was openly send a letter to Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on his Linkedin profile, urging him to address the issue of digital nomads and Croatia's position on that map. The Prime Minister reacted, invited him for an interview, listened to and acknowledged him, and enabled him to explain his initiative to the authorities in the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Labor, and the Ministry of Finance. In his open letter, Jan very simply explained why the digital nomad visa is needed.

"Imagine, give these digital nomads the right to come and work from Croatia to the maximum. Twelve months - regardless of citizenship according to the digital nomad visa. Many apartments that are empty out of season could find new tenants. The salaries that digital nomads earn will be spent in Croatia, resulting in a huge boost to our economy through consumption. If we open Croatia to tourists, why not open this country to highly paid digital nomads?" he wrote to the Prime Minister.

Namely, considering his own experience of living and working in Croatia, the development of technology, and the conditions of the corona crisis, Jan De Jong considers Croatia an ideal destination for work, for all those who can work remotely. The result of the first post, which highlights Croatia's advantages, achieved an impressive 300,000+ views, more than 4,000 likes, and a series of messages from people from all over the world, who are seriously considering temporarily moving to Croatia. The main question in the messages was how to run it and defining the conditions that need to be met. A wheel that would enable digital nomadism to be regulated in Croatia has been launched. As Jan De Jong said, he will have a meeting with the Minister of Finance and more concrete talks on models and solutions for digital nomadism in Croatia.

According to his estimate, by the end of the year, we could have a complete model on the table. However, property census, taxes, health care, insurance, accommodation, and residence needs to be resolved. When we talk about digital nomads, in a broader sense of the word, we are talking about those who need only an office and the Internet to work. In the corona crisis, digital nomads also became everyone who moved work in the office to their permanent place of residence, or, for example, to their parent's home or a holiday house. The story is simple when it comes to the migration of people within their own country, but it is a bit more complicated if we talk about residents of European Union countries and the wider European economic area who work remotely, change countries, and rent a house or apartment for an extended period in Croatia.

However, digital nomadism is greatly complicated when we talk about third-country nationals who would like to spend a long time, such as a year, in Croatia, and work for Google, Facebook, or another foreign company or are freelancers. 

The first step, therefore, has been taken, and that is that the Government has passed a proposal for the Foreigners Act, which also includes the term digital nomads when it comes to a residence in Croatia for residents of third countries. The current law does not allow third-country nationals to move to Croatia temporarily, for a longer period of time. To begin with, they need a visa, and when it is granted, it is usually issued for a maximum of three months, and even then it is only a tourist visa, which means that legally, they should not even work in that period.

The new bill would allow digital nomads to work during those three months, and their temporary stay can last a maximum of 12 months, with the proviso that they can request it again only after six months of living abroad. For now, the property census has not been determined, and it is only certain that it will be higher than the one prescribed for, for example, family reunification or other reasons why third-country residents apply for long-term work or residence visas.

However, this part, as well as a number of other parameters that should be regulated such as taxes and insurance, should be adopted separately, by Government decree. As Jan De Jong said, a kind of working group, composed of representatives of the ministries, have started working, and so far, they have been informed about the various forms for countries like Estonia and their regulations. De Jong believes that we should look at Croatia's comparative advantages, that is, how Croatia can be more competitive. For example, who would be a good consumer in Croatia and with what salary, should be discussed.

Digital nomads could become a new revenue-generating trend, especially when it comes to younger age groups, those without families and school children, but perhaps also families who tend to move their lives from destination to destination. It was the corona crisis that pointed to these opportunities, and it seems that the Croatian Prime Minister, at least judging by the reaction on social media after meeting with Jan De Jong, saw an opportunity for Croatia, and said that Croatia would be among the first in the world to introduce a digital nomad visa. The idea of digital nomadism and remote work that would be an additional lure for tourists to come and spend in Croatia has already been embraced and is actively considered in some cities, such as Dubrovnik.

Mayor Mate Frankovic said that they are preparing a lot for this part of tourism. He will soon hold a conference in partnership with Saltwater Workspace and Total Croatia News on the topic of digital nomads, and they already have projects and spaces ready that would be suitable for nomads, from accommodation to coworking spaces. He especially praised his cooperation with one telecommunications company on high-speed internet, because high-speed internet, according to Frankovic, is a very important precondition for attracting these hybrid guest workers.

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.

August 22, 2020 - The Digital Nomad Visa has become a hot topic of late. It is especially relevant right now, during the pandemic when a large number of people are working from home. Jan de Jong, a Dutch entrepreneuer in Croatia spoke to Lider and provided 5 reasons why the Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) should be implemented.

1. Projections claim that by the year 2035, there will be a billion digital nomads in the world - highly skilled individuals who are paid above average or very well, who determine their work locations themselves.

2. A visa for digital nomads would bring people from all over the world to Croatia throughout all 12 months of the year, which would enable Croatia to become a year-round tourist destination.

3. According to a survey conducted by Karoli Hindriks, nine out of ten digital nomads may choose to come to your country if you establish special visas for them.

4. A state-of-the-art and mobile workforce are ready to temporarily settle in your country and strengthen the economy with their consumer power, skills, and knowledge. The first countries to open up to them will reap huge benefits.

5. Digital nomads become a huge marketing machine to promote the country when they start writing blogs, recording bets, tweeting, and posting on social networks about Croatia and thus attract more people.

As Jan previously stated, digital nomads would be important for Croatia in terms of marketing, because they would share their experiences, videos, and photos with their friends, and also on social networks, which would be free promotion. Plus, this would be a great way to start 2021.

Read more about the challenges and opportunities for developing the digital nomad sector in Tanja Polegubic's excellent 10 Ways Croatia Will Be At The Forefront of Countries with a Digital Nomad Visa (DNV).

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.