April the 26th, 2023 - Croatia joined the borderless, passport-free Schengen zone on the 1st of January this year, but that doesn't mean things are simpler for absolutely everyone. With people entering the country from EEA countries, Schengen countries and third countries, let's look into just how Croatian border checks actually work.

Schengen accession took place on the very same day as Eurozone accession (January the 1st, 2023), making the Republic of Croatia the first country to have ever entered both of these zones and deepened its EU membership even further on the same date. While the Eurozone meant the scrapping of the kuna and the alignment of Croatia with the rest of the EU countries using the single currency (the euro), Schengen entry meant the dropping of Croatian border checks within the Schengen zone.

What is Schengen and how does it function with regard to Croatian border checks?

The Schengen countries have free movement, meaning travel between them is treated as if it was domestic travel within a single country, and there are no border checks for anyone travelling between them. This means that on the 1st of January 2023, the Croatian border crossing with Slovenia was sent to the history books, and hopefully the painfully long (and now rather infamous) queues of cars during the hot summer months have gone with it. 

Along with the Slovenian border, Croatian border checks with neighbouring Italy and Hungary have also now been abolished. This is because all of those countries are also part of the wider Schengen zone. People entering Croatia from Slovenia, Hungary or Italy also do not face any checks when entering Croatia.

While Croatian border checks on the land were abolished on January the 1st, 2023, border checks at airports were only scrapped on March the 26th for flights operating within the Schengen area.

Do I need to be an EU national in order to be able to travel freely within the Schengen zone and avoid Croatian border checks?

No. The Schengen zone permits the free movement of over 400 million people. You just need to be legally present in the European Union in order for this to apply to you. This may mean you need a visa, so check that based on your citizenship.

What if I have permanent residence in Croatia but I am a non-EU national?

If you hold permanent residence in Croatia and can prove that (by holding a residence permit), then you are free to live and work in Croatia indefinitely without being subject to any requirements. You are also free to come and go as you please (there are some restrictions depending on your status and nationality).

Whenever you go through Croatian border checks, such as if you are travelling from Croatia to a non-Schengen country, or vice-versa, you need to make sure you proactively show your residence permit along with your valid passport. Do not assume the border officer somehow knows you're a permanent resident otherwise. They don't.

As a permanent resident of Croatia, your time in Croatia is considered time at home and is not part of the number of days you can spend in another Schengen country. You can spend a maximum of 90 days in any 180 days in any other Schengen country outside of Croatia. Make sure you have your passport Croatian residence permit with you at all times because random checks can and do sometimes still occur.

Visas

Not everyone requires a Schengen visa, so make sure to check if you do. The answer will be based on your citizenship whether or not you already live in the EU could have some bearing on it. If you do need a visa and you have entered an EU country with a valid Schengen visa, you can travel throughout the Schengen zone for as long as your visa remains valid, and for a maximum of 90 days during any 180 day period. You will not need a separate visa for each Schengen area country and you will not need to show your passport when crossing each internal border.

The EU and Schengen are different things

The borderless Schengen area currently includes 27 EU member states. If you wish to travel to an EU country which is not part of Schengen for a short stay (meaning less than 90 days), you must obtain a separate national visa from the authorities of that particular country. If you wish to travel from an EU member state that isn't part of the Schengen area to the Schengen area, you will need to apply for a Schengen visa to enter.

The EU, the EEA and Europe are different things, as well

This sounds insultingly obvious, but it's amazing how many people mix up the continent and the bloc called the European Union. EU law applies to 27 European countries. It does not apply in certain European countries which are not EU member states, such as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, while they do apply in the Republic of Ireland, which remains a member state.

Certain EU laws also apply in non-EU member states which are part of the EEA (European Economic Area), such as Norway, Iceland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. In the case of Switzerland, which is not an EU member state but is instead aligned by numerous bilateral treaties, it has adopted numerous provisions tied to EU law in order to have access to and to participate in the EU's large single market.

External borders

The external border refers to the external border of the Schengen zone. This means that when exiting Croatia and entering neighbouring countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, which are all non-EEA countries and also not part of the Schengen zone, or entering Croatia from them, you will be subject to Croatian border checks. This is also the case if you're flying out of Croatia (or into it) from a non-Schengen country, such as the United Kingdom.

If a person does not require a Schengen visa or holds a valid one entitling them to free movement within the Schengen area for no more than 90 days in any 180 period, then Croatian border checks are carried out in order to determine the following:

- The identity and the citizenship of the individual attempting to cross the Croatian border

- The validity of their passport or other government-issued travel document

- The validity of their Croatian residence permit if they present one

- Various checks against different relevant databases

- Time already spent in the Schengen zone as of January the 1st, 2023

- Whether the Schengen visa (if applicable) is valid

- That they aren't an individual for whom an alert has been issued for the refusal of entry into the country

More can be read here and a detailed guide to visas for those third country nationals who require them in order to enter Croatia can be read here.

Third country nationals who do not hold valid residence in Croatia and as such cannot present a Croatian residence permit with their passport

Third country nationals (individuals entering who do not old the citizenship of any of the current EEA/EU member states and who do not present a valid Croatian residence permit) are subject to thorough checks upon entry and exit. In addition to the aforementioned checks, additional checks are also carried out, including the calculation of the time that individual has previously spent in the entire Schengen zone as of January the 1st, 2023 (the day of Croatia's official accession). They will have their passports stamped by a border officer.

Third country nationals who do hold valid residence in Croatia and present a Croatian residence permit with their passport

Third country nationals who hold Croatian residence permits are not treated in the same way as those who do not possess such a status and as such cannot present such a permit when arriving at the Croatian border (be that entering or exiting). 

Within the meaning of the Schengen acquis, a third country national is any person who is not an EU citizen, who is not a family member of an EU citizen exercising their right to free movement, or who is not a third country national or their family member, whatever their nationality, who enjoys rights of free movement equivalent to those of EU citizens. In short, if you hold a valid Croatian residence permit, your free access to enter and exit Croatia is facilitated as detailed previously in this article. Their passports will not be stamped.

Caveats

Schengen border checks and as such Croatian border checks can be introduced temporarily at any time in certain situations.

Carry your passport and Croatian residence permit with you (if you have one) at all times, just in case.

For more on moving to, living in and travelling to and from Croatia, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section. Keep an eye out for our How to Croatia articles which tackle a different aspect of doing things here and which are published every Wednesday.

February the 8th, 2023 - In this edition of How to Croatia, I'm going to create a mini series of articles entitled Moving to Croatia, which looks specifically into residence permits and the types on offer for each nationality or work/personal situation. In this article, I'll be looking at third country nationals.

Who are third country nationals?

Third country nationals are nationals who hold the citizenships of countries which do not belong to the European Economic Area (EEA) and British nationals who did not exercise their right to free movement when the UK was an EU member state. These people have three types of stay in Croatia available to them. If you're serious about moving to Croatia permanently you must typically go through each, they are as follows: short-term stay, temporary residence, and permanent residence.

Short-term stay

Short-term stay is the right to remain in Croatia for up to 90 days in a 180 day period, regardless of whether you required a visa to enter or not. This can really only be shortened by the specifics of your visa, if you needed one, so make sure to read what it says, then read it again, and again. Typically, however, it is 90 days in any 180 days.

Temporary residence

A request for temporary residence for a third country national who does require a visa to enter Croatia should be submitted in a diplomatic mission, more specifically a Croatian consulate in their country of origin, and, I'll repeat, not in the Republic of Croatia, as is the legal procedure for EEA citizens and third country nationals who do not require a visa.

In some circumstances, such as if you're the life partner or the family member of a Croatian citizen, you might be permitted to submit your application for residency within Croatian territory, but do not risk it, if you're a third country national who needs a visa, you run the risk of being refused and told to do so from your own country, before returning again. Save yourself some cash and don't leave this up to fate, it isn't worth it. Do it from home after being granted your visa to enter.

If, however, you manage to be given the green light to apply from within Croatia, make sure you do so at the soonest possible opportunity, and no later than eight days before the end of your permitted 90 days of stay. Failure to do so can result in a fine.

You can apply for your first residence permit within several circumstances. They are: family reunification, life partnership or marriage, work, education, for research purposes, humanitarian reasons, or other purposes.

If you apply under ''work'', your permit will be a stay and work permit.

Choose which one you choose to go for carefully as this will govern the reasons behind the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) granting you a permit. If you're found to have strayed from the reason(s) provided, you might end up in some hot water or even risk having the permit terminated.

While permit termination is indeed a worst-case scenario and getting a fine is a more likely ''punishment'', my advice would be to apply for ''other purposes'' to give you more freedom while living in Croatia.

When an application is successful, then it's successful, and your worries are over for a year before renewing it, but upon being informed of your success, make sure to ask just what purposes it has been granted for, just to be sure.

Caveats

Please be aware that many third country nationals have been surprised to be told that they can only apply under ''other purposes'' for their first year of residence in Croatia. After that, you should expect to be asked to provide a concrete reason, such as family reunification, life partnership or marriage, work, education, humanitarian reasons (and be able to prove that your reason is true), to be granted a second year. This is not always the case, but it does happen very often.

What do you need to provide to be approved as a third country national?

Your birth certificate

A copy of your birth certificate

A valid passport 

A scanned copy (its wise to make several copies), of the photographic ID of the page with your details in your passport

A colour 35x45mm photograph (passport style, not passport size - MUP will either take your photo there and then or direct you to a nearby place to have it done to the correct measure)

Proof of health insurance (ask specifically as to how this can be showcased at the consulate if you apply from outside of Croatia)

Proof of funds to sustain yourself for the foreseen length of stay in Croatia (this can be proven with a printed statement from the bank showing and attesting to the amount in the account)

Proof of the justification of the reason behind your request for temporary residency

Proof of having housing (this can be proven in several ways, either with a notarised rental contract, proof of home ownership, or having your landlord or whoever you're staying with come with you in person)

Proof of having paid consular tax if your application has been made in your country of origin, which, as stated several times, it should be

In some cases, a police clearance certificate from the applicant's home country is required, however, this is not always asked for, so make sure to ask if you need this beforehand!

The documents submitted with the correct form you must fill in from MUP must be either originals, or certified copies. These foreign documents are usually required to be translated (with a certified translation) into the Croatian language. The documents must not be older than six months (aside from the obvious documents which will be older than six months, such as your original passport and original birth certificate).

The conditions for approval of your residence permit

As a third-country national moving to Croatia, you will be granted temporary residence if you can prove the purpose of your request for temporary residence, if you own a valid travel document/passport, the correct health insurance, and in the case that there are no restrictions on your entrance or stay in Croatia, and that you don't pose a threat to public health or to national security.

In some cases, applicants are told that they do not need to prove that they have health insurance or the means to sustain themselves for the length of their stay if they are the family members of a Croatian national. Don't rely on this, depending on who you speak to, this requirement alters. Make sure you have the means and are ready to prove you have both should you be asked to do so.

The first temporary residence permit for a third country national moving to Croatia is typically issued with a validity of up to one year, this isn't always the case and in some situations it can be for longer, but usually it is one year and you should therefore expect it to be. The travel documents of third-country nationals requesting temporary residence must be valid for at least three months longer than the period covered by the temporary residence permit.

The permit is provided first in the form of a white sheet of paper (registration certificate) which acts as your temporary ID, and then, about three or four weeks later, in the form of a biometric residence card which also acts as photographic ID.

If you're applying at a diplomatic mission/Croatian consulate abroad, make sure to ask how the following procedure works. If you have made your application as a third country national within the Republic of Croatia you will be given a slip of paper attesting to the fact that your request has been granted while the card is made. Do not lose this piece of paper!

As previously stated, MUP will either take your photo at the station or direct you to a place in which to have it taken.

If you have managed to apply from within the country, you will be required to come and pick up your biometric permit in person. This is likely the same when having applied at a consulate abroad. Again, ask about the consulate procedure where you are. If you have been allowed to apply from within the country, you will be allowed to stay in Croatia legally until a decision on approval is reached.

Caveats

Once you're granted your residence permit, you must carry it on your person at all times when in Croatia, you can be stopped and asked to show it by the police, just as any national can. If you fail to produce it, you can be hit with a 100 kuna fine.

If you change your address, make sure to inform the police. If you move to a different city or jurisdiction, make sure to inform the police in your new city and be ready, if asked to do so, to provide proof of the move. Don't be taken aback or surprised if the police decide to turn up at your door at random to ''make sure you really do live there'', this doesn't happen to everyone, but it can and does occur.

If you do move to another area of the country, the rule is that you must inform the police in your new area as soon as possible (typically within 15 days). This rule is very loose. When you go to the police in your new area to register your change of address, you will need to have a new ID card made and pay the administration fee (79.50 kuna), and have a new photo taken. This is not a new application and is just a formality.

Third country nationals with temporary residence must not leave Croatia for periods longer than thirty days in continuation unless they have a good reason and are given permission by MUP to do so. This is something that should be discussed with MUP or at your consulate of initial application as you're likely to not be told anything about this unless you ask yourself. If you can read Croatian, you can read more about that here.

Permanent residence for third-country nationals

You can renew your temporary residence permit year on year at the police station should you have been granted a one year permit. As is typical, you must do so several days before the expiry of your current permit, make sure to ask how many days before expiry you need to do so. This is typically 60 days before expiration of the current permit. Failure to adhere to this can result in a fine.

To repeat what I have already written a few paragraphs ago, third country nationals can expect to need to provide a concrete reason (and concrete proof of that reason) for a second year of residence and may find that ''other purposes'' won't be accepted again.

After five years of continuous, legal residence in the Republic of Croatia, you have the right to apply for permanent residence. Permanent residence comes in the form of a similar biometric permit but with a validity period of ten years, which is then simply renewed like a passport would be every decade, without any further questions or requirements from the authorities.

What will permanent residence mean?

Permanent residence provides almost all of the rights a Croatian citizen enjoys and when granted, you are no longer subject to any conditions as long as you do not leave Croatia for more than two consecutive years, or for more than five consecutive years if you're a British national who held legal residence before Brexit (December the 31st, 2020).

You can access the state's social security system, you can work and carry out services freely, in any manner citizens do without needing any type of special permit or permission for foreigners, and you can leave the country as often as you'd like to.

In some circumstances, you may be allowed to apply for permanent residence before completing five years of temporary residence, I'll provide more detail about that a little later.

The application for a permanent residence permit should be filed with the police responsible for your place of residence as a third country national, and the application is decided upon by the Ministry of the Interior. As a third country national, you're not bound by EU law and therefore your fundamental right to permanent residence is not the same as it is for a person from the EEA, and at the time of the decision on the application, the third-country national must have a valid temporary residence permit.

While not always the case, as Croatian law states that a foreigner can stay in Croatia while awaiting a residence decision from the authorities, it could mean that you'll need to apply for another temporary residence permit while you await the outcome of your request for permanent residence.

Permanent residence will very likely be granted to third-country nationals who have been legally resident for a period of five years (holding temporary residence, asylum or subsidiary protection) up to the date of their application. Continued residence means that in these five years Croatia, the third country national has not been absent from the country for more than ten months over that five year period.

In addition to permanent residence after five years of continuous stay, permanent residence can be granted in four other special cases according to Sredisnji drzavni portal:

A third-country national who has been granted temporary residence for a period of three years and who has held refugee status for no less than ten years, as evidenced by a certificate issued by the competent state body for refugees.

A third-country national who resided in the Republic of Croatia on the 8th of October 1991 and who is a beneficiary of the programme of return, as evidenced by an appropriate certificate attesting to that fact.

A child living in the Republic of Croatia: whose parents held a permanent residence permit at the time of the child's birth, or with one parent who, at the time of the child's birth, was granted permanent residence (with the consent of the other parent).

A child with a parent who has been granted permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia at the time of childbirth, with the other parent having been unknown, who died, or has been declared deceased.

A third country national who was born and has, since birth, been living on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, but for justifiable reasons over which they had no influence, they had no type of regulated stay (as evidenced by a birth certificate, proof of attendance of preschool or an educational institution, proof of employment, evidence of the use of healthcare services, evidence of the use of social care).

Conditions for the approval of permanent residence for third country nationals

The conditions for the approval of permanent residence are the possession of a valid passport, means of subsistence and health insurance, knowledge of the Croatian language and the Latin script (proven via an exam taken in an educational facility which MUP accepts, ask for further information), and that the third-country national is not a threat to public order, national security, or to public health.

The Croatian language and Latin script language exam can be conducted by higher education institutions, secondary schools and adult education institutions that run Croatian language programs approved by the competent ministry. The cost of the exam is borne by you as the third country national yourself.

The Croatian language and Latin script exam doesn't have to be taken by children of preschool age, persons older than 65 if they're not employed, and persons who have completed their elementary, secondary or higher education in Croatia.

Permanent residence will not be granted to anyone who has been denied asylum or subsidiary protection.

The situation is slightly different if you're a third country national who already holds permanent residence in another EEA member state, and I'll delve into that in another article.

For more of our How to Croatia content exploring moving to Croatia, living in Croatia and administrative formalities, make sure to keep up with our dedicated lifestyle section.

While many people love a good old moan about the state of things in Croatia over a three hour long coffee, usually while seated in a cafe with typically strange interior design - some are more than happy with the conditions and their wages. Nepalese workers in Croatia are just some of the third country nationals for whom Croatia has eased the process of obtaining a work permit.

While nationals from the EEA and British citizens lawfully resident in Croatia are entitled to take up any sort of work or self employment without the need for a work permit, on the same basis as a Croatian citizen, third country nationals, either from Europe, such as Ukrainians and Macedonians, and those from far beyond Europe's borders, have historically struggled with the infamous Croatian red tape.

Given the fact that the Croatian demographic crisis has shaken the economy and is continuing to threaten it, the government decided to relax procedures for hiring third country nationals and will even abolish the notorious and often confusing quota system.

As Novac writes on the 22nd of February, 2020, Nepalese workers in Croatia are more than happy with their work.

''In my country, I'd get half the money for doing the same job. What pays around 1,000 euros in Croatia pay 500 there,'' explained Diwakar Bogati (which is an ironic surname in this case if you understand Croatian!), a 23-year-old Nepalese worker who works as a tomato picker in Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb.

While the salaries and working conditions offered by Croatian employers seem less and less attractive to Croats, who now have the whole of the EU as their proverbial oyster, a large number of foreigners, such as Nepalese workers in Croatia, are more than satisfied with the conditions they're offered here.

Ismet Iusufic, a construction worker who moved from Kosovo for better pay in Croatia, also shared his views on the situation.

''My salary here is higher by 500 to 600 euros, and I plan to stay in Croatia until retirement,'' Ismet pointed out.

According to Dnevnik.hr, despite the fact that the Institute currently has as many as 130,000 unemployed people ''on its books'', employers still somehow can't manage to find waiters, shop workers, cooks, cleaners, drivers and locksmiths, all of which are currently the most wanted occupations.

''The problem is that they're mostly people who dropped out of the labour market ages ago. These are long-term unemployed people who don't have the qualifications and or meet the conditions required on the labour market today,'' explained Amira Ribic of the Croatian Employers Association (HUP).

It is for this reason that they are increasingly reaching out to foreign workers. This year alone, Croatian companies will be able to hire over 103,000 foreigners.

''I think the biggest problem is that Croats no longer want to work only during the summer season. They're looking for long-term contracts that in most places they cannot get,'' says Irfan Sefulaj, who works in the hospitality industry.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more.

While the Croatian Government has decided on the total abolition of foreign employment quotas, which should boost the economy by providing easier access to the Croatian labour market for third country (non-EU) nationals, and take effect in early 2020, it seems that the Croatian economy will still spend some time proverbially biting its nails as certain key industries struggle until then.

As Novac/Dora Koretic writes on the 9th of November, 2019, Jutarnji list is in possession of the first unofficial version of the 2020 quota decision, which was delivered to all stakeholders in the negotiation process for foreign workers last week. And it has, again unofficially, caused a considerable level of dissatisfaction with a good part of the sector.

The dissatisfaction is being felt primarily by the tourist sector, which is Croatia's strongest economic branch. According to the first (still unofficial) version of next year's quota decision, a mere 20,000 of the total 81,600 proposed quotas have been allocated to the tourism sector, mainly new employment and seasonal workers.

The reason for dissatisfaction lies in the fact that the aforementioned figure is almost identical to the quotas available to the sector this year, but also in the fact that from 2020 onwards, Croatia will face new circumstances that will see it require a significantly larger number of foreigners.

"We in tourism expect that we'll need between 30 and 35 thousand foreigners in total if we want to cover all our needs," said the director of the Croatian Tourism Association, Veljko Ostojić.

Ostojić pointed out that the increase in quotas is necessary because, as of January the 1st, 2020, the Austrian labour market will finally open its doors to Croatian citizens, meaning they will no longer require work permits and will be treated the same as other EU nationals. This means that an even larger proportion of seasonal workers will be employed by companies from outside of Croatia, and will move across the border.

“We're already getting information from larger hotel companies that some seasonal workers have announced that they're going to Austria, which is relatively nearby, and they can then can earn higher wages from next year on. Our suggestion, therefore, is to reach the figure of 30 thousand quotas plus an additional five thousand which could be activated at the minister's discretion. We don't want to start having petty arguments about the numbers like we did last year,'' said Ostojić, emphasising the fact that hoteliers must start recruiting all available manpower already.

"That's why [the figures] were sent to all the addresses to give people from the sector a chance to voice all of their comments and suggestions, only then will a final proposal be drafted for adoption,'' an informed source assured Novac. In addition, the source noted that a quota of 20,000 tourism workers has been set in order to bridge the period until quotas are completely abolished, which, according to the updated Law on Foreigners, is expected in spring 2020.

The subject of foreign workers for Croatian tourism was also touched on by Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli at the London Tourism Fair over recent days. However, the ministry didn't want to comment specifically on the first unofficial, much-lower-than-expected (and apparently disappointing) quota proposal.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for more.

Coming to work in the Northern Croatian city of Varaždin cost these people a fortune. Young Nepalis and Indians, 350 of them employed by Varaždin-based companies today, paid 7,000 euros for the “privilege” to come and work in Croatia to various Nepalese agencies.

As Novac/Visnja Gotal writes on the 13th of October, 2019, Nepali citizens earn an average of 150 euros in their own country, so they have been given the opportunity to work in numerous companies based in  Varaždin... and have been paid what more than three years of work would earn them back in Nepal.

The money they gave to the agencies to find them work in Croatia was lent to them by banks, and they have to pay them back around 500 euros a month. The rest of their earnings are sent back to their families. Since their average salary is around 4,500 to 5,000 kuna, there is almost nothing left for them to spend. Yet they are constantly smiling. The Indians tend to keep themselves to themselves and are difficult to make contact with.

Some of the Nepalese people working in Croatia travel on bicycles that their employers have provided to them, others, with less socially sensitive bosses, have to walk and envy their countrymen on new bikes, but not because they find it difficult to walk.

"In Nepal, bicycles are only ridden by the rich because nobody else can afford them," explained Bibek Tamang.

They ride around the city, always in groups, and their most common aim is the shopping mall in the Varaždin neighbourhood. They are peaceful, they have never had a problem and although they are all young people, and no local Varaždin girl can complain that they even tried to approach her, let alone bothered her. Yet, as the Nepalise workers say, they don't understand why "people are afraid" of them.

''In the shop they bypass us, turn away from us and look at us with caution. We're very bothered by this, and we don't know the reason why'' - they say.

Nepalis are usually Buddhists or Hindus and their life philosophy requires them to always have goodwill and remain grateful despite their adversities, and unlike many religious people who don't practice anything near what they preach, Croatia's Nepalise workers really are like that.

They are happy to socialise with their work colleagues, and the Croatian workers value them as good workers who "need to be shown how to do something at work only once and then they remember it and adopt it."

They are tormented at work only by wearing shoes for eight hours a day. ''Back home we're in flip flops all day, and shoes are for weddings and funerals!'' they laugh.

Their colleagues say that by spending eight hours a day with these charming young men who are constantly smiling, they had the opportunity to meet them and get to know them better.

''People from Varaždin are proverbially distrustful of newcomers, we're of such a mentality, but if other fellow citizens were given the opportunity to meet these guys, I'm sure that there would be no problem,'' says Ivan.

''With the money we make here, we plan to buy houses in Nepal. Three years of work in Croatia would be enough for a nice house. In Nepal, most residents live in rented apartments in the city, and in the countryside, they live in mud huts. We also hope to raise enough money to be able to get married and get a car,'' they say cheerfully.

None of them mentions the desire to stay in Europe for a long time. Not Croatia, and not even much richer European countries like Ireland, Germany or the United Kingdom are options for them.

They are not set in their ways and will gladly try local specialties, but apart from replacing their tea with coffee, they haven't really changed their habits.

''You smoke too much and drink coffee,'' they conclude, grinning, and they are amazed that despite Croatia's rather unhealthy habits, people still look good.

''In our country, a 50-year-old woman just stays in the house and does household chores. From an early age, they work in the fields in the heat of the sun and so their skin is all wrinkled,'' they say. There are few who know English well, most of them use it with the help of non-verbal communication, and it's enough to be able to understand.

The Nepalis, who have at least one ''sherpa'' in every family that takes foreign tourists to the Himalayas, have learned to communicate with foreigners without a single English lesson. For people in mud houses beneath the Himalayas, communication is equal to survival.

The five Varaždin Nepalis are thus nicknamed sherpa, according to the most popular occupation in the South Asian country bordering India and China.

The young men who currently live overlooking Ivančica spent their lives below Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Although they try to adapt to local customs, in one they fail... "We like really hot [spicy] food, which is almost inedible to you," laughs Uttam Thakuri.

Without vegetables and rice, there is no meal for them. The guys at Marlex engaged Andrea Zorko, who supplies them with fresh ingredients from trusted local producers.

''I offered them pizza, kebabs, squid... they tried everything out of decency, but they didn't seem particularly impressed. That's why homemade vegetables and eggs brought to them by colleagues make them very happy and are gratefully received. Six days a week, they eat vegetables and rice and one day meat is on the menu. But even though they're small people, which is why we had to make new work suits for them, they're very tough and the Croats say that they work like worms,'' says Andrea.

Handsome and young, the happy men are always on hand and have never complained. One of the biggest problems in Croatia, which is traffic, seems ideal to them.

''It's unbelievable. Every car stops when we're crossing at a zebra crossing, back in Nepal, we would have already been killed,'' the group laugh.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

A lot is written about the Croatian demographic crisis, and with the EU allowing all barriers to member states' respective labour markets to fall, the mass exodus of Croatian citizens and residents to other, wealthier, Western European countries is continuing to bite.

This year, the Croatian Government increased the annual quota for numerous types of work positions to allow for Croatian employers to hire third country nationals (non Croatian and non EU citizens) to come and be legally employed in Croatia. This managed to fill the gap somewhat in certain more demanding industries, such as construction, but as the brain drain continues, it is the domestic economy and local employers that are suffering.

One such firm to hire third country nationals is a firm working in the meat industry in Slavonia, and their workers from Nepal are satisfied with life in Croatia.

As Novac writes on the 18th of August, 2019, about a month ago, a firm working within the meat industry located in Slavonia in Eastern Croatia became richer for seventeen new workers who came to Petrijevci (Osijek-Baranja County) all the way from distant Nepal.

Back at the beginning of July this year, Meat industry (Mesna industrija) Ravlić d.o.o. hired some young butchers and butchers' helpers, who adapted very well and managed life in their brand new environment in Croatia despite more than obvious differences in general habits between the two countries, not to mention entire continents.

''Working here isn't difficult. It's very similar to what we were already doing back in our country, so we're pleased with the way we've been received here,'' said Thal Bahadur Gharti Chhetri, one of the incoming workers for Glas Slavonije.

''The biggest difference is how you prepare your food. Although we prefer pork and chicken, we prepare that in a different way,'' Thal Bahadur reveals, adding that they enjoy Croatian specialties on their lunch break, but that upon returning home, they prepare home-made food that reminds them of their own homeland.

At the moment, the biggest obstacle to them is, as expected, the Croatian language, from which they have learned how to say ''good day, thank you and goodbye'' in their month or so of living in Croatia. The group of Nepalese workers were given a one-year contract, but because of their lifestyle, working conditions and good pay, they would be prepared to stay longer than planned.

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