June 22, 2020 - Croatia recently introduced the entercroatia.mup.hr online form for foreign visitors to the country. What exactly is it, and who needs to fill it out?
Just over a month ago, we started a Viber community called Total Croatia Travel INFO in an attempt to help tourists get accurate travel information for their holiday to Croatia. It has been one of the most informative and educational things that I have done in the last year, and you can join the group here (you will need to download the Viber app).
For in addition to us giving information, the community also shared their experiences and questions. Real-life experiences of crossing borders (or not), boarding planes (or not) has allowed us to build perhaps the most accurate picture of travel to Croatia on the Internet right now. Many thanks to all who have - and continue to - contributed.
The Viber community is also a great source of information about the messages which are not getting across, as we see the same questions again and again. One of the areas of confusion surrounds the entercroatia.mup.hr form, which is now in 11 languages. What exactly is it for, do we need to fill it, and what about if we are transiting Croatia?
The simple answer is that if you are a foreign tourist to Croatia, you SHOULD fill in the form before your arrival, even though it is not obligatory. If you need accommodation in Croatia, you can find it here. It will facilitate your travel to Croatia at airports and any borders, as well as saving lots of time at the actual Croatian border. It is one of the most efficient systems I have ever seen after the Croatian police allowed me full access behind the scenes, and I then fully understood the system and how it is working perfectly. I want to quickly explain why the system was introduced, what it does and why you should fill in the form.
When I first visited the main Bregana border between Croatia and Slovenia on May 17, 2020, there was much confusion, and the border crossing was painfully slow - taking 5-8 minutes in most cases (transit was much quicker). The reason for this was that the border police had to manually enter details of the visitor's contact details, as well as all the information of where they were staying and for how long. This was necessary in the event of a corona outbreak so that the police would be able to contact them locally. It was a time-consuming process, and one can only imagine what the peak season queues would look like.
An emergency software fix was procured, and I was curious to see how it worked. I will refer to it more below, but this information is important for EVERY foreign visitor to Croatia at the moment, whether you are coming by land, sea or air.
1. If you fill the form in with your details (choose from 11 languages), you will receive an email from the police confirming receipt. Print this off, as well as your confirmed reservation, and show at any borders you encounter on the way, and you will be allowed to enter.
2. The procedure to proceed through the border if you have already registered is less than one minute, so 5-8 times quicker than three weeks ago. Simply hand over your passport, which will be scanned. All relevant details will be sent to Interpol, Schengen, and the Croatian ministries of health, tourism and the interior. This includes all the accommodation details and your contact numbers entering into the system. It is an outstandingly efficient system and is reducing the waiting time at the border considerably.
3. Even if you are from the 10 countries which now have open borders with Croatia, the official advice is to fill in this form, because it will reduce the waiting time at the border.
A fabulous system, put together in record time, and severely reducing the waiting times at the border just in time for peak season. Congratulations to the Croatian police and all involved in the project.
Please note (from the entercroatia.mup.hr page):
*After entering your contact information (telephone number and e-mail address), you will receive an announcement certificate which we kindly ask that you display on the windshield of your vehicle in order to facilitate the border crossing. Furthermore, you will receive all of the necessary information regarding your safe stay in the RC.
*The announcement certificate does not constitute an entry permit and is not equivalent to a document required for crossing the border (passport/identity card).
There seems to be some confusion in the community regarding 'The announcement is valid from' and 'The announcement is valid until 'entries. Please enter the dates you expect to arrive and depart.
UPDATE (July 13): We've received several questions on whether there are any issues with extending your stay in Croatia, beyond what you reported on your entercroatia.mup.hr form, if you need to do anything about the extension, re-submit your form or anything. We can confirm that, once you're in Croatia, you don't need to worry about your entercroatia form anymore; there are systems in place where the hosts need to report where you're staying, because of the tourist tax via the eVisitor system, so just enjoy yourself once you manage to enter Croatia (pun intended).
The question Self-isolation/quarantine measure in the country of residence? means have you self-isolated due to being in contact with someone with the virus.
If you are in transit through Croatia, you do NOT need to fill in the form, as it is designed to keep track of where people are staying in the event of a corona outbreak. (Confirmed to TCN by MUP on June 22).
Croatian citizens do NOT need to fill in the form. (Confirmed to TCN by MUP on June 22).
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