The Croatia Digital Nomad Visa: What You Need to Know

The new Croatia Digital Nomad Visa program was launched in 2021, the slogan of the campaign was “make Croatia your new office” something that sums up the purpose of this visa very well.

Croatia Digital Nomad Visa Requirements

Sadly, Croatia is not accepting all kinds of Digital Nomads.

You will need to meet a certain number of conditions in order to apply.

Who CAN’T apply?

If you are a Member of the European Union or the EEA (Economic European Area) you can’t apply for the Digital Nomad Visa of Croatia. If this is your case, you’ll need a temporary residence permit.
If you work (even remotely) for a company registered in the Republic of Croatia, you can’t apply for this Visa.
- Important Note: if you get the visa, you won’t be allowed to work or provide services to employers in Croatia.

From the official law: 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 provides services to employers in the Republic of Croatia.

Who CAN apply for the Croatian Nomad Visa?

Later in the guide, you’ll read about the requirements for applying for this permit, but roughly speaking, you’ll have a chance of getting this Visa if you belong to one of these two groups:

Third-country nationals that work on their own as freelancers, or for a company not registered in Croatia.
- Remember: you can’t work for Croatian employers if you have this visa!
You have a monthly income of 17.000 Kunas per month (~$2,500)
Close family members of the digital nomad who has gotten the nomad visa. This means that if you get the permit, your wife/husband or children can get it too.

Note that this last statement is only valid if the Digital Nomad gets the permit for at least 1 year (more on that below)

If you are wondering what Croatia considers “close family members”, here’s the official list:

A spouse,
A common-law partner,
A minor child common to spouses and common-law partners, life partners or informal life partners, and a minor child of each of them, their minor jointly adopted child, or a minor child adopted by either of them who is not married, as well as a minor child of life or informal life partner or his minor adopted child who is not married,
Parents or adoptive parents of a minor child who is a Croatian citizen, third-country national who has been granted long-term residence or permanent stay, asylum, or subsidiary protection.

Details about the Croatian Digital Nomad

This Visa is indeed a temporary residence permit, that would give you temporary permissionto stay and work in Croatia for up to 1 year.

This means that maybe you could get permission to work for only 9 months.

The full-year permit is not guaranteed.

Make sure you are clear about this before you start your adventure.

This temporary stay can’t be extended easily.

Actually, you can’t extend it but make another application, but you’ll need to wait at least 6 months after the expiry date of the first granted temporary stay.

That means that if you want to stay for more than 1 year, you’ll need to spend 6 months in another country (or use a holidays visa to make this span shorter, but this is more complicated)

In any case, getting a second temporary stay permit isn’t guaranteed either, take that into account.

Number of nomad visa requests made during 2021 (357), of which 166 were approved, 28 were suspended, and 11 were rejected.

How to apply and get the Croatian Digital Nomad Visa

If you are willing to apply and be on the statistics for the following year, this is how you fill your Croatia Digital Nomad Visa Application.

Start the application

There are 3 possible ways of starting the application process, you could visit a Croatian Embassy or consulate abroad or in a Police station if you are already in Croatia (as a tourist)

But the best choice is to use the official online form application, which is available in English.

Required documentation

As you can imagine, you’ll have to submit several documents in order to get this permit, and all of them should be in Croatian or English (note: you must notarize everything you provide)

If you are submitting the application in person, you’ll need to print and fill out the Form 1A.

If you submit the application online, this is not required, as this is what you will be filling out online.

Besides that, this is what you will also need to complete your application:

A copy of a valid travel document: as an important note, the expiry date of this document (it can be your passport) must be three months longer than the period of validity of the intended stay. This means that if you are trying to get the 1-year permit, make sure your passport expires later than that.
Proof of health insurance: this could be either travel or private health insurance and it must cover the territory of the Republic of Croatia.
Proof of purpose: if you work for a company, a contract of employment proving that you work over the Internet for a foreign employer should be valid. If you work on your own, documentation stating that your company is not registered in the Republic of Croatia.
Proof of means of subsistence during his stay in the Republic of Croatia: this could be a bank statement or proof of regular income. This is maybe one of the most difficult points to fulfill, as you will need to proof that:
- You have a stable monthly earning of at least of HRK 17.822,50 ($2,480 / per month)
- And that you have a minimum of HRK 213.870,00 (~30,000) available, if you want to stay the whole year.
You also need proof that you haven’t been convicted of criminal offenses on your home country (or the country in which you have been living the last year before applying)
Address of your stay in the Republic of Croatia: If you don’t have a permanent address (a most common scenario) use a temporary address. A confirmed reservation by a hostel/hotel is enough.
A passport photo 30×35 mm

What after?

If your Nomad Visa gets approved, and you didn’t need a visa to enter the country in the first place, you just can go there.

If you need a visa to enter Croatia, you will have to contact a Croatian embassy or consulate in order to obtain a D visa to enter Croatia and collect your nomad visa there

Important note: you will need to register your temporary stay within 30 days after your visa is approved and/or 3 days after your arrival to Croatia, Otherwise, your temporary stay could be revoked.

You’ll do so by filling out Form 16A and attaching a rental contract or just a confirmation from the hotel/hostel you are staying at.

Besides that, you’ll also need to get a biometric residence card.

You’ll get it at the police station after sharing your fingerprints and signature (you’ll need the passport photos at this point!)

You won’t receive this card instantly tough, you’ll have to wait up to 3 weeks, but along with your passport, it’s proof that you are a legal digital nomad in Croatia!

Croatia Nomad Visa FAQ

How long does the Digital Nomad Visa for Croatia take to process? – About 20 days.
Can I get temporary permits recurrently until getting a permanent permit? – No
Do I have to pay income taxes in Croatia? – No, foreign digital nomads are not subject to income tax in Croatia
How do I know if I need a visa to enter Croatia? – Just enter your passport nationality here.
How much does the whole procedure cost? – If you apply online (recommended) you will just need to pay 350 Kuna (~$50) for the temporary residence permit, 240 Kuna for the Biometric residence card (~$33), and 70 Kuna (~$10) as administrative fees. Making a total of about $95.
Where can I read more information about the digital Nomad Visa in Croatia? – Read the Official Website.

Tip: if you don’t need a visa to stay in Croatia, you can try to stay 90 days as a tourist, and before ending this period of time, try to get a digital nomad Croatian visa (remember it takes up to 20 days) That way you’ll be able to spend up to 15 months in the country, legally.