Short-term residence is reported to the police administration or police station competent according to the place of temporary residence of the third-country national or the tourist board.

Short-term residence application form (Form 16a)

Temporary residence is the residence of a third country national lasting up to one year, and may be granted for the purpose of: family reunification, secondary education, higher education, research, humanitarian reasons, life partnership, work, work of a posted worker coming from another EEA Member State or the Swiss Confederation for longer than 90 days within any 180-day period, based on the EU Blue Card, staying as a third country national with an approved long-term residence permit in another EEA Member State, for other purposes, digital nomad stay, and immigration and return of Croatian diaspora.

Application for a temporary residence permit (Form 1a)

Application for a temporary residence and work permit (Form 2a)

Residence and work permits

A third-country national who does not need a visa for entry into the Republic of Croatia may apply for a temporary stay/residence permit at the competent diplomatic mission/consular office of the Republic of Croatia at police administration / police station at the place of his or her intended stay, employer’s seat or place of work.

A third-country national who needs a visa to enter the Republic of Croatia, submits the application at the diplomatic mission / consular office of the Republic of Croatia.

Exceptionally, third country nationals requiring a visa to enter Croatia may also submit a temporary residence application at a police administration/police station if:

1. they are a member of the immediate family of a Croatian citizen
2. they are a living or informal life partner of a Croatian citizen
3. the purpose of their stay is studying at higher education institutions or colleges as regular students on undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels
4. they are researchers who come under a visiting contract
5. they a member of the immediate family of a third country national referred to in points 3 and 4
6. they are applying for a temporary residence permit for humanitarian reasons
7. they submit an application for the issuance of an “EU Blue Card” or are a family member referred to in Article 64(1) of the Act, or are their life or informal life partner, or are a family member of an “EU Blue Card” holder referred to in Article 64(1) of the Act or their life or informal life partner
8. they submit an application for approval of temporary residence for the purpose of immigration and return of Croatian diaspora

Temporary residence shall be granted to third country nationals by fulfilling the following conditions :

1. if he or she proved the purpose of their temporary stay/residence,
2. if he or she has a valid travel document,
3. if he or she has the means to support themself and their family members,
4. if he or she has health insurance,
5. the application for the first temporary residence permit must be accompanied by proof that he or she has not been convicted of criminal offenses from his or her home country or the country in which he or she stayed for more than a year immediately before arriving in the Republic of Croatia, unless the person is a posted worker or a student researcher or a person transferred within a company benefiting from mobility from another EEA Member State
6. if he or she doens’t have a ban on entering the Republic of Croatia and staying in the Republic of Croatia or if a warning has been issued in the SIS (security intelligence system) for the purpose of banning entry
7. if he or she does not pose a threat to public order, national security or public health.

Long-term residence may be granted to a third-country national who, immediately before submitting the application, has been granted temporary residence, asylum or subsidiary protection in the Republic of Croatia for five consecutive years. A third-country national is considered to have resided continuously in the Republic of Croatia if, within a period of five years, he/she has been absent from the Republic of Croatia for a period of up to ten months in total or for a period of up to six months on a single occasion.
Absences of up to three days on a multiple occasion or a single occasion in one calendar month do not affect the period of absence.
Long-term residence will be granted to a third-country national who has not been absent from the Republic of Croatia for more than 18 months in total or for more than 12 months on a single occasion within a period of five years:

• who is a family member of an employee of a state administration body of the Republic of Croatia who is, within the scope of performing his/her duties, sent to work abroad in a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Croatia, an international organization or association of which the Republic of Croatia is a permanent member, in accordance with special regulations
• who is sent to another EEA member state or the Swiss Confederation
• who is staying abroad in order to carry out personal business activities, such as working as a seafarer, shipowner, pilot and driver in international transport.

At the time of deciding on the application for long-term residence, the third-country national must have been granted temporary residence, asylum or subsidiary protection in the Republic of Croatia.

Long-term residence shall be granted to third country nationals if they meet the following conditions, together with the conditions mentined in point 6. :

• If they have valid travel documents (passports),
• If they have sufficient means for supporting themselves and their family members,
• If they have health insurance,
• If they are familiar with the Croatian language and Latin script,
• If they do not pose a threat to public order, national security or public health.

Application for long-term residence permit (Form 1a) is submitted to the police administration/station competent according to the place of residence of the third-country national, and the Ministry of the Interior decides on the applications.

Form 1a

Permanent residence may be granted to a third country national who: 

1. is a family member or life partner of a Croatian citizen who, immediately before submitting the application, has had a continuous four-year approved temporary residence for the purpose of family reunification or life partnership with a Croatian citizen or autonomous residence immediately before submitting the application
2. immediately prior to submitting the application, has had a continuous three-year approved temporary residence for the purpose of immigration and return of Croatian diaspora, with a certificate issued by the ministry competent for demography and immigration
3. immediately prior to submitting the application, has had continuous three-year approved temporary residence, and has held refugee status for at least ten years, as evidenced by a certificate issued by the competent government administration responsible for housing care
4. is a minor who, immediately prior to submitting the application for permanent residence, has had continuous three-year approved temporary residence for the purpose of family reunification immediately, and one of whose parents holds Croatian citizenship or has been granted permanent residence or long-term residence
5. immediately prior to submitting the application, has had continuous five-year approved temporary residence in the Republic of Croatia, at least three of which for studying at a higher education institution in Croatia, at the undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate level, and submits proof of acquired higher education qualification in the Republic of Croatia and is employed in the Republic of Croatia
6. has had the place of residence in the Republic of Croatia on 8 October 1991 and is a beneficiary of return, reconstruction or housing care programmes, as evidenced by a certificate issued by the competent government administration responsible for housing care and for whom it has been determined that they have returned with the intention of permanently residing in the Republic of Croatia, with the obligation to submit proof of non-conviction from the home country or the country where they resided for more than one year immediately before arriving to the Republic of Croatia.
7. a minor living in the Republic of Croatia: a) one of whose parents, at the time of the child’s birth, had Croatian citizenship or has been granted permanent residence or long-term residence, subject to the consent of the other parent; b) one of whose parents, at the time of the child’s birth, had Croatian citizenship or has been granted permanent residence or long-term residence in the Republic of Croatia, while the other parent is unknown, deceased, declared deceased, deprived of parental care, or fully or partially deprived of legal capacity concerning parental care
8. is born in the Republic of Croatia and has been living in the territory of the Republic of Croatia since birth, but due to justified reasons beyond their control, did not have a regulated residence
9. has lived most of their life in Croatia and continues to live there, and has had temporary residence approved for at least five years for humanitarian reasons

A third country national referred to in points 1 to 5 above is considered to have resided continuously in the Republic of Croatia even if they have been absent from the Republic of Croatia on multiple occasions for a total period of up to 8 months or on a single occasion for up to four months.

Exceptionally, permanent residence shall be granted to a third country national referred to in point 1 who has not been absent from the Republic of Croatia on multiple occasions for a total period exceeding 24 months or on a single occasion exceeding 12 months:

• who has been posted for work in another EEA Member State or the Swiss Confederation
• who carries out personal business activities abroad, such as seafarers, ship captains, pilots, and drivers in international transport

Permanent residence, regardless of the length of absence, shall be granted to a third country national if they are a family member of a Croatian government administration official who, as part of their official duties under special regulations, has been posted to work abroad in a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Croatia, or to international organisations or associations of which the Republic of Croatia is a permanent member.

Application for permanent residence (Form 1a) is submitted to the responsible police department/police station according to the place of stay of the third country national, and the application shall be decided upon by the Ministry of the Interior.

The EU Blue Card is a residence and work permit for third country nationals who are highly qualified workers and at the same time represents an approval of temporary residence and work in the territory of the Republic of Croatia.  The EU Blue Card is issued in the form of a biometric residence permit and a certificate. A third country national who has been issued an EU Blue Card may work in the Republic of Croatia only in the occupation for which the residence and work permit was issued and only for the employer with whom they have established an employment relationship.

The holder of the EU Blue Card may change employers in order to carry out high-skill jobs specified in the certificate, and within five working days from the conclusion of the employment contract, they are required to notify the competent police department or police station of the change of employer and submit a new employment contract, based on which they may commence work. If that is the case, the EU Blue Card shall remain valid until its expiry, and the holder of the EU Blue Card may reside in the Republic of Croatia and work for a new employer on the basis of that EU Blue Card. A confirmation of receiving the notice of employment with another employer will be issued to the new employer and the holder of the EU Blue Card upon submission of the new employment contract.

A highly qualified third-country national worker is required to apply for a residence and work permit at the diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Croatia, or at the police administration / police station according to intended place of temporary residence on Form 4a.

An EU Blue Card may be issued to a third country national if:

• they submit a valid travel document
• they submit evidence that they have not been finally convicted of criminal offences in their home country or the country where they resided for more than a year immediately before arriving in the Republic of Croatia, unless they are an “EU Blue Card” holder exercising long-term mobility
• they submit an employment contract for highly qualified workers concluded with an employer for a period of at least six months, which also serves as proof of health insurance
• the amount of the gross annual salary resulting from the monthly or annual salary specified in the employment contract is no less than 1.5 times the average monthly gross salary paid in the Republic of Croatia in the previous year according to the officially published data of the government administration responsible for statistics
• they submit, for the purpose of performing a regulated profession included in the list of regulated professions in the Republic of Croatia, a decision on the recognition of foreign education qualifications in accordance with special regulations, which must be related to the work to be performed
• they submit, for the purpose of performing a non-regulated profession, proof of a higher education qualification which must be related to the work to be performed or evidence of high-level professional skills issued by the Commission, which must be related to the work to be performed
• there are no reasons to reject the application for the issuance of an EU Blue Card

Third country nationals with approved long-term stay or permanent residence have the right to:

• Employment and self-employment,
• Vocational training,
• Education and scholarships, except for the state scholarship;
• Social welfare, child allowance;
• Tax reliefs,
• Access to goods and services market,
• Freedom of association and membership in organisations representing workers or employers, or in organisations whose members practice a special profession, including any allowances that such organisations provide them with.

Third-country nationals exercise their rights in accordance with the regulations of the Republic of Croatia governing certain areas.