Croatia digital nomad visa (2026)

Who can apply

Only third-country (non-EU/EEA/Swiss) nationals.

• Work for a foreign employer or your own company not registered in Croatia
• Income or savings at or above the required level
• Health insurance for the whole stay
• Clean criminal record

Income requirement

You need to show at least €3,622.50 per month (about US$4,052 a month at rates from 11 Nov 2026). 2.5 times the previous year's average monthly net salary, plus 10% of that average (about €144.90) for each family member; or savings of €43,470 for 12 months or €65,205 for 18 months.

Documents you need

• Application form 1a or online application
• Passport valid at least 3 months beyond the planned stay
• Health insurance valid in Croatia
• Employer statement and contract, or proof of your own foreign company and work
• Bank statement or 6 months of payslips
• Legalised criminal record certificate
• Croatian address (a hotel booking can serve at first)

How to apply, step by step

1. Apply online on the Ministry of the Interior digital nomad portal, or at a Croatian embassy or consulate
2. If you need a visa to enter Croatia, apply through a Croatian mission, not at a police station
3. After approval, get a D visa if required and enter Croatia
4. Register your address with the police and collect the biometric residence card

Where and how to apply

Most applicants file through the Ministry of the Interior's online portal for digital nomads (digitalnomadscroatia.mup.hr). The system sends an automatic confirmation and passes the file to the police administration or police station that covers the address where you plan to live; that office decides the case, and a case worker may write to you asking for more papers. The route depends on your passport. If you need a visa to enter Croatia, you must apply through a Croatian embassy or consulate; an application lodged at a police station by a visa national is rejected. If you do not need a visa, you can apply at a Croatian mission abroad, or in person at the competent police administration or station once you are lawfully in Croatia, and you may remain in the country until the decision becomes enforceable. Someone who files online while already in Croatia on a Schengen C visa may stay only as long as that visa runs and has no right to wait in the country for the outcome; if approved, they still need a D visa. Holders of a biometric residence permit or D visa from another EU state may stay up to 90 days in any 180 while the case is pending and, once approved, go straight to address registration without a Croatian D visa. Extensions are never filed online or abroad: they are lodged in person at the police office for your place of residence.

Timeline

1. Prepare documents and translations Before applying
   Get the criminal record certificate legalised and have any health insurance, income, purpose or police document that is not in Croatian or English translated by an authorised translator. Upload each item as a clearly named PDF of no more than 2 MB.
2. Submit the application Day 0
   File online, at a Croatian mission (mandatory for visa nationals), or at a police station if you are visa-exempt and already in Croatia. Pay the temporary stay fee and send the payment proof to your case worker as a PDF.
3. Decision No official processing time published
   The police office covering your intended address decides and may ask for extra documents first. Visa-exempt applicants already in Croatia may stay until the decision is enforceable.
4. D visa (visa nationals only) After approval
   Visa nationals collect a long-stay D visa from the Croatian mission (EUR 93 plus any visa-centre charge). People holding another EU state's residence permit or D visa do not need one.
5. Register your address Within 3 days of entering Croatia
   Report your temporary address at the local police station with Form 16a and a lease, title deed or owner's statement. The ministry warns that missing the registration deadline leads to the stay being revoked.
6. Residence card Apply within 8 days of approval (Law on Foreigners, Art. 169)
   Attend in person for a photo and fingerprints at the police station. A faster card service costs EUR 59.73 instead of EUR 31.85.
7. Extension (if granted less than 18 months) At least 60 days before expiry
   Apply in person at the police office for your residence. The law allows one extension within the 18-month ceiling.

Proving your income

The ministry accepts three forms of evidence. You can show a bank balance that covers the whole planned stay; the ministry publishes fixed lump sums for 12-month and 18-month stays. You can instead show a bank statement in which regular income at or above the monthly threshold is credited, or you can submit payslips for at least six months. The money must come from work for a foreign employer or through your own company registered outside Croatia, and the purpose evidence has to match: an employer statement confirming that you work remotely, together with an employment or service contract, or a tax or business-court registration showing that your own company exists and that you work through it. Translations of income documents must be done by an authorised (court) translator and the currency must be stated clearly; the ministry does not require conversion into euros. The threshold is updated every year by government regulation (currently Official Gazette 14/21 and 3/26) using Croatian Bureau of Statistics wage data, so a figure printed in an older guide may be out of date.

Bringing your family

Close family members can join through family reunification, but only after the main applicant's digital nomad stay has been approved; a family application lodged earlier is rejected. Under the Law on Foreigners, close family means a spouse, a common-law partner, and minor unmarried children of either partner, including adopted children. An unmarried couple qualifies as common-law partners if they have lived together for more than three years, or for less time if they have a child together or later marry; proof can include a shared child's birth record, statements on shared life, witness statements or evidence of a joint household. Parents of a digital nomad are not in the close-family list; other relatives are considered only in exceptional cases for serious personal or humanitarian reasons. Each added family member raises the required income by 10% of the average monthly net salary. On work, Article 71 of the Law on Foreigners gives family-reunification holders access to education and work as provided by the Act, but Article 89, which lists the people who may work without a separate stay-and-work permit, does not name family members of digital nomads. A partner who wants a Croatian job should therefore expect to need a permit in their own right and confirm this with the police before starting work.

Health insurance

You need a health insurance policy that is valid for the entire planned stay and covers Croatian territory. The ministry accepts either travel insurance or private health insurance, and it does not publish a minimum amount of cover or ban co-payments. If the policy is not in Croatian or English it must be translated by an authorised translator. Because the policy must run for the full period you request, a policy that starts on your arrival date and ends at the requested end date is the safest choice; a short policy can lead to a shorter grant or a request for a new one. Croatian law generally obliges foreigners with temporary residence to join the national health fund (HZZO) unless a special rule says otherwise. Professional firms state that nomads are outside this duty, but no official HZZO or ministry statement confirming this was found, so check with HZZO (info line 0800 7979) if you want to join the public system.

Cost and processing time

The fee is €55.74 temporary stay + €41.14 card at a consulate (plus €93 D visa if needed); €46.45 + €9.29 + €31.85 card at a police station. Processing takes not stated on the official page. Budget extra for translations, certified copies and health insurance.

After you arrive

• Register your temporary address at the local police station within 3 days of entering Croatia, using Form 16a plus a lease, title deed or owner's statement; the owner need not attend if the statement is notarised.
• Apply for the biometric residence card in person (photo and fingerprints); the Law on Foreigners sets an 8-day deadline from approval, or 30 days from the start of a D visa issued on the basis of the approval.
• Get a personal identification number (OIB): the police assign it when you register residence, or you can request one at a Tax Administration office with your passport and the OIB form; no fee is mentioned.
• Pay fees by bank transfer using the reference formats on the ministry page (OIB, or your passport number if you have no OIB yet) and email the payment proof as a PDF to your case worker.
• Report any change of address to the police; leaving the registered address unreported or staying for a different purpose can lead to cancellation of the stay (Law on Foreigners, Art. 87).
• If your stay was granted for less than 18 months, file the extension in person at least 60 days before it ends.

Tax

Croatia exempts nomad earnings from income tax. Article 9(1)(26) of the Income Tax Act, also listed by the Tax Administration among receipts on which no income tax is paid, covers pay or business income for an employer that is not registered in Croatia, earned on the basis of approved digital nomad status. No cap is attached. The exemption covers only that work income. For other income, the general rules apply: you are a Croatian tax resident if you have a domicile or habitual residence in Croatia, and habitual residence is generally met by staying at least 183 days, continuously or with breaks, across one or two calendar years. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, so rent, dividends or other income outside the nomad work may become taxable in Croatia. Doing work for Croatian clients is outside the nomad status and would fall under ordinary rules. Commentary from tax firms says nomads do not pay Croatian pension or health contributions on exempt income, but this was not confirmed on an official social-security page.

Does it lead to permanent residence?

Digital nomad status is not built to lead to settlement. Long-term residence under Article 150 of the Law on Foreigners requires five years of continuous approved temporary stay immediately before applying, with no single absence over six months and no more than ten months in total. A nomad stay is capped at 18 months (one extension inside that ceiling) and a new nomad application can be filed only six months after the previous one ends, which breaks continuity. Article 151 lists stays that never count toward the five years, including stays approved for other purposes; digital nomads are not named explicitly, and the law has no stated rule allowing a nomad to switch to another purpose from inside Croatia. In practice, anyone aiming for long-term residence will need a different residence ground, such as employment or family reunification with a qualifying sponsor.

Why applications get refused

• A visa national applying at a police station instead of a Croatian embassy or consulate (the ministry rejects these outright).
• Family members applying before the main applicant's digital nomad stay has been approved.
• Evidence that you will work for or serve Croatian employers or clients, or that the real purpose of the stay is different (Law on Foreigners, Art. 59(2)).
• Income evidence below the threshold, payslips covering fewer than six months, or translations not made by an authorised translator.
• A criminal record certificate that is not legalised, or one missing for a country where you lived more than a year immediately before arrival.
• Not registering your address on time after entry, which the ministry says leads to the stay being revoked.

Cost of living in Zagreb

1-bedroom rent

EUR 650-1,000 per month in the city centre; EUR 550-700 outside the centre (Numbeo, updated 12 November 2026)

Coworking desk

About EUR 199 per month plus VAT for an open-space desk, or EUR 30 per day, at one central operator (HQ Zagreb Kovinska listing on workin.space, viewed November 2026); prices vary by operator and commitment

Numbeo puts unlimited broadband of 60 Mbps or more at roughly EUR 22-45 per month in Zagreb (November 2026); coastal cities such as Split are usually more expensive in summer.

Good to know

• Visa-free nationals already in Croatia legally can apply at the local police station
• Family members can only apply after the main applicant's stay is approved
• Documents must be in Croatian or English

Visiting first? Entry rules for popular passports

93 passports can enter Croatia visa-free for a short stay, a common way to try the country before applying. Check Croatia visa requirements for your passport.

Official source

Croatian Ministry of the Interior – Digital nomads

Not yet confirmed on an official source: processing time. Check these with the consulate before you apply.