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3 programs for Croatia. Explore the options and get an expert assessment.
Croatia's version of the EU Blue Card, for highly qualified non-EU professionals with a graduate-level qualification and a job offer here. Because it sits among the categories exempt from the labour-market test, the HZZ test step is skipped for these roles. It's issued as a stay-and-work permit tied to your contract and opens a path toward long-term residence, with family members able to join you for the same period.
This is Croatia's main route for non-EU nationals who want to live and work here. It's a single permit that combines your right to stay and your right to work, so you don't chase two separate approvals. Since 2021 there's no longer an annual quota cap on foreign hires. Instead, for most jobs your employer first asks the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) to run a labour-market test to check no suitable local candidate is available. Jobs on the official high-demand list skip that test.
Croatia was one of the first EU countries to create a dedicated permit for remote workers, and it's still one of the most popular. It's for people who work over the internet for a company (or their own company) based outside Croatia. The catch worth knowing up front: you cannot work for Croatian employers or provide services to clients in Croatia while you hold it. The permit runs for up to 18 months and can't be renewed back-to-back. To apply again you have to spend at least six months outside Croatia first.
It's a temporary residence permit for remote workers employed by, or owning, a company based outside Croatia. You can't work for Croatian employers or clients, it lasts up to 18 months, and it can't be renewed back-to-back.
Work-based residents usually aim for EU long-term residence after five years of continuous legal residence (with a Croatian language and Latin script requirement). A separate permanent-stay status exists mainly for family, humanitarian or protection cases. The corpus doesn't cover citizenship rules.
It's a single permit covering both residence and work. For most jobs your employer starts with a labour-market test at the HZZ, then the stay-and-work application goes to MUP.
It's a temporary-stay permit for non-EU students in secondary school or university programmes (undergraduate to postgraduate). It's generally issued for up to a year at a time and renewed as your course continues.
The core routes are the stay-and-work permit, the popular digital nomad permit, the EU Blue Card, and temporary stay for study, family reunification and other purposes — leading up to permanent stay or EU long-term residence. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens don't need any of these.
Students hold a temporary-stay permit for study whose years can count toward longer-term status. The corpus doesn't detail a specific student work allowance or post-study scheme, so after studies the usual path is a stay-and-work permit or EU Blue Card with a job offer.
It's a temporary residence permit for remote workers employed by, or owning, a company based outside Croatia. You can't work for Croatian employers or clients, and it lasts up to 18 months.
No. Croatia abolished its annual labour quota in 2021. There's no cap on foreign hires now; instead most jobs go through a labour-market test by the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ).
Take the assessment or ask Acey, our immigration assistant.
Work abroad — Croatia