Croatia digital nomad visa (temporary stay)

Under the Aliens Act a digital nomad is a third-country national, meaning not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, who is employed or performs work through communication technology for a company, or their own company, that is not registered in Croatia, and who does not perform work or provide services for employers in Croatia. Proof is a statement from the employer or from you that the work is done remotely, together with an employment or service contract with the foreign employer, or the registration of your own company with the tax authority or business court and proof that you work through it.

The stay is granted for up to 18 months and may be shorter. If it is granted for less than 18 months, you may apply once for an extension, up to 18 months in total, no later than 60 days before it expires, in person at the police. After the status ends, a new digital nomad application, or one for other purposes, is possible only after six months have passed.

The Regulation on means of subsistence (Official Gazette 14/21 and 3/26) requires at least 2.5 average monthly net salaries paid in the previous year, as published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics. On the MUP page checked on 24 October 2026 this meant EUR 3,622.50 a month, shown through a bank statement of regular income or payslips for the last six months.

Alternatively you can show savings covering the whole stay: EUR 43,470 for 12 months or EUR 65,205 for 18 months. The amount rises by 10 percent of the average monthly net salary for each family member or partner who joins you. Statements must be clearly labelled PDF files of up to 2 MB and state the currency.

If you apply at a mission you pay EUR 55.74 for the temporary stay when you apply, and then either EUR 93 for the D visa (plus a service fee at a VFS centre) or EUR 41.14 for the biometric card if the mission can issue it. If you apply online or at the police, you pay after approval: EUR 46.45 for the stay, EUR 9.29 for issuing the residence permit and EUR 31.85 for the card, or EUR 59.73 in the accelerated procedure. Fees can be paid by bank transfer to the Croatian state budget, and proof of payment is sent to the case worker.

Visa-required nationals submit the application online through the MUP digital nomad portal or at a Croatian embassy or consulate. An application they file at a police station in Croatia is rejected. Online applications are forwarded to the police administration for your intended address; you receive an automatic confirmation and later hear from a case worker, who may ask for more documents.

If you apply online while in Croatia on a Schengen C visa, you may stay only within that visa’s validity and permitted days and have no right to stay until the decision becomes enforceable. Once the stay is granted you must obtain a D visa at a Croatian mission or VFS centre, or a biometric residence card at the mission where this is possible. Holders of a residence permit or D visa of another Schengen state can instead register in Croatia after approval.

Register your temporary address at the police administration with Form 16a and a lease, title deed or owner’s statement; the owner need not attend if the documents are notarised. The English MUP page asks for this within three days of entry. Temporary stay is revoked if you do not register within 30 days of the start of the stay, or within six months where a D visa is required. You then give a photo and biometric data for the residence card in person.

For a first application without a Croatian address, a hotel or hostel booking can serve as the intended address; it determines which police administration handles the file.

Close family members of a digital nomad who has been granted the stay can join through temporary stay for family reunification, including common-law partners who have lived together for more than three years without children, or for less if they have a child or later marry. Family applications filed before the nomad’s own stay is granted are rejected, so the nomad must be approved first.