Croatia intra-company transfer permit

The Croatian entity and the company in the third country that employs you must belong to the same undertaking or group. As a manager or specialist you must have been employed by the group company without interruption for at least nine months immediately before the transfer, or six months as a trainee. Managers and specialists need the qualifications and experience required for the Croatian post; trainees need a university degree.

Your pay may not be lower than that of comparable employees in Croatia under the applicable laws or collective agreements, and the main purpose of setting up the Croatian entity may not be to facilitate the stay of transferees. The transfer may last no longer than three years for managers and specialists and one year for trainees.

Besides the general documents for temporary stay, you attach the employment contract and a transfer letter showing the duration and location of the assignment, the manager, specialist or trainee role, the salary and other conditions, and that you will be able to return to the group company in the third country when the transfer ends.

The contract or letter must guarantee Croatian minimum standards on maximum working time and minimum rest, minimum paid annual leave, overtime pay, health and safety, non-discrimination and protection of pregnant workers, new mothers and minors. The application is made on Form 3a and can be sent to the police by e-mail; visa-regime nationals attach Form 18a for a first permit.

No labour market test and no HZZ opinion are required. After approval the transferee pays EUR 74.32 for the permit and EUR 31.85 for the card. A transferee who needs a visa obtains a D visa (EUR 93) at a Croatian mission or VFS centre within two months of the permit’s start date, with 30 days of travel insurance, then registers the address in Croatia and gives biometric data.

The employer must inform the police within the prescribed time limit if the conditions for the transfer cease to exist; failure to do so is a misdemeanour.

Family members of an intra-corporate transferee can obtain temporary stay for family reunification and may work and be self-employed without a stay and work permit. A transferee holding an ICT permit from another EEA state may work in a Croatian entity of the same group for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a Croatian permit. For longer periods, a long-term mobility permit can be requested at the police or a Croatian mission, with the other state’s permit, the contract and transfer letter, health insurance and a Croatian address.

Transferees have equal treatment with Croatian citizens on trade union membership and collective bargaining, recognition of diplomas and access to goods and services, except housing schemes. Time spent on an ICT permit, including for family members, is excluded from the five years counted for long-term residence, so people who plan to stay should consider switching to another permit, such as a Blue Card, before the transfer ends.