Employment in the European labour market

Croatian citizens are free to work in EU member states without special approvals or work permits, except in those countries that have retained existing restrictions in their national law

Croatian citizens enjoy the freedom of movement of workers, i.e. the possibility of staying and working without the obligation to obtain a work permit in the territory of the European Economic area.
 
Exceptionally, a safeguard clause has been activated in Switzerland against Croatia in accordance with the free movement of persons Agreement (AFMP). The Federal Council of Switzerland has decided to limit the number of employed and self-employed Croatian citizens from 1 January 2023 and is in force until 31 December 2024. The reintroduction of quotas concerns initial short-term L licences and residence B licences for gainful activity. The quota does not affect cross-border workers, family reunification, the stay of a person without employment and the application process for short-term work.
 
More detailed information is available on the website of the Migration Agency.
In Liechtenstein, there is a quota of residence permits for citizens of all members of the European Economic area.
 
With the accession of Croatia to the European Union, the Croatian Employment Service (CES) has become part of EURES, a cooperation network aimed at facilitating the free movement of workers in the Member States of the European Union, the European Economic area and Switzerland. The Network is composed of National Coordination offices for EURES (NKU), EURES Members (PES and other organisations) and EURES partners, coordinated by the European Coordination Office for EURES. The National Coordination Office for EURES was established in 2016 and is headed by the Croatian Employment Service.
EURES was established with a view to promoting mobility, providing information, advisory and referral services and mediation between employers and job seekers in the European labour market.

Sources of information

If you are looking for a job or looking for a worker from the EU, the first step is the website of the Croatian Employment Service.
 
Here you will find information for job seekers and employers, about the regime of movement of workers in individual Member States, current EURES projects and events in Croatia, as well as publications dealing with the area of freedom of movement of workers and employment in the European labour market. There are also answers to the most frequently asked questions, as well as helpful tips and information for job seekers.

Jobs

Tenders from employers from other Member States who have the need for workers from the Croatian market can be found on the EURES page of the Croatian Employment Service while the advertisements of Croatian employers where the EU is working place can be found on the Labour Exchange portal if you choose “jobs in the EU” in the search engine under counties.
 
A wider selection of competitions for the entire EU, EEA and Switzerland can be found on the EURES portal.