Registration of temporary residence for third-country nationals
Third-country nationals are foreigners who are non-nationals of member states of the European Economic Area (European Union, Principality of Liechtenstein, Kingdom of Norway, Republic of Iceland) or the Swiss Confederation, and are nationals of a third country or stateless persons
Third-country nationals may be granted these types of residence/stay in the Republic of Croatia:- Short-term stay (stipulated by Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code)
- Temporary residence (up to one year)
- Long-term residence (for an indefinite period)
- Permanent residence (for an indefinite period).
Short-term stay
Short-term stay of third-country nationals is stipulated by Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code.A third-country national on a short stay in the Schengen area may spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period, taking into account the 180-day period preceding each day of stay. This means that when entering the Republic of Croatia, it also counts how long the third-country national stayed in the Schengen area in the previous 180-day period.
Application for temporary residence
Temporary residence can be granted to third-country nationals for the purpose of:- Family reunification
- Secondary education
- Higher education
- Research
- Humanitarian reasons
- Life partnership
- Work
- Work of a posted worker
- Residence of a person with long-term residence in another EEA member state
- Other purposes
- Stay of digital nomads.
The prescribed forms can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of the Interior:
Application for temporary/permanent residence
A third-country national who does not need a visa for entry into the Republic of Croatia may apply for temporary residence permit at the competent police administration or police station at the place of their intended stay.
Exceptionally, nationals of third countries who require a visa to enter the Republic of Croatia may apply for temporary residence at the police administration / police station if:
- They are immediate family members of Croatian citizens
- They are formal or informal life partners of Croatian citizens
- The purpose of their stay is studying at higher education institutions at undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate level
- They are researchers who are coming under a visiting contract
- They are immediate family members of a researcher or third-country national coming to the country to study
- They are applying for temporary residence for humanitarian reasons
- They are family members of an EU Blue Card holder.
An application for a stay and work permit for which it is not necessary to conduct a labour market test or obtain an opinion from the Croatian Employment Service may be submitted by third-country nationals or an employer, either directly or by e-mail at the competent police administration or police station according to the place of intended stay, the work of the third-country national or the employer's seat.
The application shall be decided by the police administration or police station according to the place of residence or intended stay of the third-country national.
Third-country nationals who submitted their first application for temporary residence in the Republic of Croatia (if they do not need a visa for entry or if they are a student or fall under the mentioned foreign-national category) before the expiry of the period of short-term stay may remain in the Republic of Croatia until the decision on their application becomes enforceable.
Documentation to be enclosed with the application for temporary residence
Documentation proving the purpose of temporary residence is stipulated by the Ordinance on the Residence of Third-country Nationals in the Republic of Croatia.Together with the filled in form of the application for temporary residence, foreigners and their family members also have to enclose/prove:
- A 3x3,5 cm colour photograph
- A copy of a valid travel document
- Proof of having health insurance
- Proof of having means of supporting themselves
- Proof of grounds for their temporary residence
- Consular service fee, in accordance with Tariff No. 63 of the Administrative Fee Tariffs, if the application is submitted in a diplomatic mission/consular office of the Republic of Croatia
- In case of regulation of first temporary residence—proof that they have not been finally convicted of a criminal offence from the home country or country in which they stayed for more than one year just before arriving in the Republic of Croatia*
Requirements to be granted temporary residence
- Third-country nationals will be granted temporary residence if: they prove the purpose of their temporary residence, have a valid travel document, means of supporting themselves, health insurance, have not been banned from entering and staying in the Republic of Croatia or no warning has been issued in the Schengen information system to ban them from entering, do not pose a threat to public order, national security or public health
Third-country nationals do not have to provide proof that they have not been finally convicted of a criminal offence if they are a:
- Posted worker
- Student, researcher, or intra-corporate transferee using their mobility rights to move from another EEA member state.
Immediate family members of a third-country national who was granted asylum or subsidiary protection pursuant to the regulation governing international protection do not have to provide proof of having health insurance and proof of having means of supporting themselves to be granted temporary residence for the purpose of family reunification.
Temporary residence is granted for the period of one year. Temporary residence for the purpose of family reunification with a Croatian citizen or for the purpose of life partnership with a Croatian citizen is granted for the period of two years.
Travel documents of third-country nationals applying for temporary residence have to be valid for at least three months more than the period of granted temporary residence.
Applications for long-term residence
Applications for long-term residence are submitted at the police administration or police station competent for the place of residence of the third-country national, and the application is decided by the Ministry of the Interior. At the moment of deciding on the application, the third-country national has to have temporary residence, asylum or subsidiary protection granted to them.Long-term residence can be granted to third-country nationals who have been granted temporary residence, asylum, or subsidiary protection in the Republic of Croatia for an uninterrupted period of five years before the application submission.
Long-term residence means that they have not spent more than six months at once or 10 months intermittently outside Croatia in the course of these five years.
Application for permanent residence
An application for permanent residence authorisation shall be submitted at the police administration or station competent according to the third-country national's place of residence, and the application shall be decided by the Ministry of the Interior.Permanent residence may be granted to a third-country national who is not obliged to meet the requirement of five years of legal stay if this person:
- Is a family member or life partner of a Croatian citizen, who —until the date of submitting the application—has been granted temporary residence for an uninterrupted period of four years for the purpose of family reunification or life partnership
- Is a member of the Croatian people with foreign citizenship or no citizenship who proves their status with a certificate from a state administration body competent for relations with Croats outside the Republic of Croatia, who is found to have returned with the intention of permanently living in the Republic of Croatia and who—until the date of submitting the application—has been granted temporary residence for an uninterrupted period of three years
- Is a third-country national who has been granted temporary residence for an uninterrupted period of three years before the date of submission of the application, and has had a refugee status for at least ten years, as proved with a certificate from a state administration body competent for housing
- Is a minor who—before the date of applying for permanent residence—has been granted temporary residence for an uninterrupted period of three years for the purpose of family reunification, and one of the minor’s parents has been granted permanent or long-term residence
- is a third-country national who was resident in the Republic of Croatia as of 8 October 1991 and is a beneficiary of a programme for the return or reconstruction or housing, as proved with a certificate from a state administration body competent for housing, and who is found to have returned with the intention of permanently living in the Republic of Croatia, with the requirement to provide proof of no criminal record in the home country or the country in which they stayed for more than one year just before arriving in the Republic of Croatia
- Is a minor living in the Republic of Croatia:
- Whose one parent, at the time of birth of the child, was granted permanent or long-term residence (with the consent of the other parent)
- Whose one parent, at the time of birth of the child, was granted permanent or long-term residence in the Republic of Croatia, and the other parent is unknown, has died, is proclaimed dead, lost custody or completely or partially lost their legal capacity in relation to custody
- Is a third-country national who was born in the Republic of Croatia and has been living in the territory of the Republic of Croatia since their birth, but for justified reasons which they could not help, their residence has not been regulated (which should be proven with an excerpt from the register of births, proof of attending a preschool and school institution, proof of employment, proof of using healthcare, proof of using social rights and any other proof with which a third-country national can substantiate the fact that they live in the territory of the Republic of Croatia).
At the time of deciding on an application for permanent residence authorisation, the third-country national referred to in points 1 to 4 shall be granted temporary residence.
Requirements to be granted long-term residence
Requirements to be granted long-term residence, apart from the requirement of having been granted residence for an interrupted period of five years, are having a valid foreign travel document, means of supporting oneself and health insurance, knowing the Croatian language and the Latin script and the fact that the third-country national does not pose a threat to public order or national security.The knowledge of the Croatian language and the Latin script may be tested by institutions of higher education or their components which include Croatian language study programmes, or by institutions of secondary education, National Centre for External Evaluation of Education and adult education institutions if they have a permit to administer examinations in the Croatian language and the Latin script. The costs of this examination are borne by the third-country national.
The following persons do not have to pass the examination testing the knowledge of the Croatian language and the Latin script:
- Preschool children
- Students enrolled in or persons who have completed primary, secondary or higher education in the Republic of Croatia
- Persons over the age of 65 unless they are employed.
Requirements to be granted permanent residence
Permanent residence will be granted to third-country nationals if they which in addition to the above conditions, have a valid foreign travel document and do not pose a threat to public order, national security or public health.Temporary residence of a person with long-term residence in another EEA member state
A third-country national granted long-term residence in another EEA member state may be granted temporary residence for the purpose of residence of a person with long-term residence in another EEA member state if they are coming:- For the purpose of work or self-employment
- For the purpose of studying or vocational training or
- Other purposes, to which the limitation from Article 57(4) of this Act does not apply.
A family member of a third-country national with long-term residence in another EEA member state will be granted temporary residence for the purpose of family reunification if they have a valid foreign travel document, have been granted residence in another EEA member state, were a member of the household of the third-country national in another EEA member state where the third-country national has long-term residence, if they have means of supporting themselves, have health insurance, have not been banned from entering and staying in the Republic of Croatia and no warning has been issued in the Schengen information system to ban them from entering and if they do not pose a threat to public order, national security or public health.