Moving to Croatia from New Zealand

More than 3,700 euros a month: The Interior Ministry sets the test at 2.5 times the average monthly net salary of the previous year, shown by a bank statement of regular income or six months of payslips. The 2025 average net salary was 1,449 euros, which sets the 2026 minimum income. To be safe, have more than 3,700 euros a month, about NZ$7,400 at the ECB rate of 15 October 2026. In place of income you can show money already in a bank account; the minimum runs about 43,500 to 65,200 euros depending on whether you plan 12 or 18 months, and to be safe you should hold more than 66,000 euros for 18 months. Those are 12 and 18 times the monthly figure. Each additional family member or life partner adds 10% of the average net salary, so on our arithmetic a couple, and then a couple with one child, run about 3,800 to 3,900 euros a month; to be safe, have more than 4,000 euros a month if all three of you come. The page does not say what savings a family needs, so that is unknown. The Croatian Embassy in Canberra, which covers New Zealand, prints no figure of its own on the pages we opened, and we found no consulate checklist in New Zealand dollars, so the Interior Ministry's euro figure is the one we show. The figure changes every year, so confirm it on the Interior Ministry page when you apply.

If it is granted for less than 18 months you can ask for an extension of up to 6 months, no later than 60 days before it ends, and a new application can be filed 6 months after the previous stay expires. Self-employed people show proof that their own company is registered (outside Croatia) and evidence of the work. You show either income or savings: a set minimum income (to be safe, have more than 3,700 euros a month), or a bank balance (the minimum runs about 43,500 to 65,200 euros for a 12 or 18-month stay; to be safe, hold more than 66,000 euros for 18 months). New Zealand citizens do not need a visa for a short visit, and the Interior Ministry says people who do not need a visa can apply online, in person at a Croatian embassy or consulate, or at the police if they are already legally in Croatia; people who do not need a visa and apply in person may stay until the decision is final. Fees are 46.45 euros for the stay when you apply at a police station, plus 9.29 euros for the permit and 31.85 euros for the biometric card (59.73 euros if you ask for it faster), or 55.74 euros at a mission plus 41.14 euros for the card. The Croatian Embassy in Canberra covers New Zealand and takes consular fees into its account at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia; the page does not give the currency, so ask which one applies. A Croatian Foreign Ministry page still says the stay is up to a year and cannot be extended; we follow the Interior Ministry, which is the authority that decides and gives the 18-month limit.

An April 2026 ordinance adds a health and vaccination certificate (Form 18a, not older than 90 days) for visa-regime nationals on a first temporary stay; New Zealand citizens are visa-exempt, so we read it as not applying to you, but we did not confirm that. Croatia has no Wellington post. Its Canberra embassy covers New Zealand, and the Foreign Ministry lists honorary consulates in Auckland and Nelson; we found no page saying either takes stay applications. A consular officer from Canberra visits Auckland and Wellington by appointment (6 to 9 November 2026), but the services listed are for Croatian citizens, not foreigners' stays. We did not find an official page saying how a New Zealand police certificate is legalised for Croatia, so that is unknown until you ask the embassy. New Zealand citizens can visit Croatia without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area, and time in Croatia counts with time in other Schengen states. Croatia has applied the Schengen rules in full since 1 January 2023. We found no separate Croatia-New Zealand visa-waiver agreement that adds days: the European Commission's April 2019 list of bilateral waivers that allow longer stays has no Croatian section, and the Croatian Foreign Ministry's New Zealand entry describes only the Schengen 90 in 180. Plan on 90 days unless Croatia confirms more in writing. The EU Entry/Exit System has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 and registers fingerprints and a facial image at the border. ETIAS is planned for the last quarter of 2026 with the exact date still to be announced; it will cost 20 euros and last 3 years or until your passport expires, so its start date is unconfirmed. The Interior Ministry page gives no decision time, only an automatic confirmation and a later contact from a case worker, so processing time is unknown. After approval you register your address with the police and collect a biometric residence card. If you would rather apply before you travel, the Croatian Embassy in Canberra works by appointment through the Croatian Consular Portal; Croatia's Schengen visa centre in Auckland (opened 30 January 2024) is described for visas, which you do not need. New Zealand has no embassy in Croatia: SafeTravel lists the embassy in Rome as nearest.

Croatia treats you as having a permanent residence where you own or have a dwelling at your disposal for 183 days in one or two calendar years, and actual stay in it is not required. Habitual residence is a stay of at least 183 days in one or two calendar years, and the tax authority also looks at where your personal and economic ties are closest. Residents are taxed on income earned in Croatia and abroad. New Zealand treats you as resident if you have a permanent place of abode there (a home you usually live in, even if it is rented out while you are away) or are there more than 183 days in a 12-month period, and you stop being resident only if you have no permanent place of abode and are away more than 325 days in a 12-month period. The two systems count days differently, so arrival and departure dates need counting under both. The New Zealand-Croatia tax treaty is signed but not in force, so no treaty rule decides which country wins if both count you as resident.

We did not find the rate Zagreb actually set, so that is unknown. We did not price social charges, local taxes or any other tax.

It says nothing about other income such as rent, interest or gains, so assume those are taxable until an adviser says otherwise. How it applies to a freelancer invoicing clients, rather than working for an employer, is for a Croatian tax adviser to confirm. We read the 2020 amending Act and the Tax Administration's list of 2021 changes, not the current consolidated Act, so check that nothing has changed.

New Zealand has reciprocal health agreements only with Australia and the United Kingdom. The government KiwiSaver contribution needs you to live mainly in New Zealand; after a year living overseas (not in Australia) you can withdraw most of your savings, but not the government contributions. You are overseas-based for a student loan if you are in New Zealand 31 days or fewer in a 184-day period, and the loan then stops being interest-free from the day after you left. If you get NZ Super you can apply to keep it overseas; Work and Income asks you to call International Services at least 6 weeks before you leave, and says you will not pay New Zealand tax on it but may owe tax in Croatia, whose rules for that we did not read.

The Interior Ministry says you register your temporary residence address at the police within 3 days of entry and get your biometric residence card in person, and that the stay is revoked if you do not register in time. We found no official page saying how long an OIB takes or whether a fee applies, so that is unknown.

If you become a non-resident taxpayer, Inland Revenue says foreign-currency bank accounts may need a final calculation (a base price adjustment) on leaving, so ask an adviser before you close or move accounts. Keep your bank account details in myIR up to date.