Country topic
Visas in Croatia
Croatia has applied the Schengen rules in full since 1 January 2023, which lets visa-exempt visitors stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across all Schengen countries. Canada's travel advice says Canadians need no visa in the Schengen area for that period, the EU's visa-exempt list (Annex II) names Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and the European Commission treats the United States as visa-free. A national permit is a separate route. [V1] [V2] [V3] [V4] 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 and last 3 years or until the passport expires, so its start date is unconfirmed. [V5] [V6] [V7]
What we found
The research, with its sources.
Research information, not advice. Rules change, so check the source before you act on one.
- Croatia has applied the Schengen rules in full since 1 January 2023, which lets visa-exempt visitors stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across all Schengen countries. Canada's travel advice says Canadians need no visa in the Schengen area for that period, the EU's visa-exempt list (Annex II) names Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and the European Commission treats the United States as visa-free. A national permit is a separate route. [V1] [V2] [V3] [V4]
- 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 and last 3 years or until the passport expires, so its start date is unconfirmed. [V5] [V6] [V7]
- Croatia's temporary stay for digital nomads is for third-country nationals who work through communication technology for an employer or a company, including their own company, that is not registered in Croatia, and who do not work or provide services for employers in Croatia. It is granted for up to 18 months, possibly less; if shorter, one extension of up to 6 months can be requested no later than 60 days before it ends. A new application can be filed 6 months after the stay expires. A Foreign Ministry page still says the stay is up to a year with no extension; we follow the Interior Ministry, which decides and gives the 18-month limit. [V8] [V9] [V10]
- For 2026 the Interior Ministry sets the means at 2.5 times the average monthly net salary of the previous year (€1,449 for 2025): about €3,600 a month, shown by a bank statement of regular income or six months of payslips. To be safe, have more than €3,700 a month. In place of income you can show about €43,500 in the bank for a 12-month stay or about €65,200 for 18 months. To be safe, show more than €3,700 a month, or more than €66,000 saved for 18 months. Each additional family member or life partner adds 10% of the average net salary (€144.90 a month on our arithmetic), so a couple is about €3,800 (to be safe, more than €3,800) and a couple with one child about €3,900 (more than €4,000). The figure is recalculated every year. What savings a family needs is not stated, so that is unknown. [V8] [V11] [V12]
- The Interior Ministry asks for the application form, a passport valid three months longer than the intended stay, health insurance covering Croatia for the whole stay, proof of purpose (a statement and either an employment or service contract with the foreign employer, or proof your own company is registered and evidence of the work), proof of means, a legalised criminal record certificate from your home country and any country where you lived over a year, and an address in Croatia. Documents must be in Croatian or English, with an authorised translation where needed. 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; Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and US passports are visa-exempt, so we read it as not applying, but did not confirm that. Which police record Croatia accepts for each country is unknown. [V8] [V13]
- People who do not need a visa can apply online, at a Croatian embassy or consulate, or at the police if they are already legally in Croatia. At a police station the fees are €46.45 for the stay, €9.29 for the permit and €31.85 for the biometric card (€59.73 if you ask for it faster); at a mission they are €55.74 plus €41.14 for the card. You register your address with the police within 3 days of entry and collect the biometric card in person; the stay is revoked if you do not register in time. The Interior Ministry gives no decision time, so processing time is unknown. Which mission covers you depends on where you live: the pages we opened list only the US missions. [V8] [V14]
- Working for a Croatian employer needs a stay and work permit, which ties you to the employer and the job it names. The Interior Ministry lists routes with a labour market test, for professions in demand, and without either test, which include self-employment in a company or sole trade where you hold at least 51%, and the EU Blue Card. Croatia also has a temporary stay for other purposes: at most one year, a new application six months after it ends, and a means test of 60% of the average net salary since the January 2026 amendment. The pages we opened do not say what counts as other purposes. [V15] [V16] [V17]
- We found no residence route for people living on a pension or passive income. The Aliens Act and the Foreign Ministry's pages name none; the only retirement mention is an extension exception for a retired third-country national older than 60 who owns real estate in Croatia, whose conditions we did not find. The digital nomad stay is not a retirement route: it needs work for an employer or company outside Croatia. [V18] [V16]
The Fernshore Index
How the Index grades visas, by passport.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Visa, United States passport
Unknown
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
Unknown
Research for Canadian passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
Unknown
Research for Australian passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
Unknown
Research for New Zealand passports is being checked
The country
More on Croatia.
Topics
More about Croatia.
Questions about Visas in Croatia.
How long can I stay in Croatia without a visa?
The Schengen rule is 90 days in any 180, counted across all Schengen countries; Croatia has applied it in full since 1 January 2023. Canada's travel advice says the same for Canadians, the EU's Annex II names Australia and New Zealand, and the EU page treats the US as visa-free.
How much income do I need for Croatia's digital nomad stay?
For 2026 the Interior Ministry asks 2.5 average net salaries a month, or savings of about €43,500 (12 months) to €65,200 (18 months). To be safe, show more than €3,700 a month or more than €66,000 saved. A couple adds 10% per person; for three, more than €4,000 a month.
How long does the stay last, and can it be renewed?
Up to 18 months. If it is granted for less, one extension of up to 6 months can be asked for no later than 60 days before it ends. A new application comes 6 months after it expires. A Foreign Ministry page still says one year with no extension; the Interior Ministry's page decides.
Can I work for a Croatian employer or Croatian clients on the nomad stay?
No. The stay is for people who do not work or provide services for employers in Croatia. Working for a Croatian employer needs a stay and work permit, which ties you to that employer and job. Self-employment in a company where you hold at least 51% is a separate route.
Can I live in Croatia on savings or a pension?
We found no route for people living on a pension. A stay for "other purposes" lasts at most one year, with a six-month wait before reapplying and a means test of 60% of the average net salary. The pages do not say whether a pension qualifies, so that is unknown. The nomad stay needs work.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [V1] Visa requirements overview (Schengen from 1 January 2023, 90/180 days), as recorded by the Atlas Visa Map, Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V2] Croatia travel advice and advisories, Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V3] Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, Annex II: countries whose nationals are exempt from a visa for up to 90 days in any 180 (Official Journal text of 28 November 2018, later amended), European Union (copy hosted by the European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V4] Schengen visa policy: countries whose nationals do not need a visa, European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V5] Entry/Exit System, European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V6] Main differences between the EES and ETIAS (news item of 28 April 2026), European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V7] The European travel authorisation ETIAS will cost EUR 20 (news item of 17 July 2025), European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V8] Temporary stay of digital nomads, Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V9] Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Articles 3, 57 and 61: digital nomads, Republic of Croatia, Official Gazette 133/20 as amended (consolidated text on zakon.hr, a private legal portal updated to NN 55/26; the official gazette index page opened but not the full consolidated text). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V10] Temporary stay of foreigners, Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V11] Regulation on means of subsistence for third-country nationals (NN 14/21), article 2, Croatian Government, Narodne novine 14/2021. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V12] Notice of the 2025 average wage (NN 21/2026), Croatian Bureau of Statistics, published in Narodne novine 21/2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V13] Amendment to the Ordinance on third-country nationals' stay (NN 43/2026), Croatian Ministry of the Interior, Narodne novine 43/2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V14] Consular jurisdictions of the Croatian missions in the United States, Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V15] Work of third-country nationals, Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V16] Temporary residence for third-country nationals, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V17] Amendment to the means-of-subsistence regulation (NN 3/26), Croatian Government, Narodne novine 3/2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V18] Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Article 57 paragraphs 4 and 6: temporary stay for other purposes, Republic of Croatia, Official Gazette 133/20 as amended (consolidated text on zakon.hr, a private legal portal updated to NN 55/26). Checked 15 October 2026.