Croatia has adopted its second set of amendments to the Zakon o strancima (Law on Foreigners) in just over a year, which entered into force on June 4, 2026. They are primarily driven by sustained labor market pressure and serve to transpose the EU’s revised Single Permit Directive, which Croatia is among the few member states to have implemented on time. The changes are extensive and have both positive and negative impacts on foreign employees and Croatian employers. The most important changes are discussed below.
What Gets Easier
For Employees and Employers
- Change of employer. After completing six months with their initial employer, third-country nationals can now change employers during the validity of their permit without restarting the application process. Work can start upon a positive Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) opinion, with a formal police confirmation to follow. Change of employer is not possible for seasonal permit holders.
- Increased flexibility for EU Blue Card holders. Blue Card holders can now change occupation with the same employer through a simplified notification procedure and may engage in subsidiary self-employment or freelance activity without separate work authorization. In addition, time spent in another EEA member state on a national high-skilled worker permit, researcher permit, student permit, or permit as a beneficiary of international protection will now also count towards the five years minimum residency to qualify for EU long term residency (with a minimum of two years stay on an EU Blue Card in Croatia immediately prior to the application).
- Extended unemployment protection. Workers with still valid permits can remain lawfully in Croatia for up to three months without employment, extended to six months for those who have held a permit for more than two years. To make use of this right they will need to notify the HZZ within 5 days of termination of employment and actively search for and accept offered employment. The unemployment protection does not apply to seasonal permit holders.
- Work during renewal. To continue working until a decision has been made while a renewal application is in process is now allowed for all main permit types.
- Multi-year seasonal permits. Seasonal work permits can now be obtained for up to three years, with work allowed for 90 days up to nine months per year, depending on sector.
- Long-term visa for professional drivers. A new long-term visa category has been introduced for third country national professional drivers, with a validity of up to one year. Holders of such visa do not need work authorisation for this activity, nor register a place of residence in Croatia or apply for a temporary residence permit.
For Students
- Longer student residence permits. The validity period for foreign student residence permits has been extended to a possible maximum of three years. In this case confirmation of continuing study must be submitted to the police by October 31 of each year.
- Student work rights expanded. Students on a study permit may now work up to 25 hours per week as employees or self-employed, in addition to the existing route via authorised student job intermediaries. The 25-hour limit does not apply where the work forms a compulsory part of the study program.
For Academics
Academic mobility exemptions. New short term work authorization exemptions are introduced related to the EU mobility of academics.
What Gets Harder
- Longer processing times. The statutory deadline for issuing residence and work permits has been extended from 15 days to 90 days, with a possible further extension of 30 days in exceptional cases.
- Employer eligibility criteria tightened. For the standard work and residence permit (Article 97 permit) several corporate eligibility criteria are tightened, among which stricter economic activity and higher turnover requirements and higher EU/EEA/Swiss nationals to third country national quotas for normal positions (from 16 to 20%) and shortage occupations (from 8 to 10%).
- Territorial restriction. Workers on permits issued for shortage occupations may only work in administration areas where the occupation is listed as a shortage occupation. Workers on permits requiring a labor market test may only work in the administrative area where the labor market test was performed. However, labor market testing in multiple areas or additional areas after permit issuance is possible.
- Corporate representative compliance. Where a company’s sole or all authorized representatives are third-country nationals, at least one must hold a valid work and residence permit or have filed a permit application within 30 days of registration or change of authorized representatives. Pending a decision on a timely application, the representative may perform their duties lawfully. The court register system will automatically notify the Ministry of relevant registrations to enable compliance monitoring.
- Croatian language requirement. Workers on standard work and residence permits will be required to demonstrate basic Croatian language proficiency (A1.1 level, including Latin script) as a condition for first renewal after 12 months. This requirement does not apply until June 2027, providing permit holders time to prepare.
- Family reunification. For standard Article 97 work and residence permit holders, the June 2026 amendments restrict the family reunification route to permits with a validity of at least one year, and remove access entirely for holders of special-category permits such as intracompany transferees. The two-year prior residence requirement remains unchanged (including exceptions for minors where either the sole parent or both parents hold Article 97 permits). EU Blue Card holders have a separate family reunification regime and are not subject to these restrictions.
Newland Chase Insights
These amendments represent a meaningful shift in Croatia’s approach to immigration: greater flexibility for those already on permits in Croatia, combined with additional requirements and the potential for significantly longer processing times when employers want to bring in new staff from abroad.
What Employers Should Do
- Review your workforce composition against the new 20% and 10% quotas and address any gaps ahead of future hiring cycles.
- Adjust recruitment timelines to account for the 90-day processing deadline for new permits.
- Leverage new change of employer rules, sourcing new hires from the existing Croatian permit holder pool, where possible, to avoid long onboarding lead times.
- Communicate the language requirement to current third-country national employees: those approaching their first renewal date should begin A1.1 Croatian language preparation now, ahead of the June 2027 deadline.
This alert is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact Newland Chase directly for case-specific guidance.
