Work Permits

Types of permits & application procedure

Even though the applicant may have completed the visa procedures (for a business or employment visa) and acquired an extended residency permit, he/she is not legally allowed to work in Croatia until she/he has received a work permit.

Work permits are issued by the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry states that this process takes up to one month to complete. There are no fees for this process.

Application for a work permit

The type of work permit to be applied for depends on whether the individual is arriving as:

a technical export to work for a Croatian employer, or
as a new investor.

If you are going to be working for a Croatian employer/company, you are requested to apply for the “work permit requested by an employer”, either on the base of a valid business visa or a visa for the purpose of employment (employment visa). Your application is submitted by your future employer to the Croatian Employment Institute/the Ministry of Labour.

A new investor, meanwhile, would apply for a “personal work permit”. This work permit is issued based on a valid business visa and, under the same terms and conditions, to foreign nationals having permanent residence in Croatia (but no business visa).

However, it is mainly granted to individuals whose work is not performed in, or directly related to, another Croatian company. It is applied for individually, by each foreign national, to the Croatian Employment Institute.

Required documentation for a work permit

Documentation required for the work permits includes:

A copy of the passport with the visa stamped by a notary (or the original passport);
A copy of the White Card (extended residency permit);
A letter of request from the employing company explaining the level of the job and why a suitable Croatian national could not be found to fill the job;
Company Registration Certificate, employment contract or some other evidence of the nature of the business to be established (in the case of a new investor); and
Standard application form (Form S-1).

Processing of an application

According to the Law on the Employment of Foreign Nationals, the Croatian Employment Institute must turn around applications within 30 days. Roughly 90 per cent of applications are passed first time; the most common reason for rejection is “labour market conditions” (i.e. labour market tightness in certain skill areas). However, it is not possible to refuse a work permit to someone arriving as the director of a company.

Applications approved by the Institute of Employment are passed on to the Ministry of Labour, which issues the work permit.

Rejected applicants can appeal to the Governing Body of the Institute, which is composed of representatives of trades unions, employer organizations and government (Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, Chamber of Economy and others, but all appointed by the Ministry of Labour).

Work permits are issued for a limited period of time only. After the expiration of your work permit you have to apply for renewal. Business visas have a maximum duration of one year. In case of specific activities or professional work the permit can be issued for a period of up to two years.

The final work permits are issued by the relevant local office of the Ministry of Labour and can take up to four weeks.

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