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Digital nomads are now eligible to apply for a temporary residence permit in Croatia for up to three years, following the changes applied to the Aliens Act that took effect in mid-March.
Non-EU nationals are now eligible to apply for a temporary residence permit through the Digital Nomad Visa program of Croatia for more than 18 months, with the option to extend it once, giving them extra time to remain in this country. In addition, their family members can also join them, Schengen.News reports.
Following the new changes to the Aliens Act, digital nomads are now permitted to stay for twice as long as before. Since the Digital Nomad Visa was introduced in Croatia in 2021, its beneficiaries were allowed to stay for 12 months and then extend their stay for another six months, but now they can stay for longer periods.
Croatia’s Digital Nomad Visa allows non-EU nationals to live and work from this country legally to companies or businesses located outside.
Limited Extensions of Stay for Digital Nomads
The Ministry of the Interior’s rule emphasizes that digital nomads who decide to stay in Croatia for less than 18 months, can be granted a temporary residence for a maximum of six more months.
It means that those who apply to stay for 12 months, cannot request an additional 18 months. The possibility of staying 18 + 18 months only applied to those who initially requested the maximum period of 18 months.
Russians & Ukrainians Lead Digital Nomad Visa Applications in Croatia
Nationals of Russia and Ukraine have submitted the highest number of applications for Croatia’s Digital Nomad Visa Program since 2022.
According to the statistics from Croatia’s Ministry of the Interior, they are followed by nationals of the United States and the United Kingdom.
The same source states that in the first nine months of 2024, a total of 824 requests for Croatia’s digital nomad visa were submitted, of them just 342 were approved. The majority of them came from Russia (105) and Ukraine (88).
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russians and Ukrainians have accounted for the highest number of digital visas filed in Croatia since 2022.
They are followed by nationals of the United States with 51 approved applications and the United Kingdom with 12 applications approved. The statistics from the Ministry of the Interior revealed that as of September 30, 2024, 629 digital nomads in Croatia had valid temporary residences.
