Posting third country workers from Croatia to other EU member states

A Croatian employer may post a third country national to temporary work in another member state if the worker holds a right of residence in Croatia. The A1 certificate under Regulation 883/2004 settles contributions, not access to the destination labour market. For Germany the answer is the Vander Elst visa, priced at 75 euro by the German embassy in Zagreb.

What an A1 certificate proves, and what it does not

The A1 certificate is issued under Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems and shows that the worker remains in the social security system of the sending state for the duration of the posting. That prevents contributions being paid twice. Under European Commission guidance for businesses, the form cannot state a period longer than 24 months, and an extension needs the agreement of both states rather than arriving automatically.

Working conditions are a separate question, governed by Directive 96/71/EC on the posting of workers, supplemented by Directive 2014/67/EU. A posted worker is entitled to the destination state's conditions on pay, working time and health and safety, and that applies to third country nationals exactly as it does to Union citizens. Before work begins the employer must file a prior declaration with the competent authority in the destination state, giving the employer's identity, the number of workers, the address of the work, the duration and type of service, and a contact person.

What the A1 certificate does not do is open the labour market. A Croatian residence and work permit gives the right to work in Croatia, not in Germany, Austria or the Netherlands. Employers who miss that distinction are ready to travel and not ready to work.

The Vander Elst visa and the German example

The name comes from Court of Justice case law on the freedom to provide services. On that basis Germany issues a specific visa to third country nationals who are regularly employed by an employer established in another member state and who temporarily provide a service in Germany.

Under the guidance of the German embassy in Zagreb, the employer evidences the applicant's regular employment, the planned start and end of the service, the place of work in Germany and a description of the service, together with the service contract between the Croatian employer and the German client and business documentation for the preceding three months. The worker files the application, a biometric photograph, a passport, the Croatian work permit, the employment contract and proof of health insurance. The fee is 75 euro, processing usually takes two weeks, and appointments are booked in advance.

One limit in the German guidance is worth singling out: workers employed under foreign labour quota schemes are not eligible for that visa, because it would sidestep protection of the domestic labour market.

Posting into Croatia, the other direction

The same logic applies when a foreign employer sends workers to Croatia. Under Ministry of the Interior guidance, a posted worker may work in Croatia for up to 90 days without a residence and work permit if they hold a valid A1 certificate and an employment contract with an employer established in an EEA state or Switzerland. For work beyond 90 days, a third country national applies for approval of temporary residence on Form 1a, with a passport, proof of means, health insurance, the A1 certificate and the employment contract, and receives a biometric residence card. EEA nationals register temporary residence on Form 1b and the registration certificate is issued free of charge.

Where these plans usually break

The first fracture is timing. The A1 certificate is obtained in Croatia, the visa in the destination state, and the prior declaration before the first working day. Three steps across three institutions do not run in parallel by themselves, and the two week visa processing in Zagreb comes after document preparation rather than alongside it.

The second is the nature of the work. Posting covers the temporary provision of a service under a contract with a client. Filling permanent positions at the client is not posting but employment in that state, and the destination country's own permit procedure applies, as described in the piece on the German permit chain. What sponsorship then means for the employer is set out in the piece on what sponsorship means for an EU employer, and corridor by corridor timing in the overview of EU work permit timelines.

Posting is a useful instrument for projects with a clear start and end, and a weak answer to a permanent shortage of workers. Employers who draw that line before signing with the client avoid both expensive mistakes. A corridor view of the same questions sits on the employers page.