Croatia's shortage occupation list by police administration and how to check it
The shortage occupation list under Article 101 of Croatia's Aliens Act applies by police administration area, and 160,176 permits were issued in 2025.
Croatia does not run one national shortage occupation list. It runs a set of lists by police administration area. The minister responsible for labour adopts them under Article 101 of the Aliens Act, using Croatian Employment Service data. An occupation on the list removes the labour market test.
Why the list is regional
Where an occupation is listed, the employer applies directly to the police administration rather than first opening a check of domestic supply. Which list applies depends on where the work happens, and that is the part employers get wrong.
The Croatian labour market is not uniform. Ministry of the Interior figures for the first eleven months of 2025 record 160,176 residence and work permits issued, of which 40,170 in the Zagreb police administration, 22,824 in the Istria police administration and 16,602 in the Split and Dalmatia police administration. Demand in those three places is built differently: inland logistics and manufacturing in the first, seasonal hospitality in the other two.
So the same position can be in shortage in one area and not in another. A cook in Istria and a cook in Slavonia are not the same question for the Employment Service, because domestic supply in those areas is not the same. An employer who checks the list for the company's registered seat while hiring for a plant in another county has checked the wrong list.
Since the amendments in Narodne novine 55/2026, in force from 4 June 2026, that link has tightened. A permit issued on shortage grounds is tied to the area of the police administration that issued it, so transferring a worker to another police administration is not an administrative detail but a fresh question about the permit.
What shortage status changes in the procedure
The difference is a whole phase of the procedure. Where the occupation is not listed, a labour market test runs at the Employment Service and the application to the police administration follows it. Where the occupation is listed, that phase falls away.
| Question | Occupation listed | Occupation not listed |
|---|---|---|
| Labour market test | Not carried out | Carried out through the Employment Service |
| Domestic workforce ratio under Article 99 | at least 10 percent | at least 20 percent |
| Employer's first step | Application to the police administration | Application to the Employment Service |
| Territorial tie of the permit | To the issuing police administration | Under the general rules |
Shortage status also moves the condition in Article 99 of the Aliens Act. For shortage occupations the Employment Service requires employed nationals of Croatia, the EEA or Switzerland to number at least 10 percent of employed third country nationals, against 20 percent for other occupations. Those thresholds are set out in the piece on employer conditions for a positive Employment Service opinion.
How to check an occupation before opening a procedure
The check has four steps and takes less than a working day. First, fix the place of work rather than the company seat, and establish which police administration covers that address. Second, find the current list for that area at the Employment Service. Third, compare the occupation title and code with how the job is actually described in the employment contract, because the list is read by occupation and not by the internal job title a company uses. Fourth, check the publication date of the list, since lists are updated during the year.
The third step is where most errors happen. An employer looking for someone to assemble steel structures gets a different outcome if the file calls the role a general labourer than if it calls the role a metalworker. The description has to be true, but it also has to be precise, and imprecision almost always works against the employer.
What the list does not solve
Shortage status shortens the procedure without changing the other conditions. The employer still has to meet the domestic workforce ratio, evidence its trading and tax standing, attach the accommodation declaration and, for visa nationals, the health certificate. The police administration still decides within the deadline in Article 91(8) of the Aliens Act, meaning within 90 days of a complete application at the latest, with a further 30 days in justified cases. The administrative fee for issuing a residence and work permit stays at 74.32 euro under the Ministry of the Interior schedule.
Lists change, so next season's hiring plan is not built on last year's version. The effect of shortage status on a worker moving to a new employer is covered in the piece on changing employer after six months, and its effect on the summer season in the piece on seasonal work permits.
Employers operating in several counties check the list per site and treat it as data with a date on it, exactly like a permit. A view of the same mechanics by destination country sits on the employers page.
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