Croatia's stay and work permit for Indian workers, step by step

An Indian national working in Croatia needs a dozvola za boravak i rad, a combined stay and work permit issued under the Aliens Act, the Zakon o strancima published as NN 133/20 and amended twice since, in March 2025 and again with effect from 4 June 2026. The worker does not open the file, the employer does. The Ministry of the Interior (MUP) issues the permit, and the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) runs the labour market test that sits in front of it.

What the employer does first

MUP's page on the work of third country nationals puts the first move with the employer. The employer reports the vacancy to HZZ, which checks whether a suitable candidate is available from Croatia or elsewhere in the EU. That is the labour market test, the test tržišta rada, and under the 2026 amendments the whole test has to be concluded within 45 days. Only a positive result carries the permit file forward.

Not every post goes through the test. MUP names the exemptions: occupations on the shortage list adopted each year by the HZZ Governing Council, an extension for the same employer, the same occupation and the same worker, and seasonal work of up to 90 days in a calendar year in agriculture, forestry, hospitality and tourism. Many construction, shipbuilding and tourism posts sit on the shortage list, and in those cases the employer applies for the permit directly. It is the 2026 list that governs a recruitment opening this year, so reading the current one belongs at the start of a plan rather than at the end.

The file carries the employment contract or a written offer, proof of company registration, evidence that the worker meets the qualification requirement for the post, and an apostille on the Indian documents. A degree without an apostille does not count. Since the 2025 amendments the employer also lodges a promissory note worth one average monthly gross salary for each worker who needs a visa to enter Croatia. How the employer side of the HZZ step is assessed is set out in employer conditions and the HZZ positive opinion.

Fees, and what employing without a permit costs

Once the permit is granted, the worker collects a visa at the Croatian embassy in India, registers residence with the police administration after arrival, and is then issued a biometric residence card. MUP's fee schedule counts those three items separately.

MUP's own clock is the other half of the calendar. Since 4 June 2026 the ministry has 90 days to decide a complete file, with a further 30 where more checking is needed, so planning runs from the date the vacancy is reported to HZZ, not from the day the candidate was selected. Which posts skip the test entirely is covered in the shortage occupation list and the police administrations, and where Croatia sits against other member states is in the country by country permit timeline.

The penalty for employing without a permit falls on the employer, not the worker, and MUP counts it per worker: 6,630 to 13,270 euro. It bites in practice when someone is put on shift before the permit is issued, for instance in the week between the visa and the first day on site. Because the count is per worker, one decision taken for a whole shift is charged as many times as there are workers on it, and a labour inspection reads it off the attendance sheet for that exact day.

Renewal, changing employer and the accommodation standard

The permit now runs for up to three years where the HZZ opinion is required and up to two where it is not, so the renewal date is further out than the one year employers still plan against. An extension for the same employer and the same occupation skips the HZZ test, which makes the second file thinner than the first, though it adds proof of continuous employment and of the contributions paid.

The scope of the permit has moved as well. It is still tied to the employer and the work recorded on it, but a worker on a first permit may change employer after six months with the first one without the application starting again, and a move to another site or another post before that point goes back through MUP.

The accommodation condition is the one employers underestimate, and since 4 June 2026 it is written as a standard rather than left to judgement. Where the employer provides the housing it has to offer at least 14 square metres for the first worker and 6 more for each additional one, with working plumbing, electricity, a bathroom and separate sleeping and cooking areas, and any rent deducted is capped at 30 percent of the worker's net salary. The employer signs a statement that the accommodation meets that standard. MUP asks for the address and the legal basis for living there, and the police administration checks the same address when residence is registered after arrival, so a company lease covering several workers at one address has to name each of them.

Croatia reads as a straightforward route for employers recruiting from India, but the whole timeline is decided at the first step on the HZZ side.