News brief · Nomad visas

Croatia: digital nomad visa extended and relaxed

Croatia has lengthened and relaxed its stay for remote workers. The scheme nevertheless remains limited in time, and its value for a French national is indirect: freedom of movement already opens the country to them.

By Editorial team · on July 19, 2026

View of Dubrovnik — Photo: Zysko serhii — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)

What the scheme provides today

Croatia's temporary stay for digital nomads is aimed at people employed by, or providing services to, a company not registered in Croatia, who carry out their work remotely from Croatian territory.

Its maximum duration is up to 18 months¹, and the required means of subsistence are set at €3,622.5² per month.

The extended duration is the most substantial change made to the scheme since its creation. It turns a permit designed for a one-year stay into one that allows settling for a year and a half.

We do not publish the previous duration, the date of the reform, or the details of the announced relaxations — notably on family reunification and on the conditions for reapplying: we were unable to verify them in an up-to-date official Croatian source.

What can be said is that the duration remains capped. The permit does not open a path to permanent residency, and it cannot be renewed indefinitely back to back.

What this changes, and for whom

For a third-country national, the extension is substantial: it allows genuine settlement, with a year-round home and schooling, rather than an extended stay.

For a French national, the scheme adds nothing. Freedom of movement gives them the right to stay in Croatia without a visa or income requirement, with simple registration beyond three months.

The scheme's interest for a French reader is therefore secondary: it sets a benchmark for means of subsistence, and it illustrates a practice — excluding remote work income from the Croatian tax base — that other states could adopt.

This exclusion is in fact the most technically interesting feature of the Croatian scheme, more so than its duration. It makes the stay tax-neutral on the Croatian side, which most digital nomad visas do not do.

A comparison with other European schemes sheds light on this choice. Estonia, Greece or Portugal let their holders become tax residents after the usual period, with the taxation that follows; Croatia preferred to neutralise the issue at source, by excluding the category of income concerned.

This choice has a rarely noted consequence: it makes the Croatian scheme unsuitable for anyone specifically seeking to acquire tax residency somewhere. A remote worker with no ties who wishes to become tax-resident in a state will not find what they need here, since the permit is designed to have no effect on that front.

What Croatia offers besides

The country has joined the euro area and the Schengen area. Exchange-rate risk has disappeared for a euro budget, and internal border checks have been abolished.

Croatian tax residency is acquired beyond 183 days³ of presence. The municipal income tax scale then ranges from 20%⁴ to 30%⁵ depending on the municipality of residence.

Corporate profit tax is 10%⁶ below a turnover threshold and 18%⁷ above it. Dividends are taxed at 10%⁸.

The reduced corporate tax rate for small businesses is one of the lowest in the European Union. It is a far stronger argument for a self-employed person who genuinely settles there than the digital nomad visa itself.

Key takeaways

The permit is capped at up to 18 months¹ and does not open a path to permanent residency.
It does not allow employment by a Croatian company.
A French national does not need it: freedom of movement already opens the country to them.
Beyond 183 days³, Croatian tax residency is acquired and the tax scale applies.
The reduced corporate tax rate of 10%⁶ is the country's strongest argument for a self-employed person.

Finally, the housing market deserves careful examination. Rising prices on the coast, driven by tourism and foreign demand, have opened a considerable gap with the interior of the country and with Zagreb. A Croatian project is therefore decided first on geography, then on taxation.

Please note

General information, as of the date shown. A draft reform is not a rule in force: check the conditions with the authorities or a professional before deciding. Terms of use and disclaimers

Sources and verification dates

1.
Croatia: maximum duration of temporary stay for digital nomads : 18 months
« Privremeni boravak odobrava se do maksimalno osamnaest mjeseci (moguće i kraće). Ako je privremeni boravak odobren na rok važenja kraće od 18 mjeseci, državljanin treće zemlje može najkasnije 60 dana prije isteka važenja privremenog boravak podnijeti zahtjev za produljenje privremenog boravka. Produljenje privremenog boravka će u tom slučaju biti odobreno za još maksimalno 6 mjeseci. — Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova (ministère de l'Intérieur), « Privremeni boravak u svrhu boravka digitalnih nomada ». »
mup.gov.hrVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
2.
Croatia: means of subsistence required of the digital nomad : €3,622.5
« […] državljanin treće zemlje koji regulira privremeni boravak u svrhu boravka digitalnih nomada mora raspolagati sredstvima u visini od najmanje 2,5 prosječne mjesečne neto isplaćene plaće za prethodnu godinu […] U ovom trenutku iznos potrebnih sredstva na mjesečnoj osnovi je minimalno 3.622,50 EUR […] ako je namjeravani period boravka 18 mjeseci stanjem na bankovnom računu je potrebno dokazati da raspolažete sredstvima u iznosu od minimalno od 65.205,00 EUR. — Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova, « Privremeni boravak u svrhu boravka digitalnih nomada » (Uredba NN 14/21). »
mup.gov.hrVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
3.
Croatia: presence giving rise to tax residency : 183 days
« U smislu ovoga Zakona smatra se da porezni obveznik ima prebivalište ondje gdje ima stan u vlasništvu ili posjedu neprekidno najmanje 183 dana u jednoj ili u dvije kalendarske godine. […] Uobičajenim boravištem u smislu ovoga Zakona smatra se stalan ili vremenski povezan boravak u trajanju od najmanje 183 dana u jednoj ili u dvije kalendarske godine. »
zakon.hrVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
4.
Croatia: example of a lower rate in the municipal income tax schedule : 20%
« The amounts of lower and higher rates are determined by the representative bodies of the units of local self-government by virtue of their own decision, (lower in the range from 15% to 23%, and higher in the range from 25% to 33%), while where the representative body of the unit of local self-government fails to adopt a decision within the prescribed deadline, the following rate applies: 20% up to EUR 60,000.00 annually (EUR 5,000.00 monthly) and 30% above EUR 60,000.00 annually — Porezna uprava, « Income tax information on the general rules, rates… » (Zakon o porezu na dohodak, NN 115/16 à 152/24). »
porezna-uprava.gov.hrVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
5.
Croatia: example of a higher rate in the municipal income tax schedule : 30%
« […] (lower in the range from 15% to 23%, and higher in the range from 25% to 33%), while where the representative body of the unit of local self-government fails to adopt a decision within the prescribed deadline, the following rate applies: 20% up to EUR 60,000.00 annually (EUR 5,000.00 monthly) and 30% above EUR 60,000.00 annually (EUR 5,000.00 monthly). — Porezna uprava, « Income tax information on the general rules, rates… ». »
porezna-uprava.gov.hrVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
6.
Croatia: profit tax rate below the turnover threshold : 10%
« Tax rate — 10% if, during the taxation period, revenue has been generated up to EUR 1,000,000. 18% if, during the taxation period, revenue has been generated greater than EUR 1,000,000. — Porezna uprava (administration fiscale croate), « Corporate tax information on the general rules, rates, taxpayer, withholding tax… ». »
porezna-uprava.gov.hrVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
7.
Croatia: profit tax rate above the threshold : 18%
« Tax rate — 10% if, during the taxation period, revenue has been generated up to EUR 1,000,000. 18% if, during the taxation period, revenue has been generated greater than EUR 1,000,000. — Porezna uprava, « Corporate tax information… ». »
porezna-uprava.gov.hrVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
8.
Croatia: tax rate on dividends and profit shares : 10%
« riječi: »stope od 12%« u određenom broju i padežu zamjenjuju se riječima: »stope od 10%« u odgovarajućem broju i padežu. […] Odredbe članaka 4. i 16. ovoga Zakona primjenjuju se pri utvrđivanju poreza na dohodak za 2021. godinu i nadalje. »
zakon.hrUpdated automatically on Oct 28, 2026 from the official source