News brief · Nomad visas
Croatia: the non-renewable nomad visa, a limit to be aware of
Croatia’s stay for digital nomads cannot be renewed back to back. This limit is by design, not by accident: it follows from the tax advantage the scheme grants.
By Editorial team · on January 24, 2026
What the scheme provides
Croatia’s temporary stay for digital nomads is aimed at people employed by, or providing services to, a company not registered in Croatia, who work remotely from the country.
Its maximum duration is up to 18 months1, and the means of subsistence required stand at €3,622.52 per month, with a reference amount of around €3,622.53 also circulating in presentations.
The permit cannot be renewed immediately after it expires: a period must elapse before a new application is admissible.
We do not publish the length of this waiting period or the conditions for a new application: they do not appear in the official sources we have been able to verify, and they must be established with the Croatian authorities.
Why this limit is by design
The appeal of the Croatian scheme lies in a specific provision: income received by the holder from their remote work is excluded from the Croatian income tax base.
This exclusion makes the stay tax-neutral on the Croatian side, which is rare: most nomad visas let their holder become a tax resident, and taxable, after a few months.
Such an advantage cannot be granted without a time limit, otherwise it would create a category of untaxed permanent residents. The time limit is therefore the logical counterpart of the exclusion.
Montenegro has made the opposite choice: its nomad permit can last up to up to 4 years4, but it grants no exclusion, and its holder becomes an ordinary taxpayer, on a scale ranging from from 9%5 to 15%6.
Both designs are coherent, and they do not serve the same plan: one suits an extended season, the other a permanent move.
What this means for a plan
A time-limited, non-renewable permit cannot support a family relocation. It does not allow long-term schooling, a commitment to a long lease, or a path towards permanent residence.
It is, on the other hand, perfectly suited to an extended season, a transition period, or a trial before a more binding decision.
For a French national, the question does not arise anyway: Croatia is a member of the European Union, and freedom of movement allows them to live there without a visa or any income requirement.
Its interest for a French reader is therefore indirect. It lies in the exclusion mechanism, which other states could adopt, and in the subsistence benchmark it sets.
This limit sheds light on a general point about nomad visas. A state that grants a tax advantage limits the duration; a state that does not limit the duration grants no advantage. The two almost never go together, and it is useful to know this before comparing schemes on duration alone.
The question to ask is therefore this: what are you seeking, time or tax treatment? The answer points to different schemes, and an applicant who wants both will usually have to give up one.
What else Croatia offers
The country has joined the euro area and the Schengen area, which removes currency risk for a budget in euros and removes checks at internal borders.
Croatian tax residency is acquired beyond 183 days7 of presence. The municipal income tax scale then ranges from 20%8 to 30%9 depending on the municipality.
Profit tax is 10%10 below a turnover threshold and 18%11 above it. The reduced rate is one of the lowest in the European Union.
Dividends are taxed at 10%12, capital gains on financial assets at 12%13, and inheritance at 4%14.
For a self-employed person who genuinely settles there, it is this reduced corporate tax rate, not the nomad visa, that is the country’s strongest argument.
Please note
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: 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
- 4.
Montenegro: maximum cumulative duration of the digital nomad permit, two years renewable once : 4 years
« A digital nomad permit is issued with a validity period of up to two years and can be extended for a maximum of two more years, and a new one can be issued after the expiration of six months from the expiration of the digital nomad's temporary residence. — Government of Montenegro, portail Digital Nomads, « How to get the visa? ». »
- 5.
Montenegro: rate applicable to the intermediate bracket of taxable income : 9%
« Stopa poreza na dohodak: 1) koji je ostvaren na osnovu prihoda iz člana 12 stav 2 tačka 1 ovog zakona iznosi: - 0% na iznos oporezivog dohotka do 700,00€, - 9% na iznos oporezivog dohotka od 700,01€ do 1.000,00€, - 15% na iznos oporezivog dohotka od 1.000,01€ »
- 6.
Montenegro: rate applicable to the top bracket of taxable income : 15%
« Stopa poreza na dohodak: 1) koji je ostvaren na osnovu prihoda iz člana 12 stav 2 tačka 1 ovog zakona iznosi: - 0% na iznos oporezivog dohotka do 700,00€, - 9% na iznos oporezivog dohotka od 700,01€ do 1.000,00€, - 15% na iznos oporezivog dohotka od 1.000,01€; 2) koji je ostvaren na osnovu prihoda iz člana 12 stav 2 tačka 2 ovog zakona iznosi: - 9% na iznos oporezivog dohotka od 8.400,01 € do 12.000,00 €, - 15% na iznos oporezivog dohotka od 12.000,01 €; 3) iznosi 15% od poreske osnovice za prihode iz člana 12 stav 2 tač. 3 do 8 ovog zakona. »
- 7.
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
- 8.
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
- 9.
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
- 10.
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
- 11.
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
- 12.
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
- 13.
Croatia: higher rate applicable to certain capital gains : 12%
« Porezni obveznik – imatelj financijske imovine obvezan je porez na dohodak od kapitala po osnovi kapitalnih dobitaka iz članka 67. stavaka 1. i 2. ovoga Zakona, osim kapitalnih dobitaka po osnovi otuđenja udjela u kapitalu trgovačkog društva koji nisu prenosivi na tržištu kapitala u skladu s posebnim propisom, obračunati, obustaviti i uplatiti do posljednjeg dana mjeseca veljače tekuće godine za sve kapitalne dobitke ostvarene u prethodnoj godini umanjene za ostvarene kapitalne gubitke iz članka 67. stavka 11. ovoga Zakona po stopi od 12%. »
zakon.hrVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 14.
Croatia: rate of inheritance and gift tax : 4%
« Članak 8. Porez na nasljedstva i darove plaća se po stopi od 4%. Članak 9. Porez na nasljedstva i darove ne plaćaju: 1. bračni drug, potomci i preci koji čine uspravnu liniju te posvojenici i posvojitelji koji su u tom odnosu s umrlim ili darovateljem »
zakon.hrVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source