Let’s start at the beginning. By the book the definition of a digital nomad is someone who uses modern technology to conduct their work whilst travelling the world. And according to the long-term stay of digital nomads in Croatia, as taken from the updated law from the Ministry of the Interior (MUP), the definition reads "A Digital Nomad is a third-country national who is employed or performs work through communication technology for a company or his own company that is not registered in the Republic of Croatia and does not perform work or provide services to employers in the Republic of Croatia.” This clearly applies to nomads wishing to apply for the digital nomad visa.

You want to stay and indeed work in Dubrovnik for a longer period of time? With the digital nomad visa you’ll be able to stay for up to a year. However, after your year has run out there isn’t a possibility to extend that year-long visa. Now whilst a year is the maximum length you can take out a shorter length visa. You can apply for another visa; however, a period of six months must have expired before you apply again. A new application for regulating a stay of digital nomads can be submitted 6 months after the expiry of the previously granted temporary stay of digital nomads, states the MUP website.

• Let’s start with the online application. Here is a link to the online application form. And the online application form is in both Croatian and English.
• You can apply in person for the digital nomad visa from your home country. If you want to apply from abroad in person then you’re going to have to visit the nearest Croatian embassy or consulate.
• And you can apply in person if you are in Croatia, this is of course in the situation that you don’t already need a visa to enter the country. To apply in person whilst already in the country you’re going to have to go to the local police station or indeed at the Croatian embassy or consulate. Again here is a link with more info. 

Firstly,all documents can be submitted in either English or Croatian. 

And now here is the list. If you aresubmitting your application in person, you have to fill in Form 1a (bilingualform), or you can submit your application online.

 A completed application form
A copy of a valid travel document/passport
Proof of health insurance
Proof of purpose as a digital nomad
Proof on funds to support yourself whilst in Croatia
Proof that you haven’t been convicted of a criminal offence
Address inside the Republic of Croatia 

Now let’s give you some more details on allof these points.

Your traveldocument/passport must have aperiod of validity three months longer than the period of validity of intendedstay. Basically, if you are planning to stay for a year then your traveldocument should have a minimum of 15 months left on it from the date yourdigital nomad visa starts.

Health insurance. You’ll require travel or private health insurance that mustcover the territory of the Republic of Croatia for the entire length of yourstay. 

Proof of purpose is basically a document that in some way proves that you areindeed a digital nomad. As we’ve already mentioned the digital nomad visa isaimed at "a third-country national who is employed or performs work throughcommunication technology for a company or his own company that is not registeredin the Republic of Croatia and does not perform work or provide services toemployers in the Republic of Croatia.” 

So the documents that you’ll need to fulfilthis step are –

• a statement from the employer or third-country national (as proofthat the person performs work through communication technology)
• contract of employment or service contract with a foreignemployer, or
• copy of the registration of his/her own company and proof thathe/she performs the said tasks through his own company 

Proof on funds to support yourself whilst staying as a digital nomad in Croatia.To be able to show that you can support yourself whilst working as a digitalnomad in Croatia MUP has laid out the following conditions. Third-countrynationals are required to have a monthly income of at least 2.5 times theaverage monthly salary. At this moment in time, and bearing in mind that thisfigure is based on the average Croatian salary that can change, that figure isa minimum of 16,907.50 Kuna a month. More precisely, if you intend to stay inthe Republic of Croatia for 12 months, you need to prove that you have aminimum of 202,890.00 Kuna. And to prove this you can either submit a bankstatement of proof of income. And there isn’t a strict regulation on thatregular income, meaning that it can be from a work contract, investments,etc.      

Proof that you haven’tbeen convicted of a criminal offence. This isbasically a background check proving that you haven’t been convicted in yourhome country or in a country that you have resided in for more than one year.This step is clearly going to be much easier to get done before you actuallyarrive in Croatia, although it can be done online in most countries. 

Anaddress inside the Republic of Croatia is required when completing your application. If this is the firsttime you are applying and you do not have an address in the Republic ofCroatia, you can provide a temporary address as the address of your intendedstay. This can be a hostel, hotel or rented apartment as long as you have aconfirmed reservation.

If the application is submitted at adiplomatic mission/consular post - the costs are paid when applying

420.00 Kuna for granting temporarystay, and

460.00 Kuna for the visa (if you submityour visa application through the VFS visa centre, you will be charged anadditional fee for the service) or

310.00 Kuna for the biometric residencecard (check with the diplomatic mission/consular post about the possibility ofobtaining the card). 

If the application is submitted at apolice administration/police station - the costs are paid after the stay isgranted

350.00 Kuna for granting temporarystay, and

70.00 Kuna for administrative fees forthe issuance of the biometric residence permit and 240.00 Kuna for thebiometric residence card.

And here is a link that gives detailson how to pay, whether in person or via internet banking. 

Upon arrival in the Republic of Croatia- registering temporary residence address and issuance of a biometric residencepermit is required.

Registering temporary residence address

Third-country nationals are obligatedto register their temporary residence address within 3 days from their entry inthe Republic of Croatia at the competent police administration/police stationaccording to the location of their stay. You can do this by filling in Form 8a(available here) and enclosing a lease contract, a statement from the landlord,or a title deed.

Issuance of a biometric residence permit

Both third-country nationals who arenot required to hold a visa to enter the Republic of Croatia and those who arerequired to hold a visa have to obtain a residence permit - biometric card(must provide photos and biometric data) in person at a policeadministration/police station.

 

Do you still need some assistance withgoing through the Croatian digital nomad visa process? For independent adviceand a step by step approach you can contact the specialist agency Adriatic SeaChange