Moving to Croatia: your checklist

Moving to Croatia as an EU citizen

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa and no work permit for Croatia. Croatia joined the Schengen area and the euro on 1 January 2023. If you stay longer than three months, you register your residence with the police and get a Croatian tax number (OIB).

Moving to Croatia from outside the EU

Citizens of the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and other non-EU countries can stay visa-free for 90 days in any 180-day period. For longer stays you need approved temporary residence for a purpose set out in the Aliens Act: work, family reunification, study, digital nomad and a few others. Owning property in Croatia does not by itself give a right of residence. The digital nomad route is popular with remote workers; see digital nomads in Croatia.

OIB, bank account and health insurance

The OIB is the 11-digit number used for almost everything in Croatia: bank account, lease, electricity, car registration and property purchase. Employees are insured with the state insurer HZZO through their employer. EU pensioners register with form S1. HZZO supplementary insurance (dopunsko osiguranje) for co-payments costs €15 per month since 1 February 2026.

Taxes

If you live in Croatia, you usually become tax resident there. Croatia has double tax treaties with most European countries, the USA and others, which decide where salaries, rental income and pensions are taxed. Get advice from a tax adviser who knows both countries before you move.

Housing and buying property

Year-round rentals on the coast are hard to find because many flats are let to tourists in summer. EU citizens buy property on the same terms as Croatians. Buyers of resale property pay 3 % transfer tax; new builds from developers usually include 25 % VAT in the price. If the property is not your main residence, an annual property tax of €0.60 to €8.00 per m² applies, set by each municipality. See the guide to purchase costs and property tax for foreign owners.

Sources

Croatian Aliens Act and rules on residence of EEA citizens (zakon.hr), Your Europe (European Commission), HZZO (supplementary insurance from 1 Feb 2026), Porezna uprava (OIB, transfer tax, property tax), Croatian Government on the end of the agricultural land moratorium in 2023. As of November 2026. This page is not legal or tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

Updated: November 2026 · Supremio Digital, Zagreb