Croatia · Business & founder
Temporary Stay for Company Owners and Directors
Open
Last verified July 2026
Open, but genuinely demanding — this is not a golden visa in disguise, despite being marketed as one.
This is the route the market repackages and sells as a 'Croatia Golden Visa'. It is nothing of the sort: the binding cost is a three-person Croatian payroll, not the EUR 26.5k capital. It is a real business permit for people running real businesses, and it is uneconomic as a pure residence play.
Qualifying routes
€26.5k
Owner or founder of a Croatian d.o.o. or obrt
Own at least 51%; invest at least EUR 26,544.56 of start-up capital; hire at least 3 Croatian citizens full-time at or above the national average gross salary; own director's gross salary at least 1.5x the national average monthly gross
The facts
- Minimum investment
- €26.5k
- Total landed cost
- The capital is the small part — three Croatian employees at or above average gross salary plus a director's salary at 1.5x average is realistically EUR 80-120k a year in payroll before any business activity
- Timeline
- 2–6 months — MUP applies a corporate-structure audit before formal acceptance
- Physical presence
- Genuine management of an operating business
- Family
- spouseminor childrenvia family reunification
- Permanent residency
- 5 years of continuous legal residence — and unlike the digital nomad permit, this time does count
- Citizenship
- 8 years of registered residence plus permanent residence status, with language test and renunciation of prior citizenship
- Language test
- Croatian language and Latin script, plus familiarity with culture and social arrangements
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- at least 51% ownershipat least EUR 26,544.56 start-up capitalthree full-time Croatian employees at or above average gross salarydirector's gross salary at least 1.5x national average
What can go wrong
- Multiple consultancies market this as the 'Croatia Golden Visa' and charge fees for it. Croatia has no golden visa. Expect clients to arrive having read one of these pages.
- The three-employee payroll obligation is the real cost driver and continues for as long as you need the permit.
- MUP applies heightened scrutiny and audits the corporate structure before accepting the application.
- Citizenship at the end of this route requires renouncing your existing passport — which for most UHNW clients kills it. If there is any Croatian ancestry, use Articles 11/16 instead.