Photograph / Photo: Freepik

In just the first two months of this year, as many as three times more applications for residence and work permits for foreign workers in Croatia were rejected than during the whole of last year.

While in 2024, 5,674 applications were rejected, after the amendments to the Foreigners Act came into force in Croatia, as many as 18,000 applications were rejected in just two months. In the same period, almost 7,000 fewer permits were issued than last year, writes Lider Media.

According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, 40,147 permits were issued in March and April last year, while this year 33,773 were issued, which is 6,374 fewer. However, in January and February 2025, before the implementation of the new law, 34,440 permits were issued, which is 1,715 more than in the same period of the previous year.

Minister Davor Božinović points out that the number of applications from temporary employment agencies fell by 70% in the first two months of implementation of the new law. In that period, 63 licenses for autotaxi transport were revoked, and digital platforms had to terminate cooperation with 24 aggregators. In the same period, the police checked more than 15,000 vehicles and 33,500 foreign workers, inspected more than 5,000 documents, and discovered almost 5,000 irregularities and 2,885 violations. 270 employers are under supervision, and 115 of them are on the so-called blacklist.

Employers are dissatisfied with the amendments to the law, especially because of the longer duration of the permit issuance process. The Ministry, however, claims that processing applications takes about two months on average. They also state that 66% of rejected applications are the result of employers failing to meet the conditions, in accordance with Article 99 of the Foreigners Act.

What exactly made obtaining permits more difficult?

The new law, which entered into force on March 15, introduces stricter conditions for employing foreigners and brings more order to this area. Before a worker from abroad can be hired, it is necessary to prove that there are no available domestic candidates for that position. It is no longer possible to adjust job competition criteria in order to exclude Croatian workers.

For legal entities, the condition is a minimum turnover of 10,000 euros per month in the last six months, while natural persons must achieve a total of 15,000 euros in the same period.

Companies must have at least one employed Croatian or EU citizen working full-time on a permanent contract throughout the entire previous year, and in the case of seasonal trades, at least one domestic worker from the previous season is required. In the event of withdrawing from a worker for whom a permit has already been obtained, there is an obligation to pay the state a guarantee in the amount of one average gross salary per worker.

It is also necessary to provide adequate accommodation for foreign workers according to clearly defined standards, and the salary of foreign workers must not be lower than that received by Croatian citizens in the same jobs.

All these changes were introduced with the aim of preventing abuse, protecting domestic workers, and ensuring better conditions for foreign workers, but at the same time they have significantly complicated and slowed down the process of employing foreigners in Croatia

The employment of foreign workers is not permitted for employers who have been finally convicted of certain criminal offenses or have debts to the state. Minimum turnover requirements have also been introduced for companies and tradespeople, and employment via digital platforms is also prohibited for employers who have previously violated the law. Permits can now be issued for up to three years, and for seasonal work up to nine months. Foreign workers may no longer receive a lower salary than Croatian workers in the same jobs.