How to apply for a visa
To lodge your visa application, please appear in person for your appointment scheduled with our external service provider VFS GLOBAL. Submit your complete application with all the requested documentation, pay the fee and answer questions about the planned trip. Unless you have applied for a Schengen visa in the past 59 months, your biometrics will be captured. Applications lacking biometrics are not admissible and cannot be processed. Make sure that your supporting documents are complete at the time of submission of your application as failure to do so might affect the outcome of your application. All applications must be submitted IN PERSON at:
SOUTH AFRICA
VFS Global Visa Application Centers - Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban & Johannesburg
NIGERIA
VFS Global Visa Application Center - Abuja
(only for nationals and legal residents of Nigeria)
NAMIBIA
VFS Global Visa Application Center - Windhoek
(only for nationals and legal residents of Namibia)
TANZANIA
VFS Global Visa Application Center - Dar es Salaam
(only for nationals and legal residents of Tanzania)
KENYA
VFS Global Visa Application Center - Nairobi
(only for nationals and legal residents of Kenya)
GHANA
VFS Global Visa Application Center - Accra
(only for nationals and legal residents of Ghana)
BOTSWANA
VFS Global Visa Application Center - Gaborone
(only for nationals and legal residents of Botswana)
Applicants from Mozambique, Zambia, Burundi, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Eswatini, Uganda and Zimbabwe must apply in South Africa as there are currently no accredited submission locations in those countries. Personal presence in South Africa is mandatory. Exceptions to this rule cannot be made.
Appointments slots are bookable online only through respective VFS Global web links. Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Pretoria cannot assist with booking a submission slot nor it can ensure one is available in case all of them are fully booked.
When and how are applicants’ passports returned?
The Embassy of Croatia thoroughly checks your application and decides if visa will be issued. Embassy ensures that your application meets all legal requirements. As a rule, decisions are made within 15 days. However, this may be extended up to a maximum of 45 days in individual cases where further scrutiny of the application is needed. Applications can be submitted up to 6 months (9 months in case of seafarers) before the intended date of departure. Regrettably no questions about the processing status can be answered during the processing time. All applicants are advised to apply early, as late submissions may result in loss of travel arrangements.
Applicants from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Mozambique, Namibia, Ghana and Uganda should pay particular attention to applying early as all applications are assessed by several competent authorities to ensure that all the entry conditions set out in the Schengen Code are met. Logistical constraints in some locations may impact the duration of processing.
The original of your passport needs to be presented at the time of application. During the processing of your application your passport remains with the Croatian Embassy in South Africa. Once the Embassy has decided regarding your application, your passport will be returned to the external service provider VFS Global, which will have your passport couriered back to you or have it ready for collection, whichever is applicable. In justifiable cases where you cannot leave your passport with the Embassy for the duration of processing (e.g. another trip planned; return flight to your country of residence), you may have it back after filling the application in person. A photocopy of your passport should be left with the external service provider (VFS Global) and the original of the passport has to be resubmitted or couriered directly to the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Pretoria once that is possible.
If your visa was declined, you will receive a refusal letter notifying you about the reasons for the refusal, along with your passport. Persons whose visa has been refused have the right to appeal. Moreover, a new application may be submitted at any time, regardless of the previous rejection. If your visa has been issued, please check all the data for possible mistakes as soon as you receive your passport. Pay particular attention to: the visa’s validity (start and end dates); the number of days of allowed stay (this is the maximum number of days you can stay in the Schengen area during the visa’s validity period); the correct spelling of your name; the number of entries you were granted. The external service provider (VFS Global) and the Croatian Embassy must be informed of possible unintentional mistakes immediately and cannot be held responsible for any complications that may occur as a result of the incorrect data at a later stage.
