TEMPORARY RESIDENCE

Temporary residence for third-country nationals may be granted for the purposes of: family reunification, work, secondary education and study, scientific research, humanitarian reasons, work of a deployed worker and for other purposes.
 
An application for a temporary residence permit (Form 1a) shall be submitted in person by the alien to the relevant diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Croatia.
 
An alien who does not need a visa to enter the Republic of Croatia may also submit a request for a temporary residence permit at the police administration or police station according to the alien's intended place of residence, the employer's seat or the alien's place of work.
 
Exceptionally, foreigners who need a visa to enter the Republic of Croatia may also submit a request for temporary residence at the police administration / station if:
• they come to study at a higher education institution as a full-time student at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level;
• it is a scientific researcher who is coming on the basis of a guest contract;
• these are foreigners working on the basis of youth mobility programs implemented by the Republic of Croatia in cooperation with other countries / scientific researchers and foreigners who are employed in scientific, scientific-teaching or other research positions in scientific legal entities / professors - native speakers of foreign countries language, lecturers and other teachers who teach at Croatian higher education institutions or at registered foreign language schools and foreigners working on the basis of an international agreement, except for the agreement referred to in Article 79, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Aliens Act and their immediate family members.
 
An alien who applied for the first temporary residence permit in the Republic of Croatia (if he / she does not need an entry visa, i.e. a student or a specified category of aliens) before the expiration of the short stay, may stay in the Republic of Croatia until the decision on the application is enforceable.
 
An alien will be granted temporary residence if: he proves the purpose of temporary residence, and has a valid travel document, means of subsistence, health insurance, and is not banned from entering and staying in the Republic of Croatia and does not pose a threat to public order, national security or public health.
 
Proving the purpose of temporary residence
The documentation proving the purpose of the temporary stay is prescribed by the provisions of Articles 7-17. and 21 to 29 of the Ordinance on the status and work of aliens in the Republic of Croatia (OG 52/12, 81/13 and 38/15).
 
Along with the completed application for the issuance of a temporary residence permit, the alien is obliged to enclose:
• colour photo size 35x45 mm;
• a copy of a valid travel document;
• proof of health insurance;
• proof of secured means of subsistence (in the amount determined as a minimum by the Decree on the method of calculation and the amount of means of subsistence for foreigners in the Republic of Croatia OG 51/12);
• proof of justification of temporary residence;
• proof of payment of the consular fee / administrative fee.
 
Documents attached to the application must be in the original or a certified copy, and foreign documents translated into Croatian and certified in accordance with regulations (documents issued in Kazakhstan are certified by apostille stamps).
 
Documents must not be older than six months. Unless otherwise prescribed by the Ordinance on the Status and Work of Aliens in the Republic of Croatia (OG 52/12, 81/13 and 38/15).
 
The manner of determining the conditions for granting temporary residence is prescribed by the Ordinance on the Status and Work of Aliens in the Republic of Croatia. If the application is resolved positively, the alien is issued a temporary residence permit in the form of a biometric residence permit.
 
The period of validity of the travel document must be at least three months longer than the period for which the temporary residence permit is issued.
 
Temporary residence for other purposes may be granted for a maximum of one year, and a new application for regulating residence for other purposes may be submitted by an alien after the expiration of six months from the expiration of temporary residence granted for other purposes.
 
If the request is submitted to a Diplomatic Mission / Consular Office - the alien will be informed when the request has been resolved and that the applicant should present him/herself at the relevant police administration or police station to provide biometric data for the issuance of a residence permit.
 
The foreigner is obliged to report his / her residence to the relevant police administration / station within three days of entering the Republic of Croatia.
 
A temporary residence permit / an extension of a temporary residence permit, is issued with a validity period of up to one year. The request for extension of temporary residence shall be submitted to the police administration / police station no later than 60 days before the expiration of the valid temporary residence. If the alien does not submit a request for extension of temporary residence within the prescribed time limit, he shall be fined.
 
Regulating the status of minor children - foreign citizens in the Republic of Croatia
Pursuant to the provisions of the Aliens Act, minor children - foreign nationals may be granted temporary residence in the Republic of Croatia, provided that the conditions prescribed by the Aliens Act and by-laws are met, for the following purposes:
• family reunification (for example, minor children whose parents or adoptive parents have been granted temporary / permanent residence or are foreigners granted protection in accordance with the Asylum Act or are Croatian citizens). Pursuant to the provisions of Article 51 of the Aliens Act, it is the duty of the parent or guardian of a child born in the territory of the Republic of Croatia to submit a request for temporary residence permit until the child reaches the age of three months;
• secondary education (may be granted to a minor coming under a recognized student exchange program approved by the ministry responsible for education and science);
• humanitarian grounds (may be granted to a minor - a victim of trafficking in human beings or a minor - a foreign national who has been abandoned or is a victim of organized crime or has been left without parental protection, care or unaccompanied for other reasons). Note: the application for the issuance of a temporary residence permit for the specified category of minors is submitted by the guardian in the presence of the minor (Article 13, paragraph 1 of the Ordinance on the status and work of aliens in the Republic of Croatia);
• for other purposes (for example for the purpose of medical treatment or other - it is proven by the documentation prescribed by Article 17 of the Ordinance on the status and work of aliens in the Republic of Croatia).
 
Pursuant to Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Ordinance on the Status and Work of Aliens in the Republic of Croatia, the issuance of a temporary residence permit for a minor child requires the consent of the other parent, which is given by handwritten signature, with an official note. If one of the parents is absent, consent can be given in a written statement to a notary public, and consent is not required if the child is placed in the care of one parent.
 
For minor children who are in the Republic of Croatia without a legal representative - parents or guardians, and are not in a category of aliens that regulate the status for the purpose of secondary education in accordance with the provisions of this Act, it is necessary to protect the rights and interests of the child according to provisions of the Aliens Act, and contact the competent social welfare centres in order to appoint a guardian / special guardian in accordance with the provisions of the Family Act, during the stay of minor children in the Republic of Croatia.
 
Residence and work permit
A residence and work permit is a unique permit that allows a foreigner to temporarily reside and work in the Republic of Croatia.
A residence and work permit is issued on the basis of an annual quota and outside the annual quota.
The decision on the annual quota of licenses is made by the Government of the Republic of Croatia and published in the Official Gazette.
Along with the application for the issuance of a residence and work permit (Form 9a) on the basis of the annual quota, the alien is obliged to enclose:
• colour photo size 35x45 mm;
• a copy of a valid travel document;
• proof of health insurance;
• proof of secured means of subsistence;
• employment contract, i.e. a written confirmation of the concluded employment contract or other appropriate contract;
• proof of the acquired educational qualification and qualification of the foreigner;
• proof of registration of a company, branch, representative office, trade, family farm, association or institution in the Republic of Croatia (excerpts from the relevant register may not be older than six months) and
• proof of payment of the consular fee / administrative fee.