Temporary stay for digital nomads
Croatia’s temporary stay for digital nomads (gov.hr / MUP) is designed for third-country nationals who perform work remotely for a foreign employer or through their own company registered abroad, while temporarily living in Croatia. It is remote-work focused: it is not a licence to take a local Croatian job, and it is not a founder residence for building and operating a Croatian startup with local clients and Croatian employment as the core model. Pakistani applicants must meet income, health insurance, accommodation, and other conditions published by MUP — amounts and document lists change, so verify-on-official-site. Using nomad status while effectively running a local business can breach the purpose of stay and jeopardise future applications. If your plan is incorporation in Croatia, hiring locally, or self-employment on the Croatian market, choose the separate work / self-employment / company pathways instead.
Min. capital
No company-investment floor; income threshold for nomads (verify live MUP/gov.hr amount)
Best for: Location-independent professionals with foreign-source income who will not seek Croatian local employment or local founder work rights.
Digital nomad stay is income-tested, not capital-investment residency. Confirm the current average monthly income requirement and acceptable proof formats on official pages (verify-on-official-site).
Investment options
- Remote work contract with a foreign employer OR ownership/role in a company abroad
- Proof of foreign-source income meeting the published threshold
- Health insurance and accommodation in Croatia
- No reliance on Croatian local employment under this purpose
- Do not treat as a startup / founder work-rights permit
Eligibility
- Third-country national qualifying as a digital nomad under Croatian aliens rules
- Income from foreign employer or own company abroad at or above published levels
- Health insurance covering the stay
- Accommodation proof
- No intention to use the stay for local Croatian employment contrary to purpose
Process timeline
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1
Confirm remote-only model
If you need local founder rights, stop and switch pathways.
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2
Gather income & insurance
Contracts, bank proofs, and policy documents per MUP checklist.
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3
Apply for temporary stay
Follow gov.hr / MUP digital nomad procedure; biometrics as required.
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4
Reside within purpose
Keep foreign income active; do not convert into undeclared local work.
Family
Family member options (if any) are defined in MUP materials for digital nomads — confirm whether spouses/children can join and under what rights (verify-on-official-site).
Work rights
Limited to remote work for foreign employers / own foreign company. Not authorisation for Croatian labour-market employment or local self-employment as a founder — that requires a different purpose.
Route to PR
Digital nomad temporary stay is generally not designed as a direct permanent-residence track. Long-term settlement usually requires switching to another lawful purpose — verify MUP.
Route to citizenship
Not a citizenship pathway. Naturalisation requires separate long-term lawful stay under qualifying categories.
Pros
- Clear published remote-work temporary stay product
- Attractive lifestyle base for foreign-income professionals
- Official gov.hr / MUP documentation reduces ambiguity when read carefully
Watch-outs
- NOT local founder work rights — critical for Pakistan Business Portal readers
- Mixing nomad stay with Croatian clients/payroll can breach purpose
- Income thresholds and forms change — verify-on-official-site
- Weak path to PR if you only hold nomad stay