Croatia
Digital Nomad Residence Permit: health insurance requirements
Yes: health insurance is required
Yes. Croatia's digital nomad residence permit (one of the first in the EU, launched January 2021) requires valid travel or private health insurance covering Croatia for the whole stay; both international and Croatian policies are accepted. It is for non-EU nationals working for a foreign company or their own company outside Croatia, on income of about €3,620 a month, and runs up to 18 months. A coverage level around €30,000 is commonly cited but not a confirmed official figure.
The requirements at a glance
| Minimum policy duration | Full duration of stay |
|---|---|
| Local-licensed insurer required | No: compliant international IPMI is accepted |
| Accepted proof | Valid travel or private health insurance covering Croatia for the entire stay. Both international and Croatian policies are accepted. A coverage level around €30,000 is commonly cited, but confirm the current wording with the Ministry of the Interior (MUP). |
For non-EU/EEA nationals working through technology for an employer or their own company outside Croatia (not for Croatian clients). Income of about €3,620/month (2.5× the average net salary, updated annually), plus 10% of the average net salary per accompanying family member. Granted for up to 18 months and NOT directly renewable: you must spend time outside Croatia before reapplying. Digital-nomad income is exempt from Croatian income tax. Apply online via MUP, at a consulate, or at the local police.
Who qualifies for the Croatia nomad visa
The income bar is what decides most applications, and it is the number people look for first. Here is the current one, with the conditions that come attached to it.
- Income required
- €3,623/mo or €43,470 savings
- Length of permit
- 18 monthsnot renewable
- Savings alternative
- Around $49,556 in savings can be shown instead of the monthly income.
- Who can apply
- Employed remotely, Freelancer, Business owner
Can't be renewed back-to-back — you must leave and reapply after a gap.
Tax
Foreign remote income is exempt from Croatian income tax.
That is a summary of the rule, not tax advice. Residence for immigration and residence for tax are decided separately, and the second one tends to arrive quietly, usually after you have been in the country long enough to stop thinking about it. Take proper advice before the year you need it.
What the income bar really means
Two things get people rejected on income even when they earn enough. The first is proving it: consulates want a documented, repeating history, usually bank statements and contracts covering several months, not a screenshot of a good quarter. Irregular freelance income clears the bar on average and fails on paper. The second is dependants, who almost always raise the threshold, and by a percentage of the base figure rather than a flat amount.
Treat the number above as the floor for the paperwork, not as a comfortable income for living there. It is set by the country’s own cost of living or minimum wage, which means it moves, and in several countries it is re-set every year.
Croatia was among the first EU countries to launch a digital nomad permit (January 2021), and digital-nomad income is exempt from Croatian income tax; the permit requires health insurance covering Croatia and runs up to 18 months, but is not directly renewable.
Our take
The rule is a policy that covers Croatia for the full stay, with both international and local accepted, so your existing global plan can work if it clearly names Croatia.
The €30,000 you will see quoted is not a confirmed statutory figure, so check MUP, but insure for a real Croatian hospital bill and evacuation regardless.
What happens if you get it wrong
A policy that does not clearly cover Croatia for the whole period can hold up the permit.
Do not bank on renewing in place: the permit is not directly renewable, so plan the required time outside Croatia before you reapply.
Interactive
Verified pricesWhat would it cost in Croatia without insurance?
Gravel on a bend outside town. Road rash, a broken forearm, and a night or two before they discharge you.
| Ambulance | $43 |
| Emergency room, on arrival | $45–$170 |
| X-ray on the forearm | $51–$80 |
| Two nights on the ward | not verified here |
| At least | $139–$293 |
One step in this bill has no verified price for Croatia yet, so the real total sits above this one. We would rather leave the line blank than guess at it.
Priced as one lump instead of itemised, a serious admission in Croatia runs $3,500 to $13,000.
That is the bill you carry alone. Insurance exists for exactly this.
See what cover costsTypical private-care estimates for illustration, not a quote. Actual bills vary by hospital, city and severity.
FAQ
Yes, valid travel or private health insurance covering Croatia for the whole stay. Both international and Croatian policies are accepted. A level around €30,000 is commonly cited; confirm with MUP.
About €3,620 a month (2.5× the average net salary, updated annually), plus more per accompanying family member.
Not directly. It runs up to 18 months, after which you must spend time outside Croatia before reapplying.
No. Digital-nomad income is exempt from Croatian income tax, though your home-country tax still applies.
No. Both international and Croatian policies are accepted, as long as the cover is valid in Croatia for the full stay.
How to apply
- Processing time
- Croatia does not publish a fixed statutory decision time; commonly a few weeks to a couple of months, slower at busy periods.
- Government fee
- Consular route: EUR 55.74 for granting temporary stay, EUR 93.00 for the type D visa if you need one to enter, and EUR 41.14 for the biometric residence card. In-Croatia police route: EUR 46.45 temporary stay, EUR 9.29 administrative fee, and EUR 31.85 for the biometric card.
- Where to apply
- Depends on nationality. Visa nationals apply at a Croatian embassy or consulate abroad; visa-exempt applicants can apply online at the MUP digital nomads portal, at a mission, or at the police administration nearest their Croatian address.
- 1
Check whether your nationality needs a visa to enter Croatia, because that decides your route: visa nationals apply at a Croatian embassy or consulate abroad, while visa-exempt nationals can apply online at the digital nomads portal or at the police station nearest their Croatian address.
- 2
Prepare income proof of at least about EUR 3,620 a month (or equivalent savings), evidence you work remotely for a non-Croatian employer or clients, health insurance, a criminal-background check, and proof of accommodation.
- 3
Submit through the MUP digital nomads portal, at a Croatian mission, or at the competent police administration, and pay the temporary-stay fee.
- 4
If you needed a visa to enter, collect the long-stay type D visa at the mission and then travel to Croatia.
- 5
After approval and arrival, register your address at the police within 30 days, give biometrics, and collect the biometric residence card in person. The stay can run up to 18 months and is not directly renewable; a further permit generally requires spending about six months outside Croatia before reapplying.
Fees and processing times move, sometimes without announcement, and a consulate can add a document the published checklist does not mention. Treat the above as the shape of the process rather than a guarantee, and check the current requirement with the mission handling your application before you book anything.
What policy actually satisfies this visa
Croatia does not publish a minimum figure, which sounds permissive and is not. It means you are judged against somebody's unwritten idea of adequate, and the safe reading of adequate is enough to cover a serious hospital admission in Croatia, not the cheapest policy that technically exists.
A compliant international policy is accepted, so you are not forced into a local insurer. That matters more than it sounds: it means one policy can follow you when you leave, instead of expiring at the border.
Repatriation is not named as a condition, though it is the benefit you would most want to have if the worst happened, and it costs very little to add.
The dates are the other thing that gets applications rejected: full duration of stay
Ask your insurer for a certificate of cover that states your full name as it appears on your passport, the exact policy period, the territory covered, and the benefit amounts. That is a normal request and any decent insurer issues it without fuss. The insurance being real and the paperwork still failing is a more common way to lose an application than being uninsured.
The visa tells you the minimum. It does not tell you what to actually carry. Those are different questions, and the paperwork minimum is nearly always the smaller of the two answers.
Get a policy that satisfies this visa
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