Planning a trip to visit King’s Landing (also known as Dubrovnik, Croatia) may require you to apply for a Croatian visa in advance.
Croatia is a European country located between Central and Southeastern Europe and is known as one of the most visited Mediterranean tourist destinations. It welcomes millions of tourists every year because of its rich cultural and historical heritage as well as its natural beauty, but especially because of its coastline.
Croatia is a member of the Schengen Area and the European Union, so Croatia’s visa policy is largely similar to other EU member states.
A number of countries have concluded visa waiver agreements with Croatia, allowing their citizens to visit Croatia without a visa for a maximum period of 90 days. However, others still need to have a valid visa to travel to Croatia.
This article is a guide to the Croatia visa: who needs it, how to apply, requirements and other frequently asked questions.
Because Croatia is part of the EU, nationals of other EU member states are allowed to travel to Croatia without any visa requirements.
Nationals of the following countries do not have to apply for a Croatia visa if they are traveling for short-term purposes (up to 90 days):
If you are a visa-exempt Croatian citizen, you can travel to Croatia with just your passport.
However, your passport must be valid for at least three more months from the date you intend to leave the country and must have at least one blank page for an entry stamp.
Unless you are from the EU/EFTA or Switzerland, you cannot stay in Croatia without a visa for more than 90 days.
Yes, any non-EU/EFTA foreign national wishing to stay in Croatia for a period longer than 90 days must apply for a long-term visa in Croatia. This also includes foreigners who are exempt from short-term visas.
Croatian long-term visas are usually issued for the purpose of work, study or family reunification. A long-term visa allows its holder to enter Croatia for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit in Croatia.
Only EU/EFTA citizens enjoy the right to travel, live, study and work in Croatia without a visa, long or short term, due to EU freedom of movement.
The types of visas that Croatia issues to foreign citizens depend on the duration and purpose of their stay:
Short-term stay Croatian visa, also known as Croatian tourist visa , issued for tourism, medical, business or other short-term purposes -Time-limited travel purposes.
They allow their owners to stay in Croatia for a maximum period of 90 days within a 180 day period.
Croatia Short Stay Visas are available for single, double or multiple entries, stipulating the number of times you can enter, exit and re-enter Croatia.
Some third countries are visa-exempt from Croatia for short-term purposes.
Since Croatia has joined the Schengen area, its short-term visa policy is quite similar to that of Schengen countries.
Croatia Business Visa is a short-term stay visa, allowing its holder to travel for professional purposes for a maximum period of 90 days.
This does not allow you to work.
Foreign nationals wishing to stay in Croatia for more than 90 days will need to obtain a combination of a long-term visa for Croatia and a temporary residence permit.
The most popular Croatian long-term visas are: .
To apply for a visa to Croatia, you must prepare an application including the following documents:
When applying for a Croatia tourist visa, you must submit the following documents:
The requirements for the Croatia business visa are:
Requirements for changing a Croatian work visa depend on the specific job type, but include:
The requirements for Croatia student visa are:
Foreign students wishing to pursue studies at an educational institution in Croatia must apply for a Croatian study visa as well as a temporary residence permit. You can apply for both at the Croatian embassy/consulate before traveling or apply for a student visa in your home country and then apply for a residence permit from the local police department or police station. closely after entering Croatia.
To obtain a Croatia family visa, you must submit the following documents:
Only the following family members of Croatian citizens or legal residents can apply for family reunification:
Croatia Visa Documents required to apply for a Croatia transit visa are:
Croatia transit visa can be issued for one or two entries into Croatian territory and, in some cases, even for multiple entries. It can be issued with a maximum validity period of six months.
The documents you submit must be in English or Croatian. Otherwise, they must be translated by an official translator.
Many of your documents may need to be certified (apostille) or legalized for use in Croatia.
The Croatian authorities may request you to submit additional documents as they deem appropriate at any time during the application process.
It is advisable to apply for a Croatian visa as early as possible from the intended date of travel, but no earlier than three months.
So, apply for a Croatian visa within 15 to 90 days of the date you intend to travel.
If you apply within 15 days of your intended date of travel, the Croatian embassy/consulate or visa application center may not accept your application, otherwise the fee will be charged.
Your visa application will be higher for students.
Yes, Croatia is part of the Schengen Area since January 2023.
When applying for a Croatian visa, you must pay the required Croatian visa fee at the embassy or consulate where you apply.
If you apply through a visa application center or accredited travel agency, the fee will be higher as you will also have to pay a service fee in addition to the visa fee.
Follow the payment instructions specified by the agency or office where you submitted your application.
Children under 12 years old do not have to pay a Croatian visa application fee but will have to pay a service fee if they do not apply at an embassy or consulate.
Processing a Croatian short-term stay visa can take from fifteen days to a month or even longer. While the minimum time required to process a long-term visa for Croatia is four weeks.
Croatia visa processing time depends on a number of factors, such as the specific embassy or consulate handling your application, the time of year, and whether you have all the documents whether necessary or not.
If you have missing or incorrect documents, the Croatian visa officer will ask you to provide them, delaying processing time.
Additionally, some consulates or embassies may work slower than others or there may be a time of year when the volume of requests is greater.
Croatian visas are valid for a maximum of 90 days within a 180-day period.
Once you receive your visa, you will have a predetermined number of days allowed to stay in the country, as duly determined by the Croatian authorities.
Just because the maximum amount you can receive is 90 days does not necessarily mean the number of days you will receive it.
If you have a multiple-entry visa, the total number of days you stay in Croatia across all entries (when combined) cannot exceed the number of days you were allocated when you received your visa.
If you want to stay more than 90 days, you must apply for a long-term visa and residence permit in Croatia.
Technically, yes, you can extend a Croatian tourist visa but an extension is only issued if you have a serious and valid reason for it, such as:
If you think you meet the requirements to receive a Croatia visa extension, you have to apply for one at the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs before your current visa expires. You must have the following documents with you:
Whether or not your application is approved is at the discretion of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which considers each application on a case-by-case basis.
yes, since Croatia has joined the Schengen Area, Croatian visas give you the right to enter a Schengen country. You are no longer required to apply for a visa of one of the Schengen countries.
No, if you already have a valid Schengen visa, you do not need to apply for an additional Croatia visa if you also want to visit Croatia.
You can enter Croatia with your Schengen visa, provided that the visa is still valid for entry as well as the remaining days of stay.
This also applies to those with a residence permit in a Schengen country.
If you change planes at a Croatian airport and do not leave the transit area, you do not need to apply for a Croatian transit visa.
However, if you are a citizen who requires a visa and you need to leave the transit area and clear immigration to change your flight, you must apply for a Croatia transit visa as this is allowed.
counted as if you were entering the country.
The procedure for applying for a Croatia transit visa is the same as the procedure for applying for a regular Croatian visa.
You must demonstrate that you plan to travel to another destination.
If you change planes at a Croatian airport and do not leave the transit area, you do not need to apply for a Croatian transit visa.
However, if you are a citizen who requires a visa and you need to leave the transit area and clear immigration to change your flight, you must apply for a Croatia transit visa as this is allowed.
counted as if you were entering the country.
The procedure for applying for a Croatia transit visa is the same as the procedure for applying for a regular Croatian visa.
You must demonstrate that you plan to travel to another destination.
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