Croatia is a nation in Central and Southeast Europe that is officially known as the Republic of Croatia. It has an Adriatic Sea coastline and borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast, and Italy to the west and southwest. With twenty counties, Croatia's capital and biggest city, Zagreb, represents one of the country's principal subdivisions. The nation covers 56,594 square kilometers (21,851 square miles) and has a population of about 3.9 million people.
Croats came in the sixth century and divided the area into two duchies by the ninth. Croatia gained international recognition for the first time on June 7, 879, under the reign of Duke Branimir. By 925, Tomislav had become the first monarch, bringing Croatia to the status of a kingdom. Croatia formed a personal union with Hungary in 1102 during the succession issue after the end of the Trpimirovi dynasty. In the face of Ottoman occupation, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of Austria to the Croatian throne in 1527. The State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was declared independent of Austria-Hungary in Zagreb in October 1918, and amalgamated into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in December 1918. Following the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the majority of Croatia was absorbed into the Independent State of Croatia, a Nazi-installed puppet state that perpetrated genocide against Serbs, Jews, and Roma. A resistance effort resulted in the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, which became a founding member and component of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after the war. Croatia proclaimed independence on June 25, 1991, and the War of Independence lasted four years after the proclamation.
Croatia is a sovereign state ruled by a parliamentary system. It is a founder member of the Union for the Mediterranean, the European Union, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, NATO, and the World Trade Organization. Croatia has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping, contributing soldiers to the International Security Assistance Force and taking a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2008–2009 term. Since 2000, the Croatian government has made infrastructure investments, particularly in transportation routes and amenities along Pan-European corridors.
Croatia is classed as a high-income economy by the World Bank and rates extremely high on the Human Development Index. The economy is dominated by the service, industrial, and agricultural sectors, in that order. Tourism is an important source of income for Croatia, which is one of the top 20 tourist destinations in the world. With significant government spending, the state controls a portion of the economy. Croatia's most significant commercial partner is the European Union. Croatia offers social security, universal health care, and free primary and secondary education, as well as cultural assistance via state institutions and business investments in media and publishing.
Employees are entitled to 20 days of paid vacation.
Croatia recognizes 14 public holidays.
The company pays for the first 42 days of sick leave. The amount charged is determined by the collective bargaining agreement, but it cannot be less than 70% of the employee's gross wage for the preceding six months.
Employer pays after 42 days, but is reimbursed by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO).
Paid maternity leave is required and begins 28 days before the child's due date (or 45 days if necessary) and ends 70 days after the child's birth. The mother may take paid maternity leave before the baby is six months old after that, but it is not needed.
Paid maternity leave lasts for a total of 208 days.
If the mother is unable to care for the infant, the parent will take over the mother's mandatory leave under exceptional circumstances. The mother will pass the remainder of the leave to the father after the 70th day after birth.
Each parent is entitled to paid maternity leave for each child, which can be used before the child reaches the age of eight. It lasts either 8 months (for the first and second-born child) or 30 months (for the third and fourth-born child) (for twins, third and each subsequent child). When both parents take paternity leave, it lasts for 4 to 15 months, but it lasts for 6 to 30 months if only one parent takes it.
Employers have the right to cancel a fixed-term contract for the following reasons: business, personal, or employee misbehavior. It demands notification and a written explanation of why the employment relationship is being terminated. If the cause is misbehavior, a warning should be issued and the employee given an opportunity to explain his or her actions.
Severance pay is provided, as are other statutory benefits, such as paid time off.
Employees with one year of service get a two-week notice period. For employees with two years of service, the notice period is six weeks. Staff with five years of service will be given an eight-week notice period. Employees with ten years of service will be given a 10-week notice period. Staff with more than 20 years of service will be given a 12-week notice period. Employees over the age of 50 will have their notice term extended by two weeks, while those over the age of 55 will have their notice period extended by four weeks.
The probation period cannot be longer than one year.
Employees who have worked for a company for at least two years are entitled to severance pay. Severance pay must equal at least one-third of the employee's annual average monthly wage.
The standard workweek consists of 40 hours spread over five days. Overtime is limited to ten hours per week. Employers must obtain written authorization from employees to expand the scope of their work.
Employees may work up to 8 hours per week of overtime if their employer submits a written request for overtime work. Overtime must be compensated at a rate of 50% of the employee's regular salary. Employees are generally not permitted to work more than 180 hours of overtime per year (unless agreed to in collective agreement in which case the maximum is 250 hours).
Croatian labor laws mandate a monthly minimum wage of 4,250 HRK or 562.80 EUR (2021), which equates to approximately $680 in US currency at the moment. Employees can bargain for a raise or bonus in their employment contract or through a collective bargaining agreement. However, a bonus for the thirteenth month is not customary in Croatia. Instead, employees frequently receive performance-based bonuses. Although it is not mandatory, many Croatian employers will give employees annual raises based on their service.
Croatia has a required health insurance program that is integrated with the mandatory employer social insurance programs. As a result, companies seldom give extra private health care coverage.
Croatian employees frequently receive advantages like as corporate cars, mobile phones, performance-based incentives, and seasonal presents such as cash, business items, or shopping vouchers during Christmas and Easter.
If a Croatian company has profits of over 3 million kn, the corporate tax rate is 18 percent.
If a Croatian company has profits of less than 3 million kn, the corporate tax rate is 12 percent.
Income earned in Croatia is subject to a progressive income tax, of three different brackets.
For an annual income between 0 HRK and 48,000 HRK, the tax rate is 0.
For an annual income between 48,001 and 360,000 HRK, the tax rate is 20 percent.
For an annual income in excess of 360,001 HRK, the tax rate is 30 percent.
In Croatia, VAT is charged at three distinct rates. The standard rate is 25%, with two lower rates of 13% and 5% applied to certain products and services. Newspapers, magazines, bread, and milk are all taxed at 13%, as are books and scientific journals, hotels, and medications.
Employers of foreign nationals in Croatia have numerous alternatives under Croatia's immigration system. Croatia is a European Union member. The requirements, processing dates, work eligibility, and perks for accompanying family members differ depending on the kind of permission.
To enter Croatia, business travellers must get a Short-Term Visa (Type C Visa), unless they are visa-exempt due to their nationality or have an appropriate substitute visa. Visas are granted at the discretion of the consular authorities for single, dual, or multiple entry. Visitors on business must restrict their stay to 90 days in each 180-day period.
The Work Registration Certificate, a registration procedure for short-term job permit-exempt activities, and the Stay and Work Permit, suited for a wide variety of work activities, are the two basic work authorization types. The Stay and Work Permit is valid for up to a year and may be renewed.
Croatia also provides a one-year Digital Nomad temporary stay visa for international citizens intending to work remotely from Croatia without the sponsorship of a local enterprise.
An employment contract must be in writing and include the employment agreement, both parties' names and addresses, the working location, the duties, work hours, probation period, start date, yearly leave, additional leaves, and remuneration.
If an employer fails to finalize a written employment contract, the law thinks it is a permanent deal.
Indefinite contracts, in which the duration of the job is not stated, and definite contracts, in which the term of the employment is specified, are the most prevalent types of contracts.
Croatian Kuna (HRK)
Euro (EUR)
United States Dollar (USD)
Pound Sterling (GBP)
The procedure of establishing a subsidiary in Croatia might range from a few weeks to a few months. Before you can recruit staff or commence operations, you must first form a subsidiary. The steps are as follows:
(1) Creating an account with the Commercial Court
(2) Obtaining a registration number from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics
(3) VAT registration with the Tax Authority
(4) Signing up for a pension (HZMO) and health insurance (HZZO)
(5) Establishing a local bank account
The Articles of Association are the primary document for a subsidiary. According to Croatian subsidiary rules, this document must contain information about the parent business, the subsidiary's purpose and operations, the board of management, the obligations of each founding member, and other information.
For your organization to stay compliant, you must complete all of the processes outlined above. Croatia subsidiary laws are made up of two basic documents: the Croatian Company Act and the Commercial Code. These sets of legislation regulate all subsidiary operations in the nation and are required if you wish to establish a Croatian subsidiary.
It takes roughly a week to register your subsidiary after you have all of the necessary papers. The Articles of Association are notarized and presented to the Commercial Court during this period. Every registered subsidiary in Croatia requires a certificate of registration as well as a business seal for everyday activities.
