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Temporary protection status for the Ukrainian citizens has been introduced in Croatia due to the war in Ukraine in order to facilitate the protection and entrance of the Ukrainian citizens in Croatia (“Temporary Protection”). The purpose of the Temporary Protection was to avoid the formalities and complexity of the procedure related to obtaining the asylum protection (“Asylum”) and to enable the Ukrainian citizens the most (time) efficient protection due to the current situation.
The Temporary Protection enables the residence in Croatia up to maximum three years. However, a person under Temporary Protection may simultaneously apply for the Asylum as well.
Rights under temporary protection in Croatia
- residence in Croatia;
- basic means of subsistence and accommodation;
- health care;
- elementary and high school education;
- work (including self-employment);
- family reunification;
- freedom of religion; and
- information on right and obligations provided under the Temporary Protection.
Rights under asylum in Croatia
Asylum provides the same rights as the Temporary Protection (see above) in addition to the following:
- free legal aid;
- social welfare;
- high education (e.g. university education);
- ownership over the real estate under the prescribed conditions;
- assistance with integration into the society (which includes an obligation to attend the courses of the Croatian language, history and culture); and
- obtaining the Croatian citizenship under the conditions set out by the Croatian law.
Self-employment in Croatia
A Ukrainian citizen under the Temporary Protection has the right to work in Croatia (including self-employment) without need to obtain any residence and work permit.
However, it is important to differentiate the situation in which self-employed Ukrainian citizen with registered business in Ukraine (“Independent Contractor”) and obtained Temporary Protection in Croatia provides its services:
- to the Croatian companies, and
- to the companies located outside Croatia (i.e. Ukrainian, other non-EU and / or EU companies).
The Independent Contractor with Temporary Protection in Croatia would be able to provide its services to the Croatian companies only by registering its business activity in Croatia. That means that the Independent Contractor should register its self-employed activity or establish the craft / company in Croatia via which the business will be performed. That also includes the payment obligation of the mandatory taxes and contributions in Croatia related to such a business.
Temporary Protection enables self-employment of the Independent Contractor in the craft and / or company incorporated in Croatia without need to obtain any work and residence permit. However, once the Temporary Protection has expired, the Independent Contractor would have to obtain the work and residence permit for self-employment in its craft and / or company or regulate its residence in Croatia on some other legal basis.
The same rules apply for the Independent Contractor with granted Asylum in Croatia.
The Independent Contractor with Temporary Protection in Croatia would be able to provide its services to the Ukrainian, other non-EU and EU companies (excluding Croatian companies) without need to register its business activity in Croatia. After expiry of the Temporary Protection, such Independent Contractor should regulate its residence in Croatia as a digital nomad enabling the Independent Contractor to continue providing services to the companies located outside Croatia without the need to register its business in Croatia.
The same rules apply for the Independent Contractor with granted Asylum in Croatia.
Process of getting temporary protection in Croatia
Temporary Protection may be granted to the following persons:
- Ukrainian citizens and their family members who have been residing in Ukraine on 24 February 2022;
- third-country citizens and stateless persons who had the international or equivalent national protection in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and their family members who had the residence in Ukraine on 24 February 2022;
- third-country citizens who had a valid permanent residence in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 in accordance with the Ukrainian regulations and cannot return to their country under safe and permanent conditions; and
- displaced Ukrainian citizens and their family members who due to the security reasons have left Ukraine directly before 24 February 2022 and cannot return to Ukraine because of the armed conflict.
In order to obtain the Temporary Protection, the Independent Contractor (once entered in Croatia) shall submit the request for the Temporary Protection before the competent police administration or a police station.
The request may be also submitted through an online application here. Due to the emergency of the situation, the procedure for obtaining the Temporary Protection lasts only few days.
As soon as the request for the Temporary Protection is approved, the Independent Contractor will be granted with the Temporary Protection card. Based on the Temporary Protection card, the Independent Contractor will be able to exercise all rights provided under the Temporary Protection which are described in detail under item 1 above.
Permanent residence in Croatia
For the purpose of residing in Croatia on a permanent basis, the Croatian law distinguishes terms permanent residence (Cro. stalni boravak) and long-term residence (Cro. dugotrajno boravište). Permanent residence in Croatia is mainly envisaged for the Croatian emigrants and / or family members of the Croatian citizens.
On the other hand, long-term residence can be granted to a third-country citizens who have the temporary residence, asylum or subsidiary protection in Croatia for a continuous period of five years on the date when submitting the application for obtaining the long-term residence. It shall be considered that the third-country citizen has been continuously residing in Croatia for five years even if within the relevant period has left the country once up to six months or several times up to ten months.
Time spent in Croatia under Asylum counts towards obtaining a long-term residence in Croatia, while the time spent in Croatia under the Temporary Protection does not count towards obtaining long-term residence in Croatia.
Consequently, the Independent Contractor who has the Asylum in Croatia for a continuous period of five years, may be granted with the long-term residence in Croatia.
Documents needed for long-term residence
The application for the long-term residence should be accompanied with the following documents:
- valid travel document (except for the persons under the Asylum or subsidiary protection);
- evidence of means of subsistence;
- health insurance; and
- certification on passed exam relating knowledge of the Croatian language and Latin alphabet.
In light of the above, the Temporary Protection does not give the possibility to apply for the long-term residence but only Asylum. However, an Independent Contractor under the Temporary Protection may simultaneously apply for the Asylum (i.e. refugee status) as well. Other than via Asylum, the long-term residence may be obtained by having a temporary residence in Croatia for a continuous period of five years.
Permanent residence in Croatia - Self-Employment
Once the Temporary Protection expires, the Independent Contractor who provides its services to the Croatian companies should regulate its temporary residence in Croatia as follows:
The Independent Contractor who is self-employed in its craft / company incorporated in Croatia should, once the Temporary Protection expires, obtain the Residence and Work Permit.
In general, the possibility of employment of a third-country citizens in Croatia depends on the actual needs of the Croatian labour market, which are verified through a labour market test performed by the Croatian Employment Service. It means that the third-country nationals can only be employed if no unemployed Croatian nationals meet the employment criteria set by the employer. However, the Croatian law provides exemptions from conducting the relevant market test for certain types of employees including those who will be self-employed in the: (i) company in which they hold at least 51% of the share capital; or (ii) craft in which they have the ownership part of minimum 51%. That means that the Independent Contractor shall be granted with the Residence and Work Permit for the self-employment in the craft / company without conducting the labour market test provided that the following conditions are met:
- in the incorporation of the company and / or craft has been invested minimum HRK 200, 000 (approx. EUR 27,000);
- minimum three Croatian citizens have been employed for indefinite term and full time in the relevant craft / company with a gross salary in the amount of at least average gross salary in Croatia for the previous year according to the officially published data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics; and
- salary for the Independent Contractor who will be self-employed in a company should amount minimum one and half times the average monthly gross salary in Croatia according to the officially published data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics while the Independent Contractor who will be self-employed in the craft should prove that its income amounts minimum one and half times the average net monthly salary in Croatia according to the officially published data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.
The procedure for processing the application and issuing the Residence and Work Permit usually takes up to one month. However, depending on the authority’s willingness to facilitate the process, the duration of the procedure may vary. Residence and Work Permit is issued for a maximum one-year term, after which it can be extended if re-applied.
The Independent Contractor who is not self-employed in its craft / company should, once the Temporary Protection expires, regulate its temporary residence in Croatia on other legal basis. The Croatian law provides that the temporary residence for the period of maximum two years may be approved to the Independent Contractor who: (i) has incorporated its company / craft in Croatia; and (ii) has provided the evidence on its high education. The procedure for processing the application and issuing the relevant residence permit usually takes up to one month.
As described under item 1 above, the Independent Contractor which provides its services to the companies located outside Croatia, should, after the expiry of the Temporary Protection, regulate its residence as a digital nomad. On that way, the Independent Contractor may legally reside in Croatia and provide its services without registering its business in Croatia.
On a related note, visa is not required for the Ukrainian citizens to legally reside in Croatia provided that they have valid biometric passports (for the period when the Temporary Protection expires).
Is the relationship between a self-employed person (acting as an independent contractor) and Ukrainian/EU/non-EU registered legal entity recognised as an employer-employee relationship?
From the Croatian labor law perspective, it is the content of the actual contract, rather than its name that matters. An individual is considered to be an employee if the important elements of the employment relationship exist, such as (i) subordination (non-independent work), (ii) direction right of the employer, (iii) personal performance of work tasks, (iv) monthly payment of compensation (salary), etc. There are no conclusive individual factors and the legal and factual relationship between the parties is assessed in its entirety. In disputable situations, the court generally rules in favor of the employment relationship.
The reclassification risk may be mitigated by ensuring that the service contract executed by the Independent Contractor generally has the following characteristics:
- no references to an employment relationship;
- no subordination typical for the employment relationship (e.g. working hours, working for salary, supervision right of the employer, annual leave, working in the employer’s premises, working with employer’s equipment / assets, participation in training or schooling programs organized by the employer, etc.);
- fixed term for the performance of services or conclusion of the service agreement for the completion of a specific project / work;
- flexibility of the contractor in defining the time, place and methods for the performance of services;
- explicit contract provisions on the applicability of the contractual law to all issues not defined under the contract (and explicit exclusion of applicability of employment law);
- remuneration structured in a way that its amount depends on the work performed / outcome, or is payable upon completion of the project;
- regular payment of remuneration-related taxes, so that no suspicion of tax authorities is raised, etc.
In case the Independent Contractor is deemed to be an employee for employment purposes, it could claim the recognition of the employment relationship, as well as any employment-related rights (e.g. paid annual leave, paid sick leave, termination only on the basis of statutory pre-defined grounds etc.).
Schengen 90/180 rule
Yes, the Schengen 90/180 rule does apply to those individuals who moved to EU countries due to the war in Ukraine. After entering in Croatia, the Ukrainian citizens (as third-country citizens) have the right to stay in Croatia for 90 days within any 180-days period, irrespective of the days spent in other Schengen countries and without having to apply for a Temporary Protection. However, in order that Schengen 90/180 rule does not apply to the Ukrainian citizens they should apply for the Temporary Protection which enables them to enjoy rights described under item 1 above.
Additional questions
How long does asylum process take?
Under the Croatian law, there is no prescribed deadline in which the authorities should decide on granting the asylum. We have been orally informed by the relevant Ministry that the asylum process may take between five months up to three years.
If a person obtains temporary protection and then applies for asylum, given that they have the right to work with temporary protection, will they be able to continue to work pending the asylum decision?
Correct. An individual who has been granted with the temporary protection may work in Croatia (without the obligation to obtain any additional work permit) despite of the fact that, in the meantime, has applied for the asylum as well.
