Proposal for amendments to the foreigners act
The draft proposal for amendments to the Foreigners Act was open for public consultation from February 28 to March 14.
The purpose of these amendments is, among other things, to align with the new EU Blue Card Directive, which aims to facilitate the arrival of highly skilled labor.
Additionally, the goal is to increase the efficiency of employing foreign workers, better regulate employment conditions for foreign workers, protect domestic workers, ensure the return of emigrated Croatian citizens, and secure the necessary workforce for the economy.
The planned effective date for the amendments is January 1, 2025.
Changes
The validity period of residence and work permits will be extended from the current one year to three years.
Additionally, the duration of seasonal residence and work permits will be extended from 6 to 9 months. A notable innovation is the possibility of changing employers. Specifically, third-country nationals will, after one year of working in Croatia, have the opportunity to change employers in the occupation for which their residence and work permit was issued, without obtaining a new permit.
Thus, residence and work permits will no longer be tied to a specific employer, as is currently the case under the Foreigners Act.
Another significant change is the duration of the EU Blue Card issued to highly skilled third-country nationals.
The card will now be issued for a period of 4 years instead of the current 2 years.
Furthermore, it will also be issued to individuals who do not exclusively hold a diploma as proof of qualifications but possess other high-level professional skills, in line with the EU Directive.
Additionally, stricter provisions are being introduced regarding the conditions employers must meet to obtain a residence and work permit for their workers.
Permits will not be issued to employers who have been convicted of criminal offenses related to general safety or who have received sanctions for violations of social security or occupational safety regulations. The Act introduces “blacklists” and six-year penalties for employers who fail to report foreign workers.
To combat employer irresponsibility, employers will now be required to issue a debenture in favor of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of the Interior for every third-country national entering Croatia on a visa.
This must be submitted to the competent police department within 5 days, ensuring the return of the third-country national if employment is ultimately not realized.
Additional conditions for employers include a minimum turnover requirement (EUR 10.000,00 per month for legal entities and EUR 15.000,00 in the past six months for individuals) and a clean record regarding undeclared work under relevant regulations.
The Act also introduces quotas for the ratio of third-country nationals to employed Croatian citizens, EEA citizens, or Swiss Confederation citizens. A positive opinion from the Croatian Employment Service for issuing a residence and work permit will only be granted if the ratio does not exceed 16% for non-deficit occupations and 8% for deficit occupations.
Another new requirement is that employers must have employed at least one worker who is a citizen of Croatia, an EEA state, or Switzerland continuously for the past year (instead of the current 6 months). This worker must be employed on a full-time, indefinite basis within Croatia. A restriction on the number of applications for residence and work permits will be introduced based on the size and realistic needs of the employer.
Employers with up to 50 employees will be allowed to submit up to 50 applications, those with up to 250 employees up to 250 applications, while employers with more than 250 employees will not have a limit.
The role of the Croatian Employment Service will also be expanded, as it will be responsible for verifying the competencies of third-country nationals for work in the requested occupation.
It will also become mandatory that employment contracts do not contain any discriminatory provisions and that the salaries of third-country nationals are not lower than those of employees in Croatia performing similar jobs.
Rules regarding the accommodation of foreign workers will be prescribed by a sub-legal act.
