Pre-accession entry arrangements for Croatian nationals travelling to EU member states Before accession to the European Union, Croatia was categorised as an
Annex II country, which meant that Croatian citizens could stay in the
Schengen Area without a visa for up to 90 days in a 180-day period. Croatian citizens were also able to stay without a visa in
Bulgaria,
Cyprus,
Ireland and
Romania for up to 90 days in each country, as well as in the
United Kingdom for up to 6 months. The general rule was that non-EU citizens had to use a passport to enter EU member states. However, there was an exception to the
Schengen Agreement rules for Croatian citizens. Based on the pre-Schengen bilateral agreements between Croatia and neighbouring EU countries (
Italy,
Hungary and
Slovenia), Croatian citizens were allowed to cross the border with only a Croatian national identity card (a passport was not obligatory). Many people living near the border crossed it several times a day (some work across the border, or own land on the other side of the border), especially on the border with Slovenia, which was unmarked for centuries as Croatia and Slovenia were both part of the
Habsburg Empire (1527–1918) and
Yugoslavia (1918–1991). Prior to Croatia's accession to the EU on 1 July 2013, an interim solution, which received permission from the
European Commission, was found: every Croatian citizen was allowed to cross the Schengen border into Hungary, Italy or Slovenia with an ID card and a special border card that was issued by Croatian police at border exit control. The police authorities of Hungary, Italy or Slovenia would then stamp the special border card both on entry and exit. Croatian citizens, however, were not allowed to enter any other
Schengen Agreement countries without a valid passport, although they were allowed to travel between
Hungary, Italy and Slovenia. These arrangements were discontinued on 1 July 2013 when Croatia became an EU member state. Since then, Croatian citizens have been able to enter any EU member state using only an
ID card.
Post-accession access to free movement in other EU member states On 1 July 2013, Croatian nationals became
European Union citizens and acquired the
right to move and reside freely in other EU member states, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. On the same day, 14 EU member states (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden) allowed Croatian nationals to work without restrictions in their country. However, 13 other EU member states imposed transitional restrictions on Croatian nationals wishing to access their labour markets. Annex V of the
Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union allows member states to apply national measures regulating Croatian nationals’ access to their labour markets for a period of up to five years, and in case of serious disturbance to their labour markets or the threat thereof, and after notifying the commission, for a further two years (i.e. up to a maximum of seven years in total). Croatian nationals who on 1 July 2013 had already resided in an EU member state for a continuous period of at least 5 years acquired the right of
permanent residence (meaning that they could work without any restrictions in their host EU member state), as long as during their continuous residence of 5 years they were a worker, self-employed person, self-sufficient person, student or family member accompanying or joining an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen. On 1 July 2013, non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens who were family members of a Croatian national and accompanying or joining him/her also acquired the
right to move and reside freely in other EU member states. On 1 July 2020, restrictions were lifted in the last remaining member state (Austria), giving Croatian citizens right to work in all EU and EEA member states.
Visa policy for third-country nationals In the run up to accession to the European Union, Croatia aligned its visa policy with that of the European Union. As a result of the new visa regime, some third-country nationals (such as Russian and Turkish nationals) who were previously temporarily exempt from having to obtain a visa to visit Croatia were now subject to a visa requirement. However, to mitigate the effect of the re-imposition of a visa regime on tourist numbers, the Croatian government has introduced a 'facilitated entry of aliens' procedure, exempting travellers who have a Schengen visa or residence permit from having to obtain an additional Croatian visa to visit Croatia until 31 December 2013. In addition, the Croatian government has extended the working hours and capacity of its foreign missions in countries such as Russia and Ukraine to ensure that applications for Croatian visas are processed more efficiently.
Visa requirements for Croatian nationals visiting third countries Upon Croatia's accession to the European Union on 1 July 2013, several countries and territories outside the European Union aligned the visa requirements imposed on Croatian citizens with those imposed on other EU citizens. For example, on 1 July 2013,
Hong Kong extended the visa-free period of stay for Croatian citizens from 14 days to 90 days in line with the visa-free period of stay granted to other EU citizens, whilst
New Zealand introduced a 90-day visa exemption for Croatian citizens. It is likely that these countries and territories amended their visa policy for Croatian citizens because of the European Union's
visa reciprocity mechanism.
Membership of the Schengen Area During June 2011 Croatia began with implementation of the projects and reforms required to join the
Schengen Area by 2015. By joining the Schengen Area, border checks will be eliminated at the land border with
Hungary and
Slovenia, as well as at airports and ports for flights and ships to/from Schengen member states, thus facilitating the freer movement of persons between Croatia and the rest of the Schengen Area. The influx of refugees and migrants from Greece through
North Macedonia and Serbia to Croatia and then to current Schengen member states like Slovenia, Austria and Hungary, as part of the 2015
European migrant crisis, led some to question whether there will be the political consensus necessary for further enlargement of the Schengen Area. In September 2015,
Hungary threatened to veto Croatia's accession to the Schengen Area after it allowed migrants to transit the country into Hungary.
Slovenia also suggested it could veto Croatia's accession to the Schengen Area as a result of its
border dispute, though it ultimately did not. On 8 December 2022, the ministers of justice and home affairs representing their EU countries, called the
Justice and Home Affairs Council, which is one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union, made the final decision to admit Croatia to the bloc. This went in to effect on 1 January 2023, which meant that checks on persons at internal land and sea borders between Croatia and the other countries in the Schengen area were lifted. Checks at internal air borders, meaning airports, were lifted on 26 March 2023, given the need for this to coincide with the dates of IATA summer/winter time schedule. From 1 January 2023, Croatia started issuing Schengen visas and be able to make full use of the Schengen Information System.
Membership of the European Economic Area Croatia's accession to the EU obliges them to apply for membership in the
European Economic Area (EEA). The Croatian government submitted their application on 13 September 2012, and membership negotiations started 15 March 2013 with the aim to enlarge both the EU and the EEA on the same date, 1 July 2013. However, this was not achieved. On 11 April 2014, the EU and its member states (including Croatia), Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein signed an agreement concerning the accession of Croatia to the EEA. It provisionally applied until it officially entered into force on 19 February 2025. ==Public opinion==