The digital nomad residence permit allows workers who work remotely for a business registered outside of Croatia to live in Croatia for up to 12 months at once. In Croatia, a visa refers to short stays for tourism or business purposes.
Depending on your nationality, you can either just show up in Croatia and stay up to 30 or 90 days, or you must apply for a visa from abroad before you can enter Croatia. If you wish to stay and actually live in Croatia beyond the term of your short-stay visa, then you must apply for a residence permit.
The basis for digital nomads to get temporary residence in Croatia is, therefore, a residence permit, NOT a visa. Well, then, why is everyone calling it a digital nomad visa? Many countries in the world refer to both short and long-term stays for foreigners as visas, but Croatia is not one of them. Will calling it a visa affect your ability to apply for it? Absolutely not. The law that regulates the stay of foreigners is called Zakon o strancima Law on foreigners , and it is available here.
While the law defining digital nomads in Croatia is brief, what it does say is very telling. There are standard requirements for all temporary residence permits, regardless of on which basis you apply. Please note that if you have spent time in Schengen countries within the days while your Croatian residency permit was still valid, these days count toward the allowed 90 days.
For example, if your Croatian residency permit expires on September 1st, but you have spent 30 days in Austria in July, this means that you have only 60 days left on your Schengen after September 1st. After those 6 months have passed, you can then start an application for a new residence permit. But, unfortunately, if you are not able to stay in Croatia as a tourist at the time, you will have to apply online or through the consulate.
