Over 192,100 Residence & Work Permits Issued in Total
The figures from the Ministry of the Interior of Croatia further reveal that by the end of November 2024, a record 192,170 residence and work permits had been granted by authorities in Croatia to internationals.
The highest number of work permits was issued for the following sectors:
- Construction (69,601)
- Tourism and hospitality (53,584)
- Industry (26,235)
- Transport and communications (14,741)
- Trade (7,212)
According to the Ministry, 122,422 permits were granted for new employment, while 52,632 permits were extended. In addition, a total of 17,116 permits were issued to seasonal workers, the majority of the permits issued for the tourism and hospitality sectors.
Top Nationalities Receiving Work Permits in Croatia
In addition to BiH, which leads the list in terms of work permits issued by Croatia, Nepal and Serbia are ranked in second and third position with 32,138 and 26,804 permits granted by Croatia, respectively, according to a report from Blink.
A significant number of work permits were also issued to nationals of the following countries:
- India
- the Philippines
- North Macedonia
- Bangladesh
- Kosovo
- Uzbekistan
- Egypt
Over 143,000 Work Permits Issued by Croatia in First 10 Months of 2024
In the first ten months of 2024, Croatia issued over 143,000 work permits to foreigners.
However, concerns arose after, in some cases, foreign workers decided to leave Croatia for another EU country once they reached the bloc.
As a result, authorities in Croatia have been urged to introduce more favourable conditions for this group of foreign nationals.
In addition, a member of the Croatian Parliament, Vesna Vučemilović, considered that Croatia lacks an integration and immigration strategy.
Vučemilović raised concerns about where foreign workers are going once entering Croatia.
She said that in the past four years, about 400,000 permits were issued to foreign nationals. However, the data shows that a much lower number of foreign workers are currently working in Croatia.
According to a member of the Croatian Parliament, Croatia should also take measures against Croatian employers who exploit foreign workers.
