Transcription
Foreign I'm Dale Simpson, a recruitment specialist at Skills Provision. Today I'm going to discuss the hiring of European and international workers for companies in Croatia. I hope you find this podcast interesting. Businesses in Croatia are actively using foreign labor to plug gaps across several high demand sectors. Policy changes and simplified high skilled routes are making it easier to bring in skilled workers, while seasonal and less skilled demand still relies heavily on temporary registrations and bilateral recruitment. However, administrative complexity, local wage expectations and competition for talent remain key constraints. In hospitality. The industry continues to need hundreds in peak season thousands of seasonal workers for hotels, restaurants and resorts. Croatia's tourism machine runs on flexible labor shortages spike before summer and again around holiday peaks. Construction and trades Large building projects and infrastructure works create steady demand for skilled tradespeople and site staff. Employers frequently hire from neighboring countries and further afield to meet seasonal and long term needs. Information Technology and Professional Services the Croatian tech scene Zagreb, Split, Varajdin and a few regional hubs is growing. Local firms, scale ups and international investors are hiring developers, data specialists and engineers and are open to remote or hybrid arrangements to attract EU and non EU talent. Healthcare and social care Shortages of nurses, carers and specialist medical staff persist. Hospitals and private providers increasingly recruit from abroad, sometimes via targeted bilateral agreements. Recent reporting indicates that over 100,000 foreign workers have arrived in Croatia so far this year and total foreign employment is substantial. These inflows are concentrated in the sectors above and are viewed as essential to keeping the economy running, particularly during peak tourist months. Croatia issues EU Blue Cards for highly qualified third country nationals Recent legal updates have clarified eligibility for certain ICT roles. Experience may now substitute for formal qualifications in the blue card assessment and extended permitted durations in some cases a helpful development for firms seeking longer term hires. The blue card allows employers to hire without the local labor market test, in many cases. Stay and work Permits for most third country nationals, employers must either sponsor a stay and work permit or or use short term work registration certificates for brief assignments. The Aliens act regulates permitted roles, employer obligations and penalties for non compliance, so precise paperwork matters. Seasonal and Bilateral Pathways Much seasonal work is filled under specific short term arrangements and bilateral agreements. Employers often use recruitment agencies or foreign labor brokers to source candidates for summer seasons. Expect short turnaround times to be essential in practice time and administrative load. Even with streamlined rules for high skilled profiles, hiring a non EU national usually means additional documentation, formal sponsorship steps and liaison with police. Immigration offices build this into timelines. Competitive packages to win skilled Europeans and non EU specialists, international employers increasingly offer flexible work training budgets, relocation support and clear career paths. Salary expectations for IT and specialized medical staff are rising, so total rewards need to be market competitive. Language and integration Multilingual staff, English plus another European language are highly prized for hospitality and care work Basic Croatian or regional languages can be essential. Many employers provide language or onboarding support. High churn in seasonal roles means repeated recruitment cycles each year. This increases cost and administrative complexity. The Croatian legal framework has been evolving. While changes have generally made high skilled routes clearer, other updates may tighten aspects of short term work registration. Employers must keep compliance checks up to date. Public and political sensitivity. Large inflows of foreign workers are sometimes politically sensitive. Firms should be prepared for community engagement and to demonstrate fair employment practices and compliance. OUTLOOK Croatia looks set to continue relying on European and international workers to meet structural and seasonal labor shortfalls. Policy tweaks aimed at retaining talent, longer permitted stays, clarity on blue card eligibility make the country more attractive for skilled professionals. But competition from other EU countries and rising wage demands in growth sectors will keep recruitment challenging for local firms. Workforce development and reskilling remain priorities for the public sector and international bodies. Supporting Croatia's labour supply needs.
