Moving to Croatia from the UK: the 2026 process, costs and visas.

By Nick · Europe Unlocked · Every figure sourced to an official body and dated.

Since Brexit a British passport buys you 90 days in Croatia, not a life there. Staying longer means a Croatian temporary stay permit, granted one year at a time for a fixed list of reasons — and the reason most Britons use does not lead to permanent residence. Here is the whole process for 2026: the routes, the money, the health insurance buy-in, how your UK pension is taxed, and what a move really costs.

First: which Briton are you?

If you were lawfully living in Croatia before 1 January 2021, you are a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary. You should hold the biometric "Dozvola boravka" card, you keep temporary status as long as you spend at least 183 days a year in Croatia, you reach permanent status after five years, and you are exempt from the EU's new Entry/Exit System. Nothing below about permits applies to you — gov.uk's Living in Croatia page is your reference.

Everyone who arrives from 2021 onward is a third-country national under Croatia's Aliens Act, exactly like an American or a Canadian. That is the reader this guide is written for.

The 90-day rule, and what changed in 2026

A UK passport gives you 90 days in any rolling 180 across the whole Schengen area — Croatia has been a member since 1 January 2023, so days in Italy or Spain count against the same clock. Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before you arrive and be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave.

Two systems now sit on that rule. The Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully operational across Schengen since 10 April 2026: your face and fingerprints are recorded on first entry and every day is counted automatically. The 90/180 limit is no longer a matter of stamps nobody checks. ETIAS, the €20 pre-travel authorisation (free if you are over 70), is not yet running. The European Commission's last published target (28 April 2026) is the final quarter of 2026; trade reports in July 2026 suggested a slip into 2027, which no official source has confirmed as of September 2026.

For a lot of British readers this is the honest answer: two 90-day stays a year, no permit, no HZZO contributions, no Croatian tax residency. If that is your plan, you can stop here. If you want to live in Croatia, read on.

The routes open to a British citizen

Croatia has no retirement visa and no golden visa. Temporary stay is granted for a listed purpose, for up to one year at a time, and applications for visa-exempt nationals — Britons included — are made at the police administration for your intended address inside Croatia, not at a consulate. You enter on your 90 days, apply, and stay while it is decided.

The application, step by step

1. Before you leave the UK: order an ACRO police certificate and have it apostilled — MUP wants a legalised criminal-record certificate on a first application — and get a doctor's medical certificate (MUP form 18a, under 90 days old), which visa-exempt nationals also need for a first temporary stay. Arrange a private health policy covering Croatia for the whole period you are applying for (HZZO comes later). Tell HMRC you are leaving via form P85, or the SA109 residence pages if you file Self Assessment.
2. Within 3 days of arrival: register your address at the police station (Form 16a) with a lease, a title deed or a notarised owner's statement.
3. Apply at the police administration with your passport (valid at least 3 months beyond the permit), proof of purpose, proof of funds, insurance and the police certificate. Digital nomads can apply online at digitalnomadscroatia.mup.hr.
4. Get your OIB — the personal identification number you need for a bank account, a lease, a car, a phone contract and tax. The police assign it when you register, or any Tax Administration office issues one free on sight of your passport.
5. Pay and collect: €46.45 for the permit, €31.85 for the biometric card (€59.73 accelerated), €9.29 admin. If you have not registered your residence within 30 days of the grant, the permit is revoked.
6. Enrol with HZZO within 8 days of the permit — see below.
7. Mind the absence limits. On a one-year permit, more than 90 days abroad in total, or a single trip over 30 days, and the permit is withdrawn. Notify the police in advance and a justified trip of up to 90 days is allowed.

Health insurance: HZZO and the buy-in

Health cover is compulsory. Third-country nationals on a temporary stay must enrol with HZZO, the state insurer, within 8 days of the permit unless a treaty or EU rule says otherwise. The contribution is 16.5% of a base: on the 2026 minimum base of €757.34 that is about €125 a month, and for a foreign pension the base can run up to €1,993, or about €329 a month. HZZO assesses each case individually; those base figures come from Croatian accounting summaries rather than an HZZO page, so treat them as the likely range, not a tariff. What newcomers rarely expect: under the Aliens Health Act, new arrivals from outside the EU can be charged up to 12 months of back contributions on enrolment — a bill of roughly €1,500 at the minimum base. The HZZO enrolment guide covers the mechanics.

UK State Pensioners have a better route. If you receive the UK State Pension (or another exportable UK benefit), you can apply to NHS Overseas Healthcare Services for an S1 form, register it with HZZO, and be treated like a Croatian citizen with the UK footing the bill. gov.uk's healthcare guidance describes this for Britons resident in Croatia under the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement; it is not limited to pre-2021 residents. A UK GHIC covers visits only, never residence.

Once in the system, co-payments are 20% of the cost of treatment, capped at €530.88 per invoice, and most residents take "dopunsko" top-up insurance to cover them, priced at €15 a month since 1 February 2026. Your NHS entitlement in England ends when you move abroad permanently.

Tax: what Croatia takes from a UK income

You become Croatian tax resident if you have permanent or habitual residence there — the General Tax Act's habitual-abode test is 183 days — and Croatia then taxes your worldwide income. Rates are set by each municipality: a lower rate of 15–23% on income up to €60,000 a year and a higher rate of 25–33% above it, with 20%/30% applying where a municipality has set nothing. The personal allowance is €600 a month. Capital income (interest, dividends, gains) is taxed at a flat 12%.

Pensions get a specific deal. A pension is taxed as employment income after the €600 monthly allowance, and the resulting tax is then reduced by 50%. The 2015 UK–Croatia double taxation agreement (in force 19 November 2015, replacing the old Yugoslavia treaty) gives Croatia the sole right to tax the UK State Pension and private or occupational pensions paid to a Croatian resident (Article 17). Once you are resident, you claim relief from UK PAYE with HMRC's form DT-Individual and your UK pension is paid gross. Two exceptions: UK government-service pensions — civil service, armed forces, teachers, police, fire, local government — stay taxable in the UK unless you become a Croatian national (Article 18); NHS pensions count as non-government and follow the main rule. And lump sums are the unusual clause in this treaty: Article 17(2) says a lump sum from a scheme established in one state is taxable only in that state — so your UK 25% tax-free cash keeps its UK treatment for a Croatia resident, which is not true in Portugal, Spain or France. The mechanics of leaving the UK tax system are in our guide How the UK taxes you after you leave.

Your UK State Pension keeps rising: the annual increase is paid in every EEA country, and the new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27.

What it costs

Croatia's average net salary was €1,552 a month in April 2026 (median €1,319), up 7.9% on the year, and inflation averaged 3.7% in 2025 (DZS). There is no official rent index — the Statistics Bureau does not publish one — so any Zagreb or Split rent figure you read is a portal estimate, and we label ours that way in the cost of living guide. What is official is the direction of house prices: +14.1% in 2025 on the DZS index, and still +14.3% year on year in the first quarter of 2026 — Zagreb +14.7%, the Adriatic coast +12.6%, the rest of the country +18.1%.

If you buy: UK citizens are on the Ministry of Justice's reciprocity list, so you can own outright, but as a non-EU buyer you still need the Ministry's consent through an administrative procedure (or you buy through a Croatian company). Real estate transfer tax is 3% of market value, payable by the buyer within 15 days of assessment, and the property tax introduced in 2025 charges €0.60 to €8.00 per square metre of usable area, set by each city or municipality, on whoever owns the property on 31 March. The housing guide has the rest.

Driving, pets and the car

• Licence: your UK licence is valid for 12 months after you become resident. Once you have been resident 185 days you can exchange it without a test — apply before the 12 months lapse. MUP asks for a medical certificate under 6 months old, a photo and a €20.04 fee (€26.54 accelerated).
• Pets: GB pet passports are not accepted. Your dog or cat needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination at least 21 days before travel and an Animal Health Certificate, valid for entry within 10 days of issue and for onward EU travel for 4 months. Maximum five pets.
• The car: a UK-registered vehicle is re-registered at a vehicle roadworthiness testing centre in your registration area. Import duty, VAT and Croatia's special vehicle tax depend on the car; check with Croatian Customs (carina.gov.hr) before shipping it rather than after.

The long game: residence and citizenship

EU long-term residence needs five years of uninterrupted qualifying stay — absences under 10 months in total and 6 months at a stretch — on routes that count: work, family, study at half weight. "Other purposes" years are excluded. At year five you need funds, health insurance and the Croatian language and Latin-script exam, which is waived if you are over 65 and not employed; fees are €83.62 plus €31.85 for the card. Citizenship by naturalisation requires 8 years of continuous registered residence together with permanent status, Croatian language, knowledge of Croatian culture, and a fee of €139.36; Croatia accepts dual UK–Croatian citizenship. Processing typically runs 12–24 months. If you have Croatian ancestry, the descent route is separate and faster — ask before assuming you need eight years.

The UK side, in one paragraph

File form P85 (or SA109 with your tax return) so HMRC treats you as non-resident from the right date. Your State Pension continues, uprated. Your NHS entitlement ends; if you get an S1 and later return, cancel it. Register as a UK overseas voter if you want to keep voting; you cannot vote in Croatian or EU elections without Croatian citizenship. Check the full guide to UK tax after you leave for the Statutory Residence Test, the five-year temporary non-residence rule and the inheritance-tax tail that follows you out.

Questions Britons ask

Do British citizens need a visa to move to Croatia in 2026?

No visa for visits: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen. To stay longer you need a temporary stay permit, which you can apply for at the police administration inside Croatia. Pre-2021 residents are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement instead.

How much income do you need for a temporary stay?

For "other purposes", at least 60% of the previous-year average net salary — about €870 a month in 2026 (OG 3/26, in force 17 January 2026). For the digital nomad permit, €3,622.50 a month or €43,470 in the bank for 12 months.

Is a UK pension taxed in Croatia?

Yes, and only in Croatia, under the 2015 treaty — as employment income after the €600 monthly allowance, with the tax then halved. Government-service pensions stay UK-taxed unless you become a Croatian national.

Does the UK State Pension still increase each year in Croatia?

Yes. The annual increase is paid in every EEA country. The new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27.

Can a British citizen buy property in Croatia?

Yes, with Ministry of Justice consent via an administrative procedure; the UK meets the reciprocity requirement. Transfer tax is 3%; the local property tax is €0.60–€8.00 per square metre.