Citizens of EU Member States - from 01. February.2009.

For citizens or legal persons who are not members of the European Union, the rule of reciprocity applies - if Croatian citizens can buy in that country, then the citizens of those countries can buy in Croatia. Here are some countries that have reciprocity, for the full list or additional questions contact us:

• • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Belarus
  • Bosna and Hercegovina
  • Brasil
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Iraq
  • Iran
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kosovo
  • Lebanon
  • Lichtenstein
  • Makedonia
  • Malezia
  • Moldova
  • Montenegro
  • New Zeland
  • Norway
  • Panama
  • Paraguay
  • Russia
  • SAD
  • South Africa Republic
  • South Korea
  • Serbia
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine

Non EU citizens

The citizens of other countries, outside the EU, if they are a resident of the country that has a reciprocity agreement with Croatia, they are eligible to acquire real estate here with the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. List of countries with reciprocity agreement with Croatia expands constantly so best way is to check with us for latest information. Further, foreigners are prohibited from buying forest or agricultural land or any property which comes under the ambit of cultural monument. The faster way can be founding a company (SPV) in Croatia which then buys the real estate.

Real Estate Agent´s Fee 3% + PDV (tax) =3.75% - Paid by buyer

Real estate transfer tax: 3% - Paid by buyer

Exceptions

1. In a situation where the company buys real estate, which is built and solely registered on the company, there is no transfer tax (company buys a company). Example – Foreign company buying hotel business or villa built with the intention for sale, for which purposes the company is made and/or operating.
2. If the building is newly built, under Two (2) years, then there is no transfer tax, and the VAT is included in the price. Lawyer fee – 0% – We have the lawyer in our team.

Permission from the Ministry of Justice (for non-EU citizens), the Notary's Office fee and that of the translator and the fee charged by the Land Registrar – total up to EUR 500.

1) Estate Pre-contract agreement can be made if the buyer and seller agree on it, but if not, they can go straight to signing the main contract. However, if a pre-contract is signed, the buyer is expected to make a down payment of 10%-15% of the property price. The pre-contract contains all necessary terms and conditions as the main contact. Therfore, by signing it it becomes fully binding and the property is reserved for the buyer for the agreed time period, whitin which all the agreed terms and conditions provided in point 2) below shall be resolved and met. After that, the main contract can be signed.

2) The buyer then should apply for the consent from the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Necessary documents include:

• • The purchase agreement
  • The proof of ownership (seller)
  • Confirmation that the property is within the construction zone envisaged by the zoning plan
  • Proof of citizenship – buyer
  • Proof of citizenship – seller

3) The contract is then prepared by a lawyer for the parties to sign, deal and notaorised by a Croatian notary office. An official note of the contract should be made in the Land Registry. Once the Ministry of foreign affairs consent is granted, the contract needs to be registered in the Municipal Cadastral Department´s Land Books, and the purchase tax needs to be paid.

For opening a bank account in Croatia, you will need your passport to prove your identity and OIB number that every person in Croatia must have (Personal identity tax number), which your solicitor process for you at local Tax Administration Office. Maybe the best way is that you open a banka account (EUR curremcy, which is Croatian national currncy) to locally handle the transfer of payments for the property transaction, which you will need for your local operations expenses once the transaction has completed. Payment shall be made in EUR currency.

There are two levels for profit tax that companies pay:

1. 12%, if profit in the tax period (year) are up to €1,000,000.00.
2. 18%, if profit in the tax period (year) are above €1,000,000.

Croatia is a country in the European Union with sustainable economic development, a worldwide well-known tourist destination. It is becoming more and more popular. Because it is still developing towards its full potential there is a lot of space on the market for providing a new and innovative service in the hospitality sector. It has an affordable, talented and multilingual workforce, half of the population speaks English.

Tourism accounts for 12.5% of Croatia's GDP. Croatia achieved record results in revenue from foreign tourists in 2022, of €13.1 billion, and if we were to add to that the estimated revenue from domestic tourists, we would arrive at a total of about €15 billion. In 2020, €7 billion was invested in the construction and renovation of commercial and residential properties, campsites, nautical tourism harbors, and theme parks, etc. Therefore, all these investments and business development make Croatia a great potential for investments.

Croatia is a traditional Mediterranean destination and because of its geographic proximity is very attractive to major emissive markets like Germany, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, and other states in Central and Southeast Europe.

Croatia is full of natural beauties and untouched nature. There are 8 national parks and 11 nature parks giving the total of 10% of the protected area, over thousands of years many old towns and maritime ports have been built along the coast and on the many islands.

To visit Croatia means to become part of its landscape of natural wonders. Its national parks may be the country's best-known conservation areas. It's like an open-air museum conceived by Mother Nature. Croatia has been blessed with some astonishing pieces of nature.