Croatia

Personal appearance of the applicant is mandatory at the time of submission of the application. Exceptionally, for justified reasons, an applicant may not have to file the application personally but shall be required to personally appear at the possible request of the Embassy.

Nationals of India and other nationals with valid residence permit in India can apply at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in New Delhi through the VFS Centres. In case of application submission through VFS, the applicant may be called to the Embassy for a personal interview, if required. The applicant will then be obliged to come.

A visa application can be lodged no sooner than 3 months (90 days) prior to the date of the intended trip.

Applications, with all required documents and proof of payment of visa fee, shall only be accepted. Applicants are requested to attach all documents with the application form as mentioned in the list. The date of issuance of all documents attached with the application form, except passport, must not be older than 6 months.

Processing time - the application will be decided on within 15 days from the date of submission of the application, and this period may be extended to 30 or 60 days for justified reasons. If the application is submitted less than 15 days prior to the planned journey, timely completion of the visa processing cannot be guaranteed.

Holders of Visa for the Republic of Croatia are required, according to the Croatian Law on Foreigners, to declare the address of their stay at the local Police Station within 48 hours of their arrival in Croatia. The accommodation service provider (Croatian national), however, is obliged to declare the address of stay of the foreign national within 24 hours of providing accommodation.

As the preferred way of communicating with the Embassy for visa / consular related queries is through email, applicants are requested to communicate only through email.

Submitting a visa application, including all the required documents, does not automatically mean that the visa will be issued.

An issued visa is not a guarantee that a foreign citizen will be permitted to enter the Republic of Croatia. On every crossing of the border, the police may require the foreign citizen to present a photocopy of the Letter of Guarantee in case of both private and business visits, and it is therefore recommendable to carry the Letter of Guarantee, as well as the proof of having sufficient funds, in hand baggage.

The decision to refuse a visa, indicating reasons for such a decision, shall be delivered to the applicant in a visa refusal/annulment/revocation form.

A foreign citizen may appeal against the decision to refuse a visa through the competent Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the decision on visa refusal/annulment/revocation. The appeal shall be filed in Croatian. The fee for non-European countries is INR 3060 or US$ 48, according to Section 62 of the Law on Administrative Fees.

The visa application fee is non-refundable once the application has been accepted at the Embassy.

An Embassy may invite the applicant to an interview; require him/her to submit further documents and/or certified translation as well as the international certification (apostille) of the documents.

Any falsification of the documents and the use of such documents may be subject to criminal prosecution.

Cancellation of accommodation after issuance of visa for the Republic of Croatia may lead to revocation of visa.

After submission of the application, the applicant will be informed only through email about the missing documentation / additional requirement, if any. The applicant will be obliged to fulfil the same within 15 days from the date of first email communication concerning the same.

The applicant must ensure that he / she clearly writes his / her active email address and telephone number on first page of the visa application form (field number 17).

The Embassy will not be responsible for any delay in communicating the missing / additional requirements to the applicant due to non-availability of his / her email address.

Visa applicants for a Croatian visa for one or two entries shall prove that they are in possession of adequate and valid travel medical insurance to cover any expenses which might arise in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical attention and/or emergency hospital treatment or death, during their stay(s) on the territory of the Republic of Croatia. Minimum coverage EUR 30,000.

Visa applicants for a travel visa for more than two entries (multiple entries) shall prove that they are in possession of adequate and valid medical insurance covering the period of their first intended visit. In addition, such applicants shall sign the statement set out in the application form, declaring that they are aware of the need to be in possession of travel medical insurance for subsequent stays.

The insurance shall be valid throughout the territory of the Republic of Croatia and cover the entire period of the person's intended stay or transit.

Applicants shall, in principle, take out insurance in their country of residence. Where this is not possible, they shall seek to obtain insurance in any other country. When assessing whether the insurance cover is adequate, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia shall ascertain whether claims against the insurance company would be recoverable in Croatia.

Holders of valid Schengen documents, as well as national visas and residence permits of Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Romania do not require an additional (Croatian) visa for Croatia as per Decision No 565/2014/EU (effective 22 July 2014).

VFS application centres are located in: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad (India) and Kathmandu (Nepal). Contact VFS Helpline: +91-22-67866020 (India) or 18000910122 (Nepal).