Temporary residence based on real estate in the Republic of Croatia is a legally prescribed category of temporary residence, as it belongs to the group of residence for other purposes, but it is also quite indefinite and shrouded with a question mark in practice.

1. Common legal grounds for granting temporary residency in Croatia

There are various legal grounds for granting temporary residence to foreigners in the Republic of Croatia, which the Aliens Act and corresponding regulations thoroughly regulate.

Under the Aliens Act, a foreigner is considered to be a third-country national, who is not a citizen of a Member State of the European Economic Area (the European Union, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Iceland) or the Swiss Confederation, and who holds the nationality of a third country or is a stateless person.

With that, temporary residence is generally granted to foreigners as a residence and work permit in the Republic of Croatia, for the purpose of family reunification if their spouse and/or children are Croatian nationals with permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia, as well as for the purpose of secondary education, university studies, or research within postgraduate studies.

Nevertheless, for those who do not intend to work immediately in Croatia but want to purchase property or are considering investing, while also wanting to "test the waters" to see what life in the Republic of Croatia is actually like and whether it makes sense for them to come to work and live in the Beautiful Homeland (or even to relocate their entire business), there is a category of temporary residence for "other purposes."

Hence, as the legal name of this category suggests, it is a fluid and undefined legal basis for granting temporary residence, under which any reason that would objectively justify a foreigner's stay in the territory of the Republic of Croatia can be included, provided it does not fall under the more default and previously listed situations.

It is essential to emphasize that residence granted for "other purposes" is characterized by two specificities, namely:

• It can be granted for a maximum period of up to one year, and the foreigner can submit a new application for regulating residence for other purposes after a six-month period following the expiration of the initially granted temporary residence for other purposes.

• Residence granted for other purposes does not count toward the time required to obtain the right to permanent residence (after five years of continuous legal residence in the Republic of Croatia).

One of the explicitly stated reasons for which the competent authorities, namely the police departments in Croatia, grant foreigners’ residence for other purposes is property ownership in the Republic of Croatia.

If the foreigner, based on the principle of reciprocity with their home country, has the right to acquire property in the territory of the Republic of Croatia and/or acquires it through inheritance, they have the right, based on the above mentioned principle, to request temporary residence for other purposes, typically for a period of one year, with only an exceptional possibility of extension after a period of six months from the initially granted request.

In relation to that, such residence can be granted to the foreigner exclusively in the area where the property owned by them is located. With the application, the foreigner must submit (in addition to the generally required documentation, such as a passport, certificate of no criminal record, etc.) the title deed for the property, and the application must be submitted to the police department competent for that specific location.

What needs to be noted when submitting this application is that the official receiving it will primarily base their decision on the discretionary assessment of the request, i.e., their subjective evaluation of whether the mere fact that the foreigner owns property in the territory of the Republic of Croatia is sufficient justification for granting their temporary residence for a period of up to one year.

It is necessary to emphasize that neither the law nor the corresponding regulations make a distinction or impose impediments regarding whether the property on which the foreigner bases their request must be an apartment, house, agricultural land, or construction land. What is vital is that the applicant briefly states and – to the extent possible – provides objective grounds for why they must be in or close to their property during the duration of time for which they are requesting temporary residence to be granted.

2. Examples from practice on the importance of temporary residence based on real estate ownership in the Republic of Croatia

To exemplify the circumstances under which such a request would be granted in practice, we will briefly outline three common situations:

CASE 1

The foreigner has purchased an apartment in Split through an agency, which he intends to rent out daily through online platforms like Booking.com and Airbnb.com. He is requesting temporary residence to arrange the apartment, organize its rental and cleaning, and assess the market by directly observing which types of guests most often book his apartment, enabling him to better cater to the target audience.

CASE 2

The foreigner has purchased construction land and is building an immovable property on it. His presence in Croatia is crucial for supervising the construction works and his ability to participate in the abovementioned process. With his application for temporary residence, he has submitted the title deed for the property, the main project by a licensed architect and the final construction permit. 

CASE 3

The foreigner has purchased agricultural land with an established and maintained olive grove, and he intends to engage in olive oil production and export it to restaurants in Canada. He also plans to buy the surrounding olive groves and arrange with the local population for the maintenance of the olive trees and the production of the oil. With his application for temporary residence, he has submitted a certificate that confirms that he is an owner of a limited liability company in Canada that deals with the import of food and non-food products intended for the hospitality industry.

In relation to abovementioned, it is noticeable that with the submitting the necessary documentation, it is advisable (and necessary for the approval of the application for the temporary residence) to make reasons for your need to be present at your property for a certain period straightforward as possible to the police official who oversees your request. Each application and its validity will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, so it is ideal to concentrate as much as possible on providing paperwork that will "sustain" your story.

It should also be noted that the property on which the request is based can be co-owned, meaning it is not necessary for you to be the sole owner. However, such requests are granted in cases where spouses submit applications for properties that are co-owned based on marital property or if your share in the property is large enough to justify personal involvement. Meanwhile, in practice, an application based on a ¼ share of an inherited house with a decent surface area is more likely to be approved, as opposed to a request based on a 3/68 share of an olive grove with a total area of 129 m².