Visas

Visa is a permit for transit through the Croatian territory or staying in Croatia. It can last for three months through a six – month period from the date of first entry in the Croatian area.

There are two types of visas, such as aircraft – transit and short-term visas.

Aircraft–transit visa is for foreign travellers who are not leaving the transit area between flights. It is not issued in most cases, only by order of the competent authorities. In that case the visa lasts for 6 months with an additional 15 days. It is issued for one, two or more transits through the international transit area of the airport.

Short–term visa is issued for the purpose of transit through the country or for staying in Croatia. It is issued with a validity period between 6 months and 5 years with and additional 15 days. It is possible to issue it for one, two or multiple entries on to the territory Republic of Croatia.

A visa application shall be lodged no sooner than three months prior to the date of the intended trip.

From 1 July 2013, Croatia’s visa policy is fully harmonized with that of the EU. This means that from that date onwards the classic visa regime will apply for the citizens of all those countries that need visa for entering the EU member countries.

Russian, Ukrainian and Kosovo citizens, who are required a visa to enter Croatia, are able to apply for a visa on-line on https://crovisa.mvep.hr/ . Having filled out the on-line application form, it is necessary to print it out and with other required documents submit to the competent Croatian Embassy/visa center or through an accredited agency.

For entering Croatia, Russian citizens will be issued visas in a speedy manner (generally no longer than five days after the application is received). Multiple-entry visas can also be issued. Visa fee remains 35 Euros. Russian citizens, after submitting the application at the Croatian Embassy in Moscow, will also be able to obtain visas through accredited tourist agencies at the embassy as well as through visa centers throughout Russia.

Visas are issued by Croatian diplomatic missions or consular offices abroad, and can be issued by diplomatic mission or consular office of another country with whom Croatia has signed an agency agreement in issuing visas.

If you booked your visit with a travel agency, you will be provided by accurate conditions of obtaining visa on time.

If you want to extend your visa

In practice, you can not extend your visa. Exceptionally, the validity and / or duration of the residence permit issued on the basis of issued visas can be extended due to force majeure, humanitarian or serious personal reasons.

But in the case of extension of visa, you can not stay in Croatia for more than 90 days in a period of six months from the date of first entry.

The request for extension shall be submitted to the police department / station, in your place of residence, before the expiry of the current visa, and a motion decided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Until the decision of extending visa, you are permitted to stay on the Croatian territory.

Due to possible changes and additional information visit http://www.mvep.hr/en/consular-information/visas/.

Customs

By entering the Republic of Croatia your personal baggage is not a subject to custom duties. Neither is tobacco products, alcohol, coffee or medicaments if they are in adequate quantities for personal use. Food and groceries are detected on a same way.

If you are traveling with pets, it is necessary to have an appropriate veterinary certificate for them. Cats and dogs must have a microchip.If you are traveling with 5 pets within the EU, you must have a EU passport issued by a veterinarian. If you are traveling within the EU with more than 5 pets, you will also need a certificate from a veterinarian.

In the EU, the amount of medication that an individual carries only for personal use will not be particularly limited, but, depending on the type and purpose, will depend on the amount which is prescribed.

EU citizens are obliged to make a written application to the Customs Service, on entry / exit from the EU, for the transfer of cash in kuna equivalent of 10,000 Euros or more.

In the passenger traffic from 01 July 2013 is allowed to transfer goods from third countries for personal use (non-commercial goods) without payment of customs duties and VAT within the value of 300 Euros per passenger, in air and maritime transport within 430 Euros.

Croatian citizens after the Croatian accession to the EU can no longer claim a VAT refund when purchasing goods in other EU member states.

Customs control and the implementation of customs clearance for imports continues to be at the external borders of the EU (on borders with Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro).

Due to possible changes and additional information visit http://www.mvep.hr/en/.

Entering medicaments for personal use is permitted in the quantities required for the treatment of up to one month on condition that they are approved by the competent authorities of the manufacturer and with possession of the relevant medical records. If the medicaments include narcotic drugs, then their amount must be sufficient for the treatment of 5 days, or 15 in the case that a person suffering from cancer.

Transfer of cash is free if amount does not exceed 10,000.00 Euro. Also, non-commercial goods are not being declared to a value of 1,000.00 Kuna.

You are entitled to a tax refund if you are buying croatian retail items for your personal use, with the need to fulfill certain requirements, such as the purchase of up to a certain amount – 740.00 KN, the period in which the cases were brought out of the land – 3 months, filling TAX – FREE form and its verification by the border customs office.

The Republic of Croatia is located in the southeast of Europe, covering the area from the Pannonian lowland to the Alps and the Adriatic Sea.

Croatian territory combines a lot of different landscapes from lowlands, hilly parts, the mountains onto the coast and numerous islands. All of those landscapes form a special natural treasure and ideal for anyone looking for a place of their dreams.

In the surface of 56,594 km2, Croatia is organized in 21 County, 127 cities, 429 towns and 6755 villages inhabited by 4.4 million people. Length of land borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro is 2374,9 kilometers long while sea borders (continental and insular) is significantly larger amounting 6,278 kilometers.

Croatia has 1246 beautiful islands which are tailored by nature for every individual, either of those isolated to the ones with rich culture and centuries-old history. Croatia also has many lakes. Specifically, 31 lake of which some, like the Plitvice Lakes are named National Parks because of its exceptional nature and beauty.

Croatia’s uniqueness lays in the fact that in a relatively small country you can find just about any type of territory that suits you, from the sea and the islands, across the hills and mountains to perfect Slavonian plains where you can enjoy in all four seasons which have special characteristics.

Croatia submitted its application to join the European Union on 21 February 2003. After getting the European Commission’s positive opinion in April 2004, Croatia was granted the status of candidate country in June of that same year. This opened the way for starting accession negotiations, officially launched on 3 October 2005. By coming into force of the Treaty of Accession, on 1 July 2013 Croatia became 28th member state of the European Union.

State organization

Croatia is regulated as a Republic, independent, sovereign and democratic state, which gained its independence in 1991. The official language is Croatian, and the script is Latin. The national currency is the kuna. Zagreb is the capital, which is also the political, economic, administrative, academic, cultural and art center.

Croatia is situated in the northern moderate climatic zone with no greater temperate differences and with four seasons; spring, summer, fall, winter. Every season is special and you will feel the special characteristics of every single one, which time of the year you decide to visit Croatia.

The country is placed on a meeting point of three different geographical entities, which gives you the opportunity to experience three different climates with a small distance between one another. In the inner part there is continental climate, on the coastal zone Mediterranean climate, and through the mountain there is a mountain climate.

If you like the sun, you will enjoy the fact that Croatia is one of the rare countries that has approximately 2.600 hours of sun per year. This fact makes the Adriatic coast one of the sunniest places on the whole Mediterranean. The temperate values are: the sea at summer time between 25 and 27 degrees Celsius (77 to 80,6 degrees Fahrenheit), the temperature of the air is meanwhile from 27 to 30 degrees Celsius.

In the inner part, where there is a continental climate, the temperatures go between 25 to 30 degrees Celsius (77 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit), and in the mountain parts  you can cool off at 18 to 25 degrees Celsius (64,4 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit). The coldest month of the year is January with average temperature of -5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) in the continental parts, -8 degrees Celsius (17.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in the mountains and +5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) on the coast.

You will definitely need an umbrella if you are planning your visit in the spring or fall, and also in the summer, because there is a possibility of a sudden summer showers. There is a special name for every kind of wind because there is a lot of them. The winds are strongest in the winter time, especially on the coast and in the mountain parts.

The most known wind is bura. Its direction is from the land onto the sea, and you will need a warm layer of clothes during it, because it is known as a very cold wind. There is jugo, the wind with the opposite direction than bura. It blows from the sea onto the land and with it carries warm and humid air. Maestral is the third kind of wind that makes the summer heats on the islands and on the coast more pleasant, it blows only during the day.

Mountain Rescue Service (Gorska služba spašavanja – GSS) helps everyone, and most importantly, it does it for free. Members are volunteers.

It was founded more than sixty years ago as an internal service of the Croatian Mountaineering Association.

Today GSS make fittest Croatian climbers, cavers and mountaineers and skiers. After special training they are qualified to provide first aid and for all mountain rescue techniques.

Primarily their task is to rescue injured from rugged terrains and under difficult weather conditions, but often their skills and knowledge are needed in urban and other non mountain areas.

Besides their primary task of saving people, an important service activity is to educate how to prevent accidents in rugged terrain.

Ways of contacting GSS:

• Emergency telephone number: 112
• HGSS teams’ telephone numbers
• Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS) Information Points; usually well equipped mountain huts clearly marked with HGSS name and emblem
• Police telephone number: 192
• Medical First Aid Stations – telephone: 194
• Any member of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service

Croatian people are one of the oldest nations in Europe. They are situated on the territory between Adriatic sea in the south and rivers Drava and Dunav in the north since 7th century.

Even the ancient Greeks had their colonies on croatian part of the Adriatic coast. First Roman contact with Pannonia (eastern part of Croatia) were made in the second century BC. The  magnificeant amphiteather Arena in Pula was built few centuries later, in first century AD.

According to one of the legends, the Arena  was built by Emperor Vespasian in honor of his mistress Antonia Cenida. And of course, unavoidable Diocletian’s Palace in Split.

Croatian Kings 845. – 1091.

Putting Romans aside in the year 845. Croatian only dynasty – Trpimirovic takes control. First they were dukes and then the kings were selected from their line. The name of Croat was for the first time mentioned in a gift certificate from the King Trpimir which is dating from year 852. And that makes it the most important legal document.

King Tomislav was first croatian king, and the  while first legal one was Stjepan Držislav. Petar Krešimir IV.  Was the most famous one. He united croatian provinces and encouraged developing of cities on the coast at the sea, Šibenik, Knin, Biograd and Nin.

Through reign of King Dmitar Zvonimir Croatia enjoyed peacefull economical and cultural growth. Knin was King Dmitar’s capital. He is best known for the Bašćanska ploča.

With Bašćanska ploča he gave land on island Krk. It is written in glagolitic script. Glagolitic is the oldest known Slavic alphabet from the 9th century. The creation of the characters is attributed to Saints Cyrill and Methodius who may have created them in order to facilitate the introduction of Christianity. With its linguistic and literary meaning, it also has important historical meaning because  it mentions the king’s name for the first on common language – King Zvonimir.

Dynasty ends with Stjepan II. in year 1091. That was the only time that Croatia was independent untill 1991. Except for month and a half in Republic of SHS, but that is a different period.

Personal union with Hungary 1102. – 1527.

After the a time of independence, with signing Pacta Convecta, Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary. Few dynasties ruled Croatia in that time. First of the them were Arpads, and last Anjouvians.

Kings from Anjouvians dynasty Karl I. and Ludovic I., had continuously demeaned Croatian feudalists. They chose members of foreign nobility for dukes Ludovik’s daughter Maria was on the throne for a while, but people were not thrilled with it, because she was a woman. For that reason, her husband, Sigismund of Luxembourg was then chosen to be king.

In time of Ladislaus II., Croatia lost every better connection to the sea apart from Senj and was exposed to Turkish attacks. Nobel family Frankopani have grown their influence and they were situated in Čakovec, on the north of the Croatia.

Croatia and the Habsburgs

Ludovic II. lost his life in 1526. at Mohacs field. Croatian nobility thought that the best solution was to connect with Austria. Austrian archduke Ferdinand I. was chosen to be a king. He promised protection from the Turkish empire. Sixteenth century was characterized by constant battle against the Turkish empire. What has left from Croatia in that time was called remains of the remnants once famous Croatian kingdom.

In eighteenth century the Turkish empire are banished from our territory , and Croats gave their support to emperor Maria Theresa. She ruled by pracmatic sanction (permission that allows woman on the throne) and in return promised to help Croatia.

Croatian national movement gathered many influenced people in Croatia and started linguistic and cultural reform. Ljudevit Gaj founded Illyrian party which was banned only by its name, and so he changes it to National party. It is very important to mention viceroy Josip Jelačić. He suppressed Hungarian rebellion. Croatia was very eager to unite all of her parts, but Austro – Hungarian authorities did not let that happen. Croatia achieved that since 1847. croatian is official language instead of latin. The national anthem Lijepa naša (Our beautiful) was composed at the time of Croatian national movement.

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians

It was founded on the 1st of December in 1918. as a response of regent, Alexandar  Karađorđević. One part of Croatia was under the Serbs hegemony, and other part by Italian authority. In 1919. Italy occupied Rijeka, and made a contract  in 1924. which made the city of Rijeka Italian. Four years later king declares dictatorship after assassination in National parliament, where Croatian politicians were murdered and injured.

Indepedent State of Croatia – NDH

On German and Italian initiative new so called independent country was made. This country, named NDH was founded in 10.04.1941. Country totally dependent upon Germany and Italy. Ante Pavelić was the chief od NDH. In 1945. when the war was over and Third Reich had disappeared, NDH also vanished completely.

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia began with it’s forming after the World War II. Josip Broz Tito was  it’s leader, born in Kumrovec.  He had substantial reputation in the world accomplished by his participation in anti – fascist struggle.

Republic of Croatia

The long time wished independence was declared in 1991. Democratic election and newly founded independent state led to Serbian aggression on Croatian territory. Franjo Tuđman was elected president on the first democratic elections. In 1992. Croatia was accepted internationally as independent and sovereign country. During the war, there were extremely difficult times in Croatia. Hundreds of centuries old dream, after many human casualties, is finally realized.

Pollen allergy is a known problem all over the world. Planning a trip to Croatia it is necessary to know about the air concentration of pollen in continental and Mediterranean climate. The prevalence of allergic reactions depends on the degree of allergenicity of pollen and their concentration in the air. After a heavy rain pollen concentration in the air decreases. Incorporating a range of concentrations and tables for specific groups of pollen.

• Green color – a small concentration of pollen
• Yellow color – mean concentration of pollen
• Red color – a strong concentration of pollen

[pollen calendar]

Working hours of the shops depend on the region, but most of them, especially in the tourist season, are open from 8AM to 8PM. Most of them are also working during weekends, though sometimes not in the evening.

Shopping malls and department stores in Croatia usually work from Monday to Sunday from 8AM to 21p.m.

Working hours of the public services and public companies is from 8AM to 4PM.

Bars and restaurants typically close by 11 PM on working days, while some bars are often opened until 1 AM or even longer on weekends.

List of Croatia’s biggest airports along with their contact information.

Airport Dubrovnik – www.airport-dubrovnik.hr, +385 (0)20 773 100
Airport Brač – www.airport-brac.hr, +385 (0)21 559 701
Airport Split – www.split-airport.hr, +385 (0)21 203 506
Airport Zadar – www.zadar-airport.hr, +385 (0)23 205 800
Airport Mali Lošinj – www.airportmalilosinj.hr, +385 (0)51 231 666
Airport Pula – www.airport-pula.hr, +385 (0)52 530 105
Airport Rijeka – www.rijeka-airport.hr, +385 (0)51 842 132
Airport Zagreb – www.zagreb-airport.hr, +385 (0)1 4562 222
Airport Osijek – www.osijek-airport.hr, +385 (0)31 514 400