The Croatian Ministry of the Interior issued over 86,000 residence and work permits in the first eight months of 2022, mostly for new employment and less for seasonal workers.

Of the 86,032 residence and work permits issued this year, 53,544 were issued for new employment,  6,413 were permit extensions and 16,075 were issued for seasonal employment.

33,501 permits were issued for the construction industry, 28,191 for the tourism and hospitality industry, 10,916 for the manufacturing industry, 4,419 for transport and communications, and 1,866 for agriculture and fisheries.

26,166 residence and work permits were issued to citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 15,030 to citizens of Serbia, 8,079 to citizens of North Macedonia, 7,994 to citizens of Nepal and 6,0228 to citizens of Kosovo.

The Ministry noted that by 1 January 2021 residence and work permits had been issued to third-country nationals based on the government decision on the annual quota. Under the new Foreign Nationals Act, the government no longer sets annual quotas for the employment of foreign nationals, but such permits can be issued based on the opinion of the Croatian Employment Bureau.

By 4 October, 10,316 third-country nationals had been granted permanent or long-term residence in Croatia and 96,526 had a valid temporary residence permit. Most of the temporary permits (85,342) were issued for employment and 9,504 for a family reunion.