In Croatia, the number of foreign workers arriving each month is steadily increasing, and according to some estimates, there will be as many as half a million of them in our country within seven years, which represents a quarter of the workforce.

Foreign workers face a range of problems that are planned to be addressed by amendments to the Foreigners Act, presented yesterday by Ministers Davor Božinović and Marin Piletić, reports HRT. 

The system, among other things, is planned to be regulated by issuing longer work permits, stricter controls on employers, introducing blacklists and six-year penalties, as well as language learning programs.

“Although the law has long existed in our legislation, the amendments carry weight because as a nation, we are faced for the first time with an increase in issued permits for the stay of foreigners, which means that Croatia is becoming not only a country of emigration but also immigration. It is becoming a country that has fully integrated internationally into the circle of democratic states, which has brought economic growth and state standards, making it a more attractive destination for work for people from other parts of the world, not just neighbouring countries as we are used to, said Božinović.

Immigrantion is necessary

He added that “Given the demographic trends and the decrease in population, as well as depopulation in parts of Croatia, it is clear that immigration is necessary to meet the demands of the labour market in order to maintain the number of economically active population and for the economy and the state to function optimally. The number of legal entries into Croatia is increasing, and we are doing everything we can to prevent illegal entries.”

The largest number of immigrants to Croatia are foreign workers brought in by employers, people with lower levels of qualifications. There is a fluctuation among them, and they mostly temporarily reside in Croatia.

Majority of foreign workers in construction

He emphasized that the need for labour is far greater than the available workers in sectors such as construction, industry, transportation, and hospitality.

“The domestic population is aging, and the number of workers is decreasing, so there is a need for importing labour to maintain the competitiveness of the economy, to attract investments, but also to maintain the pension, health, and social system,” Božinović emphasized.

The number of employed persons has increased by 98,626 in the last few years, while the number of unemployed has decreased by 45,625. The number of issued work and residence permits from 2016 to the end of 2023 was 96,086, of which 8,000 were from EU member states, and the rest were third countries.

Speaking of activities, the highest number of permits were issued in construction (44 percent), tourism (25 percent), transportation (6 percent), and trade (3 percent), while all other activities accounted for 9 percent.

As for nationalities, in 2023, we had 28,000 workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 24,000 from Serbia, 23,000 from Nepal, 15,600 from India, 13,400 from Macedonia, almost 10,000 from Kosovo, 8,749 from Bangladesh, 5,000 from Turkey, and 4,244 from Albania.