Let’s face it, Croatia is one of the most beautiful places to live and work in. Whether you are an entrepreneur thinking about how to start an up-scale business, or a digital nomad trying to find a safe haven to set-up your residence, Croatia is the perfect choice. A country with low costs of living, friendly people and a magical landscape is everything an entrepreneur could ask for, right?

Considering that the Croatian government plans to introduce a digital nomad visa, this is the right time to begin planning setting up your business. If you would like to know how to start a business in Croatia, check out these 5 steps Aestus accounting team summed up for you to follow.

How to start a business in Croatia in 5 steps

1. OIB (Personal identification number)

Firstly, OIB is assigned to foreigners in local Tax Administration offices. For the purposes of OIB assignation, foreigners are obliged to submit a valid ID issued in the country of citizenship with the filled-out application form.

2. Notary public

Secondly, it is necessary to certify the following documents with a notary public:

• the application for court register entry,
• the founding act – company contract (signed by all founders) or statement of establishment (if the company is founded by only one person). All founders and directors must be present unless it’s otherwise agreed with a certified power of attorney. Also, certification costs range between 2.000,00 and 2.500,00 kunas. All documentation in a foreign language must be translated by a court interpreter.

3. FINA (Financial agency)

Third, the court register application along with the necessary attachments, such as minimal initial capital deposit in the amount of 20.000,00 kunas, is submitted at the HITRO.HR counter in Fina, which initiates the procedure for the court register entry.

4. Payment of fees and documents submission

Also, it is necessary to pay the initial capital within 8 days, after which the notary public can apply for the company opening and it will be completed within 1-3 days.

Other expenses occuring in this phase are:

• court fee for the founding capital payment (400,00 kn),
• court fee for notice in Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia (900,00 kn),
• business Classification Notice (55,00 kn) and
• company stamp (200,00 kn).

5. Bank account

You’re almost there! Finally, the last step includes creating a bank account and the mandatory application for the Croatian Health and Pension Insurance. You can do that by completing the Company registration. In order to open a bank account, you will need the following:

• an excerpt from the court register or court register entry certification,
• a notice on the classification of the Central Bureau of Statistics,
• a passport or an ID card.

And there it is, complete these five steps and soon after you can start grinding in our beautiful country.

We understand if it’s a lot to handle, after all there is a lot of paperwork and procedures to complete. Our team of professional accountants can be of help and we would be glad to guide you through the process. Let us know by sending an email to aestus@aestus.hr or simply fill out our contact form.