Russians and Ukrainians are the most numerous applicants for the digital nomad visa in Croatia

Although Croatia has received 1,070 official applications for the digital nomad visa so far, according to NomadLista data, there were as many as 4,200 digital nomads in Croatia just in August. This includes digital nomads with EU passports who do not need a residence permit in Croatia, as well as those who stay in Croatia for less than three months and also do not seek a permit for that. Of the 1,070 visa applications mentioned, 505 have been approved.

However, interesting changes have occurred in the nationalities of digital nomads who choose Croatia as their remote work destination. Until recently, Americans and Brits were among the most numerous digital nomads in Croatia, but now they have been surpassed by Russians and Ukrainians in terms of visa applications.

Official data shows that the highest number of visa applications has been submitted by Russians, 236 of whom 105 have been approved. Ukrainians follow with 235 applications and 109 approved visas. Americans are in third place with 177 applications and 95 approved visas, followed by digital nomads from the United Kingdom and Canada.

This change was pointed out by Jan de Jong, president of the Croatian Digital Nomads Association and one of the initiators of the digital nomad visa, who announced on his LinkedIn profile that the war in Ukraine has forced many digital nomads from Ukraine and Russia to leave their countries.

The second most desirable destination in the world

As de Jong explained to Lider, in a conversation with several digital nomads from Ukraine, he realized that there are two reasons why they decided to apply for a digital nomad visa in Croatia.

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Jan de Jong

photo Dražen Tomić

—First, since they had to leave their country due to circumstances, they became refugees. Due to the negative connotations of that word, which they certainly wanted to avoid, they decided to register as digital nomads. Second, although they had to leave their country, they still wanted to continue working and paying taxes in Ukraine, thereby continuing to contribute to the Ukrainian budget, which finances the defense against the Russian invasion.

On the other hand, de Jong explains, he did not have the opportunity to talk to digital nomads from Russia, but he assumes that many of them found it difficult to live in Russia due to Western sanctions, so they sought a better life as digital nomads in Croatia.

Indeed, Croatia is the second most desirable destination for digital nomads in the world, right after Japan. The favorite destinations for digital nomads are Split, Zagreb, Dubrovnik, and Zadar.

As de Jong concluded in his post, the Croatian digital nomad program is the largest initiative in the country that has inspired young, smart, and talented individuals to move to Croatia, just like the job offers at Rimac Automobili.