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Lost your job on a Croatian work permit? You can usually stay and look for a new one for 3 to 6 months, as long as you report to the employment office within 5 days. Below is what to do, in order.
If you’re from outside the EU, your Croatian work permit (dozvola za boravak i rad) is tied to your job. So when the job ends, the first worry is usually whether you have to leave the country.
Usually you don’t, at least not right away. A new employer can take you on using the permit you already have, and your old employer may still owe you notice pay, unused leave or severance.
The steps below run in the order you’ll need them, starting from your last day at work.
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Key Takeaways
- You can stay unemployed for up to 3 months if you’ve had your permit less than two years, or 6 months if longer.
- Report to HZZ within 5 days of your last day. Everything else depends on it.
- If your employer didn’t pay you on time or broke the law, you get 3 extra months, but you’ll need proof.
- You can switch employers on your current permit, usually after 6 months with the employer that brought you to Croatia.
- You can start the new job as soon as HZZ says yes, which should take about 5 days.
- Your old employer still owes you notice, unused leave and, after two years, severance.
- Once your window runs out, the permit ends and a late switch is rejected, so don’t cut it fine.
The Steps at a Glance
Reporting to HZZ comes first, because the rest of the process hangs on it.
- Tell HZZ within 5 days: the one deadline you can’t miss
- Check how long you can stay unemployed: 3 or 6 months, plus 3 if you were mistreated
- Collect your final paperwork and pay: notice, unused leave, severance
- Sort out your health insurance: contact HZZO within 30 days
- Apply for unemployment benefit if you qualify: also within 30 days
- Look for work and stay reachable: HZZ checks in
- Switch to your new employer: they file, you start on HZZ’s green light
- If time runs out, leave or reapply: before the window closes, not after
1. Tell HZZ Within 5 Days
You have to tell the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) you’re unemployed within 5 days of your job ending. If you only do one thing from this guide, do this.
Miss it and HZZ tells the police. Your permit is then at risk before you’ve sent out a single application.
Go to the HZZ office where you live as soon as your last day is confirmed. Take:
- Your passport and residence card
- Your OIB (personal identification number)
- Proof your job ended: the termination notice or contract, plus anything your employer handed you on your last day
Tip: Go on day one or two, not day five. If the queue’s long or you’re missing a document, you’ve still got time to come back.
Set a phone reminder the moment you’re told your job is ending.
2. Check How Long You Can Stay Unemployed
Your stay-and-work permit stays valid while you’re between jobs, but only for a while. You can be unemployed for:
- Up to 3 months: if you’ve had your stay-and-work permit for less than two years
- Up to 6 months: if you’ve had it for more than two years (Verified November 2026.)
Think of it as a time bank rather than one block. You can spend it in one go, or in a few short gaps between jobs, and every gap comes out of the same total.
Say you’re on a 3-month allowance. You’re out of work for 5 weeks, then you land a job that falls through. You’ve got roughly 7 weeks left, not a fresh 3 months.
The window also can’t outlive your permit. If your permit expires in six weeks, you’ve got six weeks, even if you’d normally get 3 months. Check the expiry date on your residence card before you plan anything.
Extra Time If Your Employer Mistreated You
You get 3 more months if your employer treated you badly. That counts if:
- You quit on the spot because of how your employer treated you
- Your wages weren’t paid on time
- Your employer is being prosecuted for labour offences
- The labour inspectors have opened a case over serious breaches, like unsafe work or unpaid contributions
- You’ve gone to court over harassment or bullying at work
You’ll have to prove it, so start a folder today. Payslips, bank statements, WhatsApp messages from your manager, rotas, photos of your accommodation. If it shows what happened, keep it.
Who Doesn’t Get This Time
Seasonal workers don’t get an unemployment window. A seasonal permit ends when the seasonal job does. A few special permit types are excluded too, so if your permit wasn’t issued for a regular job with a Croatian employer, ask your police station before you count on any of this.
3. Collect Your Final Paperwork and Pay
Your old employer still owes you money and documents, even if you left on bad terms. You’re owed exactly what a Croatian worker would get, permit or no permit, and some employers hope you don’t know that.
Notice Period
Unless you’re fired for serious misconduct, your employer has to give you notice. How much depends on how long you’ve worked there.
| Time with the employer | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 2 weeks |
| 1 year | 1 month |
| 2 years | 1 month and 2 weeks |
| 5 years | 2 months |
| 10 years | 2 months and 2 weeks |
| 20 years | 3 months |
If you’re let go because of your own misconduct, those periods are halved. During your notice, you get at least 4 hours a week off, on full pay, to look for work. Ask for them in writing if your employer doesn’t offer.
Unused Leave
Any annual leave you haven’t taken gets paid out when your contract ends. It’s worked out in proportion to the days you didn’t use, so check your leave balance against your final payslip.
Severance
If you’ve worked for the same employer for at least two years and they let you go, you’re owed severance (otpremnina). The minimum is a third of your average monthly pay over your last three months, for every full year you worked there. (Verified November 2026.)
In real numbers: if you averaged €1,200 a month and worked there 3 full years, you’re owed at least €1,200 (€400 for each year). The total is capped at six months’ pay unless your contract says more.
You don’t get severance if you resign, or if you’re fired for misconduct.
If Your Employer Hasn’t Paid You
If your employer misses a payment, they have to give you a written breakdown of what they owe by the end of that month. Take that paper to FINA, the state financial agency, and they can take the money straight from the employer’s bank account. No court case needed.
You can also report the employer to the labour inspectors. And unpaid wages work in your favour twice more: they add 3 months to your unemployment window, and they let you switch employers early (see step 7).
4. Sort Out Your Health Insurance
Your public health insurance through HZZO, the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, came with your job. When the job ends, contact HZZO within 30 days to find out how to stay covered while you look for the next one.
The rules for people on temporary stay are less clear than for Croatian citizens. Ask HZZO directly and get the answer in writing. If you’ve got private health insurance, check whether it keeps you covered between jobs.
Read more: Health Insurance in Croatia
5. Apply for Unemployment Benefit If You Qualify
Croatia’s unemployment benefit (novčana naknada) pays 60% of your previous average gross pay for the first 90 days, 35% for days 91 to 180, and 30% after that. (Verified November 2026.) To qualify, you need to:
- Have worked at least 9 months in the last 24 (people under 30 get an easier condition)
- Have lost the job through no fault or choice of your own: resigning, agreeing to leave, or being fired for misconduct rules you out
- Register with HZZ and file the claim within 30 days of your job ending
There’s a ceiling. Right now the most you can get is €1,014.30 a month for the first 90 days, €579.60 for days 91 to 180, and €507.15 after that.
So if you were earning €1,500 gross, the first three months would pay about €900 a month (60%, under the cap). Someone on €2,500 would hit the cap and get €1,014.30, not €1,500.
How long it’s paid depends on how long you’ve worked. It starts at 90 days if you’ve worked 9 months to 2 years, and rises in steps to 450 days for more than 25 years.
Our take: ask HZZ whether you can claim on a temporary stay permit, because the official pages don’t say either way. Even if you can, your permit window (3 or 6 months) usually runs out before the benefit does. Treat it as a cushion while you job-hunt, not a plan.
6. Look for Work and Stay Reachable
Once you’re registered, HZZ has to help you find work, and you have to play along. That means:
- Actively looking for a job
- Accepting suitable job offers
- Answering HZZ’s calls and invitations
If you don’t, HZZ reports it to the police, and that can cost you your permit. So keep your phone on, check your messages, and tell HZZ if your address changes.
Where to look:
- HZZ’s own job board: employers already used to hiring foreign workers often post here
- Your current trade: staying in the same kind of job is the easiest route, since you’re only changing employer, not occupation too
- Your network: colleagues and friends in your industry hear about openings before they’re advertised
Tip: Start looking during your notice period, using those 4 paid hours a week.
7. Switch to Your New Employer
You can move to a new employer on the permit you already have, so there’s no new permit to apply for. Your new employer does most of the paperwork.
Check You’re Allowed to Switch
You can switch employers any time your permit is valid, with one big exception. If your current permit is the one that brought you to Croatia, you have to work 6 months for that employer first. (Verified November 2026.)
You can leave sooner if your employer:
- Didn’t pay your wages on time
- Is being prosecuted for labour offences against you
- Is being investigated by the labour inspectors for serious breaches
- Is in court with you over harassment or bullying at work
This quick switch doesn’t work during a permit renewal, or once your permit has less than 30 days left. Then your new employer has to apply for a new permit the slow way.
What Your New Employer Does
Most of the work sits with the new employer:
- They ask HZZ to approve the job, which mostly means checking there’s no suitable local worker for it.
- They sign your employment contract.
- They tell the police within 3 days of signing, with your contract attached.
For you, the big deal is that once they’ve told the police, your unemployment clock stops. If the switch is refused, the clock restarts from the date the refusal takes effect, and you carry on with whatever time you had left.
When You Can Start Work
You can start working for your new employer as soon as HZZ approves the job. That should take about 5 days once HZZ has all the paperwork. (Verified November 2026.)
You don’t have to wait for the police decision before you start, so you’re not stuck at home unpaid for weeks.
How Long the Decision Takes
The police have 45 days to decide once they’ve got all the paperwork, including HZZ’s approval. If you filed within your unemployment window, you can stay in Croatia while you wait. Your existing permit stays valid until its original expiry date.
Only one switch can be in progress at a time. If a second employer files for you while the first is still pending, the second one’s rejected. So pick your job before anyone files, not after.
Tip: Ask your new employer for a copy of the notice and the date they filed it. If anything goes wrong later, that’s your proof you filed inside your window.
8. If Time Runs Out, Leave or Reapply
When your unemployment window ends without a new job, your stay-and-work permit ends with it. HZZ tells the police within 3 days of the window closing.
A switch or new permit filed after that is rejected. There’s no easy appeal either. The only way to fight it is in court, which is slow and expensive.
So if you can see the end coming, act while you still have options:
- Leave Croatia before the window closes, then have a future employer apply for a new permit from abroad
- Move to another type of stay, if you qualify through family, study or another route
Leaving on time keeps your record clean, and a clean record makes the next permit far easier. Before you go, ask your police station what to do with your residence card. Keep copies of your payslips and pension records too, since years worked in Croatia can count toward future benefits and toward permanent residence if you come back.
EU Blue Card Holders
EU Blue Card holders play by different rules. You can change employers for highly qualified work, and you just notify the police within 5 working days of signing the new contract. Your Blue Card stays valid until it expires. (Verified November 2026.)
Common Mistakes
These are the mistakes that cost workers the most:
- Missing the 5-day HZZ deadline: by far the most expensive one on this list, and the easiest to avoid.
- Quitting before the 6-month mark: if your first permit brought you here, walking out early can leave you with nowhere to switch to, unless your employer didn’t pay you or broke the rules.
- Believing threats about your permit: some employers tell workers their permit dies the moment they complain. It doesn’t. You get time to find new work, and extra time if you’re mistreated.
- Throwing away payslips: they’re your proof for the extra 3 months and the early switch.
- Paying agency fees to “keep” a permit: your permit depends on having a real job, not on an agency’s goodwill. Anyone charging you to stay legal is a red flag.
- Facing the police station alone: offices are busy and everything’s in Croatian. Bring a Croatian speaker if you can, and book ahead where your station lets you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I stay in Croatia if I lose my job?
Yes, for a while. Most stay-and-work permit holders can stay unemployed for up to 3 months, or 6 months if they’ve had the permit for more than two years. You must report to HZZ within 5 days to keep that protection.
What happens if I don’t tell HZZ within 5 days?
HZZ tells the police, and you risk losing the unemployment window that keeps your permit alive.
Can I change employers on a Croatian work permit?
Yes. Your new employer tells the police you’re switching and handles most of the paperwork. You usually need 6 months with the employer that brought you to Croatia first, unless they didn’t pay you or broke the law.
When can I start my new job?
As soon as HZZ approves the job, which usually takes about 5 days once it has the paperwork. You don’t need to wait for the police decision.
Do I get severance in Croatia?
Only if you’ve worked for the same employer for at least two years and they let you go for reasons other than your own misconduct. It’s at least a third of your average monthly pay for each year worked.
Can foreigners get unemployment benefit in Croatia?
Possibly, if you’ve worked 9 months in the last 24 and didn’t leave by choice. Check with HZZ that it applies to your permit type.
What happens when my unemployment time runs out?
Your stay-and-work permit ends. Any switch or new application filed after that is rejected, so leave or switch before the deadline.
Next Steps
If your job’s ending, do three things this week: report to HZZ, get your final pay statement in writing, and start calling employers in your trade.
Read more:
- Moving to Croatia
- How to Apply for an OIB and Biometric Residence Card in Croatia
- Open a Bank Account in Croatia
Sources Cited
- Narodne novine, changes to the Aliens Act (NN 55/2026): unemployment window, extra 3 months, 5-day HZZ notice, job-search duties, change of employer, 6-month rule, 45-day decision, Blue Card rules, entry into force.
- Labour Act, consolidated text (zakon.hr): notice periods, job-search time off, severance, unused leave, enforceable pay statements.
- HZZ, unemployment benefit after employment ends: eligibility, 30-day deadline, rates, caps and duration.
