Croatia's permit lets a Filipino work; the Philippines' exit rules decide whether the worker may leave. Every legal departure to Croatia runs through employer accreditation and contract verification at the Migrant Workers Office in Vienna, then the Overseas Employment Certificate in Manila. Here is what that means, document by document.
The Philippines regulates its workers' departure, not only its agencies: a Filipino leaving for overseas employment must hold an Overseas Employment Certificate, and the OEC is issued only against a contract verified by the Migrant Workers Office with jurisdiction for the destination and an employer that office has accredited. The system exists to keep workers out of exploitative contracts, and it is the reason Croatian employers who hire through us never meet a worker who arrived by a side door.
For Croatia the office is MWO Vienna. The DFA announced in October 2024 that the newly opened office would serve Filipinos in Croatia, Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia; the DMW's October 2025 directory confirms the jurisdiction.
Accreditation is a one-time registration of the employer with the DMW through MWO Vienna: company registration and business documents, evidence of the business activity, the manpower request and a special power of attorney or recruitment agreement naming our agency, and the standard undertakings on pay, housing, insurance and repatriation. We prepare the set; MWO Vienna verifies it and accredits the employer for the roles requested. Accreditation is renewed periodically and extended when new roles are added.
Each worker's employment contract — the same contract filed at MUP — goes to MWO Vienna for verification: pay at least at the Croatian statutory minimum or collective agreement, working hours and leave under Croatian law, accommodation, insurance, the employer's undertaking on repatriation, and the employer-pays principle the DMW and the Croatian Ministry of Labour confirmed on 14 October 2025. The verified contract is the basis for the Overseas Employment Certificate issued in Manila after the medical examination and pre-departure orientation. Without the OEC the worker does not clear Philippine immigration.
DMW Undersecretary Jainal Rasul Jr. and Croatian State Secretary Ivan Vidiš agreed a framework for Filipino workers in Croatia: the employer-pays principle, a government-to-government pilot for 435 hospitality positions, streamlined work permits and residence cards, joint pre-departure and post-arrival orientation, and better documentation for workers who reach Croatia through third countries. For a private employer the agreement does not replace accreditation; it tells you what MWO Vienna will look for.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office in Vienna, which has jurisdiction for Croatia, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. The Philippine ban on direct hiring applies; the employer is always your company, directly — the Croatian permit is issued to you, not to an agency.
Everything here is subject to the Foreigners Act as amended (NN 40/2025, NN 55/2026), the HZZ exemption list in force and MUP practice.
Two to four weeks once the documents are complete; it runs in parallel with sourcing, so it does not extend the timeline.
No. We file the accreditation and the contracts with MWO Vienna; your part is signing the documents.
No — Croatia is served by MWO Vienna, with regular outreach in Croatia (an OWWA service caravan ran in Split and Zagreb in September 2026).
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.