Croatian public transport crossed the line in 2023: Zagreb's ZET put Filipino and Nepali drivers behind the wheel, Rijeka's Autotrolej recruited abroad from February 2024, and Split's Promet prepared to. Hauliers followed. Drivers are on the HZZ exemption list; the Croatian licence and the Code 95 qualification are the planning items.
Croatia exchanges non-EU driving licences at the police administration on application with a medical certificate and, where needed, a translation; whether a category is exchanged without a test depends on the issuing country and the category. For professional categories — C and CE for trucks, D for buses — Croatian employers plan for the Croatian licence and the Code 95 initial qualification to be obtained in Croatia, and the largest employers finance it: ZET's public calls fund training and qualification for new bus drivers, foreign or domestic. We build that phase into the plan: the worker arrives on the permit, completes licensing and Code 95 with the employer's driving school, and starts on the road in the following weeks, with yard, depot or assistant duties in between where the employer wants them productive from day one.
Professional drivers with five years or more on heavy trucks or buses — Philippine long-haul and Gulf fleets are the main pools — with verifiable records, English, and a temperament for European traffic. In Makati they drive: manoeuvring, coupling, a road test, pre-trip inspection and a tachograph-rules briefing; bus candidates add passenger handling. You watch live or on the recording and interview the shortlist. We also check the Philippine licence classes and restriction codes against the Croatian categories you need.
The route is Croatia's combined residence-and-work permit: you file one application online through the joint HZZ/MUP platform, HZZ runs the labour-market test unless the occupation is on its exemption list and gives its opinion on your eligibility, MUP decides within 90 days, and the permit runs for the contract period — up to three years, depending on the route. Before anything is filed we check the 2026 employer conditions — €100,000 turnover over the last twelve months, at least one Croatian or EEA employee for the previous year, Croatian/EEA staff at 20 % of third-country headcount (10 % for exempt occupations), no arrears, adequate accommodation.
Transport pay follows the company's agreement with per-diem structures stated in the contract; accommodation must meet the standard for the whole stay. Drivers on standard permits show Croatian A1.1 at the first renewal — depot Croatian comes fast — and bus drivers in public service learn route vocabulary in the training phase.
Pay must be at least the statutory minimum — €1,050 gross a month in 2026 — or the extended sector collective agreement where one applies (construction, hospitality), and accommodation must meet the legal standard for the whole stay; we put both in the offer before the interview so nothing is renegotiated at the police counter.
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.
Only with the Croatian category and Code 95 in hand. Plan the licensing phase; the large operators already do, and finance it.
Yes, once licensed — Croatian CE drivers run EU routes; the permit is Croatian, the employer is Croatian, the work is EU-wide.
Bus drivers are exempt from the labour-market test in eight counties and the City of Zagreb; elsewhere HZZ runs the 15-day test, which rarely produces domestic candidates.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.