Licensed recruitment of skilled Filipino professionals for Croatian employers. Your company is the direct employer — we run selection in Manila, the Croatian permit process and the Philippine exit formalities end to end. From 1 worker.
Filipinos were Croatia's third-largest foreign workforce in 2026 and the only large one still growing. These guides cover the residence-and-work permit, the 2026 employer conditions, the HZZ exemption list, the seasonal route, MWO Vienna — and the sectors and regions that hire: hospitality, construction, shipyards, metal, transport, care.
Every Croatian project runs on the same backbone: you define the roles, headcount and start date; our own DMW-licensed agency in Manila, Prime Search, sources and trade-tests candidates; you approve the shortlist (on-site or online); and we manage the Croatian permit process under your power of attorney while the Philippine side — contract verification, medical, pre-departure orientation and the Overseas Employment Certificate — runs in parallel. The employment contract is signed and verified before departure; your new employee lands, completes local onboarding and clocks in.
The Croatian specifics below are the part that makes Croatia different from every other market we serve.
Residence and work permit (dozvola za boravak i rad) — up to 3 years. Croatia is one of the fastest-growing destinations for Filipino workers in the EU: 17,629 residence-and-work permits went to Philippine nationals in 2025 (fourth-largest nationality), and in January–September 2026 Filipinos were the third-largest group with 18,712 permits — after Bosnia and Herzegovina (22,565) and Serbia (19,886) — while the total market fell (MUP, September 2026 monthly statistics). The employer files one application for the combined residence and work permit online through the joint HZZ/MUP platform; the Employment Service runs a labour-market test unless the occupation is on the HZZ exemption list and gives its opinion on the employer's eligibility. The Foreigners Act was tightened in March 2025 and again in June 2026 (NN 55/2026): permits run for the contract period — up to three years, depending on the route — MUP has 90 days to decide, and the employer must meet turnover, headcount-ratio and accommodation conditions. In October 2025 the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers and the Croatian Ministry of Labour agreed the employer-pays principle and a government-to-government pilot for hospitality.
Labour-market test: Run by HZZ unless the occupation is on the exemption list adopted by the HZZ Administrative Board under Article 101; an occupation tested in the last 90 days is not tested again (2026 rule).
Shortage occupations: The HZZ exemption list (Administrative Board decision under Art. 101, last amended 22 March 2023) covers most construction and metal trades, welders, butchers, bakers and truck drivers in all counties, cooks and waiters in 12 counties, assistant cooks/waiters, chambermaids and cleaners in 9, bus drivers in seven counties and Zagreb. Not on it: care workers and nurses, machine and CNC operators, warehouse staff, couriers, receptionists, bartenders, agricultural workers — these go through the 15-day test. For listed occupations the required share of Croatian/EEA employees is 10 % instead of 20 %.
Deploying a Filipino worker abroad is regulated by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). MWO Vienna (attached to the Philippine Embassy in Vienna) has had jurisdiction for Croatia since October 2024 — employer accreditation and contract verification; Croatia was served from Milan before that. The verified contract, together with the job order approved by the DMW, allows the worker to obtain the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) — the exit clearance without which no Filipino worker can legally leave for a job abroad. Pre-employment orientation, medical examination at a DOH-accredited medical clinic authorised to examine overseas Filipino workers and pre-departure orientation complete the sequence. Because we operate the licensed agency ourselves, this runs in parallel with the Croatian permit rather than after it.
Typical gate-to-gate time for Croatia is 3–5 months from signed engagement to the first arrival, driven mainly by the Croatian permit and the embassy appointment in Manila. Sourcing and trade testing usually take two to four weeks and are not on the critical path. We give you a written timeline for your specific role before you commit.
Sectors where Croatian employers most often hire Filipino workers through us:
Our contractual partner is the employer, and it is the employer we invoice for the service. You receive an individual offer for Croatia covering sourcing, trade testing, documentation, the permit process and arrival support — there is no price list, because volumes, roles and the Croatian route differ from project to project. Direct employment means the worker's wage is paid by you under your Croatian contract; there is no intermediary employer.
A Croatian employer briefs us on roles and headcount. Within two to four weeks we present trade-tested candidates from Manila with video assessments; the employer interviews online and approves. We file the residence and work permit under power of attorney while Prime Search completes the DMW documentation. The employment contracts are signed and MWO-verified before departure; on arrival the workers complete registration and local onboarding and start on the floor — with our team reachable for the first months of integration. Whether the project is one specialist or a full shift, the mechanics are identical.
No. Tourism drives the summer peak, but shipyards, construction, manufacturing, transport and care homes hire year-round on three-year permits. Seasonal permits (up to nine months, and since 2026 multi-year for returning workers) are a separate route.
MUP issued 17,629 residence-and-work permits to Philippine nationals in 2025 (fourth-largest) and 18,712 in January–September 2026 — the third-largest nationality and one of the few large ones still growing (MUP monthly statistics, September 2026). The Philippine authorities counted roughly 12,000 Filipinos across Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia in October 2025.
NN 55/2026 (June 2026): turnover test €100,000 over 12 months, Croatian/EEA staff at 20 % of third-country headcount (10 % for exempt occupations), MUP decision within 90 days, change of employer after six months, Croatian A1.1 with renewals filed from 4 June 2027, multi-year seasonal permits.
Croatia is in Schengen and the euro area; the permit is national, the visa D is Croatian, and travel within the area is simpler once the card is issued.