Croatia Adds Mandatory Health Exam for Residence Permit Renewals

Croatia has added a new hurdle to renewing temporary residence: as of April 30, 2026, third-country nationals subject to the country's visa regime must complete a mandatory medical examination before they can extend their permit. The change comes from a Rulebook amendment published in Croatia's Official Gazette (43/2026) and is already being enforced at renewal, according to the source report.

What changed

Before the amendment, extending a temporary stay meant submitting standard paperwork to the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) covering income, accommodation and health insurance. Now, affected applicants must add a full medical workup to that file, completed within 90 days before filing the extension request.

The exam is run by county public health institutes or the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) and screens for tuberculosis, typhoid and paratyphoid carriage, HIV, and hepatitis B and C. Anyone flagged with a communicable disease is referred for further diagnostics and treatment before their residence file moves forward.

There are also vaccination rules. Third-country nationals under 35 without proof of the required shots must be vaccinated or boosted against measles, polio, diphtheria and tetanus. People working in health or social care must add hepatitis B. Vaccine costs are covered by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO).

On cost, employers of foreign workers arrange the appointment and pay the invoice. Everyone else extending temporary residence from a visa-regime country pays out of pocket.

What it means for nomads

The scope matters here. Per the source, the rule explicitly targets nationals from visa-required countries. Digital nomads from visa-exempt countries appear to fall outside it as written. But anyone on a temporary stay who comes from a visa-required country should assume they are affected and plan accordingly.

The bigger practical issue is timing. Croatia's standard rules require you to file an extension no later than 60 days before your current permit expires (30 days for employed workers). The new health exam must be done within a 90-day window before you file. Stacking those deadlines together leaves roughly a month of usable overlap to get results back, handle any follow-up testing, and still file on time.

That's a tight squeeze. If you're renewing temporary residence in Croatia this summer or autumn and you're from a visa-regime country, the safest move is to book the medical exam early rather than waiting until close to your filing deadline. Building in buffer time protects you against lab delays or referrals for additional tests.

The wider residency framework in Croatia otherwise stays the same, so continue to keep your income, accommodation and health insurance documentation in order alongside the new medical requirement.

Originally reported by Stamped Nomad.