Croatia requires health exams for visa-regime renewals as of April 30

The new rule at renewal

Croatia now requires third-country nationals under its visa regime to pass a health examination before extending temporary residence, a step that didn't exist before the Rulebook amendment published in Official Gazette 43/2026. The change took effect April 30, 2026 and Croatian public health institutes confirmed the exam requirement is already being enforced at renewal.

Before the amendment, extending a temporary stay meant submitting the standard MUP paperwork on income, accommodation and health insurance. Now, applicants from visa-required countries must add a full medical workup on top of that file, completed within 90 days before filing the extension request.

What the exam covers

The examination, run by county public health institutes or the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), screens for tuberculosis, typhoid and paratyphoid carriage, HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. It includes:

• A health interview and medical history
• A physical exam
• A chest X-ray
• Stool testing for typhoid and paratyphoid pathogens
• Blood tests for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C

Anyone flagged with a communicable disease gets referred for further diagnostics and treatment before the residence file moves forward.

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

Who pays and who has to act

Employers of foreign workers arrange the appointment, issue the referral and pay the invoice from the public health institute. Everyone else extending temporary residence from a visa-regime country pays out of pocket, per the Ministry of Health decision.

Digital nomads from visa-exempt countries appear to sit outside the scope as written, since the rule explicitly targets visa-regime nationals. Nomads on the temporary stay who come from visa-required countries should assume they're in. The wider rules on Croatia's residency framework still apply, including the MUP deadline to file an extension no later than 60 days before the current permit expires or 30 days for employed workers per the EU Immigration Portal.

The practical squeeze: anyone renewing this summer or fall needs to book the health exam now. The 90-day pre-application window is tight against the 60-day filing deadline, leaving roughly a month of usable overlap to get results back, chase any follow-up tests and still file on time.