Acquisition of ownership rights in real estate by foreign nationals

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Citizens of the EU, Republic of Iceland, Principality of Liechtenstein and Kingdom of Norway

If you are an EU citizen or a legal person from an EU Member State, Republic of Iceland, Principality of Liechtenstein or Kingdom of Norway, you can acquire ownership rights in real estate in Croatia under the same conditions as Croatian citizens and legal persons with a registered seat in Croatia, with the exception of real estate in exempted areas – agricultural land is governed by a special law, so the acquisition of ownership rights in such land is not subject to consent by the Minister of Justice and Public Administration. However, please note that citizens and legal persons from the European Union cannot acquire agricultural land until 30 June 2023. 
 

Citizens and legal persons from the Swiss Confederation

Citizens of the Swiss Confederation (natural persons)

 
If you are a citizen of the Swiss Confederation, you can acquire ownership rights in real estate in Croatia under the same conditions as Croatian citizens and legal persons with a registered seat in Croatia, with the exception of real estate in exempted areas – agricultural land is governed by a special law, so acquisition of ownership rights in such land is not subject to consent by the Minister of Justice and Public Administration. However, please note that the documents enclosed with the proposal for registration of ownership that you submit to the competent land registry court must include a certificate of temporary residence. 
The procedure is laid down in the provisions of the Act on Ownership and Other Real Rights and the Act on General Administrative Procedure.


Legal persons from the Swiss Confederation

 
If you are a legal person from the Swiss Confederation, a consent of the minister responsible for judicial affairs is not required for the acquisition of ownership rights on the territory of the Republic of Croatia in the following cases:
  • for legal persons established in the Swiss Confederation if the real estate serves as a permanent establishment of a commercial, production or other type of business enterprise, sole proprietorship or independent profession.
  • the acquisition of such real estate includes the possibility of acquisition of apartments or facilities reserved for them that are designated by the regulations of local or regional self-government units as residential facilities only; 
  • for real estate already co-owned or owned by the legal person; 
  • for the exchange of a condominium unit, where the legal person is already a co-owner in the condominium;
  • for the acquisition of replacement land in the event of expropriation, land redistribution or consolidation in accordance with national regulations or regulations of local or regional self-government units; 
  • for the acquisition of real estate as a substitute for other real estate sold by the prospective owner to a public authority or institution;
  • for the acquisition of a small surface as a result of the adjustment of boundaries or as a result of an increase in the co-ownership share in a condominium;
  • for the acquisition which represents the state interest of the Republic of Croatia; the surface must not be larger than required for the intended purpose of the real estate (as a rule, already existing ownership of the real estate by the legal person is not assumed);

A consent of the minister responsible for judicial affairs for the acquisition of ownership rights in real estate on the territory of the Republic of Croatia is required in the following cases:
  • for indirect acquisition of land or for the acquisition of rights which place the prospective owner in a position similar to that of the owner of the land (e.g. for the acquisition of a share in a legal person established in Croatia, the actual purpose of which is to acquire (residential) real estate, unless the shares in the legal person (established in Croatia) are listed on a stock exchange in Croatia; 
  • if the real estate is to be used as a capital investment from the business activities of foreign and foreign-controlled insurance institutions authorised to operate in Croatia, subject to compliance with generally recognised investment principles and provided that the value of all the real estate of the prospective owner does not exceed the provisions considered technically necessary for business operations in Croatia by the competent authority for the supervision of the business  operations of the insurer; 
  • if the property is to be used for the social insurance of employees of domestic branches or solely for public benefit purposes; 
  • if the property is to be attached to a lien to guarantee the claims of foreign and foreign-controlled banks and insurance institutions licensed to operate in Croatia, in case of compulsory sale and liquidation settlements;
  • if the legal person acquires the real property as a successor or legatee, provided that the property is sold within two years;
  • if the legal person is controlled by a person from the Swiss Confederation (a legal person established in the Swiss Confederation or a natural person with Swiss citizenship without a legal and effective domicile in the Republic of Croatia), if, by virtue of their financial interest, voting rights or for other reasons, they could, alone or together with other persons abroad, have a decisive influence on the management or conduct of business operations (Control of the legal person by persons abroad is presumed if: (a) they hold more than one third of the share capital, equity capital or cooperative capital; (B) they hold more than one third of the votes in the general assembly or shareholders’ assembly; (C) if they represent a majority on the board of the foundation or a majority of the beneficiaries of the private law foundation; or (d) they provide repayable funds to a legal person which account for more than half of the difference between the assets of the legal person and its debts towards persons who are not obliged to obtain permission to acquire real estate).

Each individual case of acquisition of real estate in the Republic of Croatia by legal entities established in the Swiss Confederation will be assessed based on concrete overall circumstances.


Citizens of countries other than EU Member States, Republic of Iceland, Principality of Liechtenstein, Kingdom of Norway or Swiss Confederation 

Consent for the acquisition of ownership rights over real estate in Croatia by foreign citizens is a matter of administrative procedure conducted at the request of the foreign person who intends to acquire ownership over specific real estate or a person who intends to alienate the real estate, provided that there is reciprocity in the matter of acquisition of real estate ownership between the country of citizenship of the prospective owner and the Republic of Croatia. An updated list of countries which comply with the reciprocity principle is available under Information on reciprocity in the acquisition of ownership rights in real estate between the Republic of Croatia and countries other than EU Member States, Republic of Iceland, Principality of Liechtenstein, Kingdom of Norway or Swiss Confederation.

The procedure is laid down in the provisions of the Act on Ownership and Other Real Rights and the Act on General Administrative Procedure.

The (written) application must be submitted to the Registry and Archives Department or by post to the following address:
 
Ministarstvo pravosuđa i uprave Republike Hrvatske
Uprava za građansko, trgovačko  i upravno pravo
Ulica grada Vukovara 49, 10000 Zagreb
 
The following documents must be enclosed with the application form:
  • legal basis of the acquisition of ownership (real estate purchase agreement, deed of gift, lifelong support contract, etc.), the original or a certified copy,
  • proof of ownership by the seller of the relevant real estate, i.e. a copy from the land register, 
  • certificate of the administrative body competent for urban and physical planning, according to the location of the real estate, on the legal status of the real estate (whether it is within boundaries of the construction area envisaged by the urban development plan),
  • proof of citizenship of the prospective owner (e.g. certified copy of passport) or proof of legal entity status (copy from the court register) if the prospective owner is a foreign legal entity,
  • when the applicant is represented by an attorney-in-fact, the original power of attorney or a certified copy thereof must be submitted
  • if the applicant is abroad and has not designated an attorney-in-fact to represent them, they must designate an attorney-in-fact for receipt of documents with a domicile in Croatia.
NB:
The party will be invited to submit additional documents, within an appropriate period, if they are required for the procedure.