Acquisition of ownership rights in real estate by foreign nationals

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

Citizens and legal persons from the Swiss Confederation

Citizens of the Swiss Confederation (natural persons)

Legal persons from the Swiss Confederation

• 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);

• 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).

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

• 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.