Leveraging Immigration for Croatia’s Prosperity

Leveraging Immigration forCroatia’s ProsperityPublic Disclosure Authorized Leveraging Immigrationfor Croatia’s Prosperity Disclaimer © 2025 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank1818 H Street NWWashington DC 20433Internet:www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings,interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views ofThe World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The bound-aries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do notimply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territoryor the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank encourages dissem-ination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercialpurposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to WorldBank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax:202-522-2625; email: pubrights@worldbank.org. Design and typesetting:Kuna zlatica, www.kunazlatica.hr Cover photos from left to right: © hxyume / iStock© PeopleImages / iStock© Aleksandar Malivuk / Shutterstock© GBJSTOCK / Shutterstock© alvarez / iStock© Alessandro Biascioli / iStock© Tran Van Quyet / iStock© SrdjanPav / iStock© Darren Baker / Shutterstock Table of Contents Table of Figures................................................................................................................................................... 5Boxes...................................................................................................................................................................... 6Abbreviations and Acronyms....................................................................................................................... 7Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................................... 8Overview............................................................................................................................................................... 9 1 /Background and Context.....................................................................................................................25 1.1. Demographic Challenges in Croatia........................................................................................261.2. Immigration as an instrument to fill labor shortages........................................................301.3. Profile of immigrants in Croatia................................................................................................... 341.4. Integration challenges for migrant workers............................................................................ 361.5. Attitudes towards immigration................................................................................................... 38 2 /Diagnostic of the Legislative and Institutional Immigration System in Croatia..............41 2.1. Framework to analyze the immigration system.................................................................... 422.2.1 Domestic legal system..........................................................................................................452.2.2 Enhanced cooperation models with third countries................................................. 482.2. Legislative framework for immigration.....................................................................................442.3. Institutional setting for immigration..........................................................................................502.4. System of entry and stay of immigrants.................................................................................. 532.4.1 The de jure system of entry and stay............................................................................... 532.4.2 Enforcement of the legal system of entry and stay.................................................... 562.5. Access to services for economic migrants............................................................................. 57 3 /Policy Actions to Enhance the Benefits of Migration in Croatia............................................65 3.1.Strengths and opportunities of the current migration system to enhance migrationas a development strategy.......................................................................................................... 663.2. Policy recommendations...........................................................................................