GSM: + 385 99 825 8897
A: Gašpara Kalčića 5
Porec, Istria
HR - 52440
Republic of Croatia
Can foreign nationals buy property in Croatia ?
Yes, but after prior consent issued by the Ministry of legal affairs and the Ministry of foreign affairs. These statements on consent are issued to citizens of those countries Croatia signed a contract on reciprocity with and in extraordinary cases, to citizens of other countries as well. The procedure of obtaining the statement on consent is as follows: When a foreign citizen decides to purchase real estate in Croatia first a sales contract is to be signed with the selling party. At this phase the contract does not have to be verified before a public notary jet. Together with respective documentation, this contract is sent to the Ministry of foreign affairs in Zagreb. When the Ministry issues to the customer its statement on consent, the foreign citizen is entitled to register the real estate onto his name at the Municipal court -Cadastry department and pays the real estate purchase tax. Foreign citizens that establish, or already have an established company in Croatia, can purchase real estates on behalf of this company.
Acquisition of Immovable Property in Croatia Incorporation of a Croatian Company Information on legal requirements and costs related to acquisition of immovables in Croatia .
1. When a natural (or legal) foreign person purchases immovables in Croatia A foreign person (either natural or legal) may acquire the ownership of an immovable property in Croatia only - if the Croatian citizens may acquire ownership in that person's homeland (mutuality), and - subject prior approval of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is given, a positive opinion of the Croatian Ministry of Justice has to be obtained. Following documentation has to be presented to both Ministries: - Sale and Purchase Contract (which, until we get the approval is not legally valid), - Extract from the Land Register for the property in question, - Evidence of Citizenship for both the Buyer and the Seller(s), - Evidence that the land is not for agricultural use If the land is for agricultural use, it cannot be acquired by a foreign person.
2. Running business activities in Croatia A Croatian company may acquire immovable property in Croatia without limitation, notwithstanding the origin of the company's capital (i.e. even if it is fully owned by foreign legal or natural persons). The exception is the land for agricultural use, where the companies with foreign capital may not acquire ownership.
Foreign entrepreneur can run business activities in Croatia either by establishing a registered branch office of a foreign company, or by incorporation or investment in an existing Croatian company. 3. Incorporation of a Croatian company (CC) There are four types of company, but we shall mention only the two ones with the limited liability ( company limited by shares) and the company with limited liability, leaving the two others (partnership and limited partnership) out of the consideration. 1. Company limited by shares, is a company with the strictest legal regime. It is a company the basic capital of which is divided into shares, which are, more or less available for public trade. 2. Company with limited liability Members' liability is limited to the investment quote in the company's capital, which is stated in the Act of Incorporation, but the company is not entitled to issue shares. The company may be incorporated by and can have only one or more members. Once all documents are prepared, it may take approx. 1 month to complete the registration. Since the Act of Incorporation has to be a Croatian notarial deed, the Buyer has to come in Croatia to sign it before a Croatian Notary Public in the presence of a sworn Court interpreter . If the Buyer does not want to travel to Croatia , he may execute a special power of attorney (specifying all details of the company such as name, scope, capital etc.) authorising an attorney to execute the Act of Incorporation in Croatia on his behalf. The special POA has to be notarised and apostilled in the Country of issue and translated in Croatian. If a corporation is the founder of CC, then an original extract from the registry of the domicile country has to be provided, certifying the authority of the corporation's representative to sign the POA and other corporate papers for CC. To draft the special power of attorney and prepare the incorporation the following is needed:: - Proposals for the name of the Company. The name needs to be in Croatian or ancient languages. The use of the incorporator's name is permitted. - Address of the Company. - Names, address, passport nos. of all the incorporators (I have your name and passport no, but not the address, and I understood that you would not be the sole incorporator). - Name, address, ID no. of the director of the Company (a foreign person may be the director, and you can authorise another person with the domicile in Croatia to effect the transactions on behalf of the Company, which have to be done on day by day basis). - activity of the Company, - capital amount
What advantages are there in establishing a Croatian company to buy my house ?
The main advantage is: it should be quicker (Croatian companies don`t need to get permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The disadvantages are: the costs associated with setting up a company, maintaining it, and complying with all Croatian company legislation.
I know there was a war in Croatia. Is the country now stable ?
Yes ! The war ended in 1995 and, since then, Croatia has been working hard to encourage foreign investment and to strengthen trade and commercial relations with western countries. In 2000 Croatia joined the NATO Partnership for Peace Programme and also became a full member of the World Trade Organisation. In 2003 Croatia applied to join the EU and there are hopes this will happen in 2012.
How do I get there and how long does it take?
Flights from the UK to take 2 - 2.5 hours. Ryanair fly from London Stansted to Pula. Thomson fly fly from Manchester and Birmingham in the summer season. Flyglobespan fly from Durham Teeside airport to Pula in the summer months. There are many other flights into airports within 1-2 hours drive also to Istira. We would be happy to help advise on the best options on travel based on our local knowledge and your location in the UK.
How would I pay my household bills ?
The easiest way to pay utility bills (water, electric, phone etc.) is through a Croatian bank account. We would be happy to assist or advise you in setting up a bank account.
What does "clean title" mean, when considering buying a property in Croatia ?
Croatia has seen many changes during the past 100 years. Since being part of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, it experienced 2 world wars, a communist regime, and a regional war before emerging in the last decade of the 20th century as an independent and rapidly developing European country. All of these changes have naturally brought with them a host of problems relating to land and property ownership.
Some properties were confiscated by the communists (and now their original owners may want them back), often transfer of ownership was not registered (to avoid taxes), or property was inherited by all the children in a family, and every one of them must agree to sell.
"Clean title" means you know who owns the house (hopefully not more than one or two people), that their names are on the deeds and the ownership is registered, the property has a building permit (a formality for those built before 1968), and is accurately entered on the Cadastral map.
Yes, but after prior consent issued by the Ministry of legal affairs and the Ministry of foreign affairs. These statements on consent are issued to citizens of those countries Croatia signed a contract on reciprocity with and in extraordinary cases, to citizens of other countries as well. The procedure of obtaining the statement on consent is as follows: When a foreign citizen decides to purchase real estate in Croatia first a sales contract is to be signed with the selling party. At this phase the contract does not have to be verified before a public notary jet. Together with respective documentation, this contract is sent to the Ministry of foreign affairs in Zagreb. When the Ministry issues to the customer its statement on consent, the foreign citizen is entitled to register the real estate onto his name at the Municipal court -Cadastry department and pays the real estate purchase tax. Foreign citizens that establish, or already have an established company in Croatia, can purchase real estates on behalf of this company.
Acquisition of Immovable Property in Croatia Incorporation of a Croatian Company Information on legal requirements and costs related to acquisition of immovables in Croatia .
1. When a natural (or legal) foreign person purchases immovables in Croatia A foreign person (either natural or legal) may acquire the ownership of an immovable property in Croatia only - if the Croatian citizens may acquire ownership in that person's homeland (mutuality), and - subject prior approval of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is given, a positive opinion of the Croatian Ministry of Justice has to be obtained. Following documentation has to be presented to both Ministries: - Sale and Purchase Contract (which, until we get the approval is not legally valid), - Extract from the Land Register for the property in question, - Evidence of Citizenship for both the Buyer and the Seller(s), - Evidence that the land is not for agricultural use If the land is for agricultural use, it cannot be acquired by a foreign person.
2. Running business activities in Croatia A Croatian company may acquire immovable property in Croatia without limitation, notwithstanding the origin of the company's capital (i.e. even if it is fully owned by foreign legal or natural persons). The exception is the land for agricultural use, where the companies with foreign capital may not acquire ownership.
Foreign entrepreneur can run business activities in Croatia either by establishing a registered branch office of a foreign company, or by incorporation or investment in an existing Croatian company. 3. Incorporation of a Croatian company (CC) There are four types of company, but we shall mention only the two ones with the limited liability ( company limited by shares) and the company with limited liability, leaving the two others (partnership and limited partnership) out of the consideration. 1. Company limited by shares, is a company with the strictest legal regime. It is a company the basic capital of which is divided into shares, which are, more or less available for public trade. 2. Company with limited liability Members' liability is limited to the investment quote in the company's capital, which is stated in the Act of Incorporation, but the company is not entitled to issue shares. The company may be incorporated by and can have only one or more members. Once all documents are prepared, it may take approx. 1 month to complete the registration. Since the Act of Incorporation has to be a Croatian notarial deed, the Buyer has to come in Croatia to sign it before a Croatian Notary Public in the presence of a sworn Court interpreter . If the Buyer does not want to travel to Croatia , he may execute a special power of attorney (specifying all details of the company such as name, scope, capital etc.) authorising an attorney to execute the Act of Incorporation in Croatia on his behalf. The special POA has to be notarised and apostilled in the Country of issue and translated in Croatian. If a corporation is the founder of CC, then an original extract from the registry of the domicile country has to be provided, certifying the authority of the corporation's representative to sign the POA and other corporate papers for CC. To draft the special power of attorney and prepare the incorporation the following is needed:: - Proposals for the name of the Company. The name needs to be in Croatian or ancient languages. The use of the incorporator's name is permitted. - Address of the Company. - Names, address, passport nos. of all the incorporators (I have your name and passport no, but not the address, and I understood that you would not be the sole incorporator). - Name, address, ID no. of the director of the Company (a foreign person may be the director, and you can authorise another person with the domicile in Croatia to effect the transactions on behalf of the Company, which have to be done on day by day basis). - activity of the Company, - capital amount
What advantages are there in establishing a Croatian company to buy my house ?
The main advantage is: it should be quicker (Croatian companies don`t need to get permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The disadvantages are: the costs associated with setting up a company, maintaining it, and complying with all Croatian company legislation.
I know there was a war in Croatia. Is the country now stable ?
Yes ! The war ended in 1995 and, since then, Croatia has been working hard to encourage foreign investment and to strengthen trade and commercial relations with western countries. In 2000 Croatia joined the NATO Partnership for Peace Programme and also became a full member of the World Trade Organisation. In 2003 Croatia applied to join the EU and there are hopes this will happen in 2012.
How do I get there and how long does it take?
Flights from the UK to take 2 - 2.5 hours. Ryanair fly from London Stansted to Pula. Thomson fly fly from Manchester and Birmingham in the summer season. Flyglobespan fly from Durham Teeside airport to Pula in the summer months. There are many other flights into airports within 1-2 hours drive also to Istira. We would be happy to help advise on the best options on travel based on our local knowledge and your location in the UK.
How would I pay my household bills ?
The easiest way to pay utility bills (water, electric, phone etc.) is through a Croatian bank account. We would be happy to assist or advise you in setting up a bank account.
What does "clean title" mean, when considering buying a property in Croatia ?
Croatia has seen many changes during the past 100 years. Since being part of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, it experienced 2 world wars, a communist regime, and a regional war before emerging in the last decade of the 20th century as an independent and rapidly developing European country. All of these changes have naturally brought with them a host of problems relating to land and property ownership.
Some properties were confiscated by the communists (and now their original owners may want them back), often transfer of ownership was not registered (to avoid taxes), or property was inherited by all the children in a family, and every one of them must agree to sell.
"Clean title" means you know who owns the house (hopefully not more than one or two people), that their names are on the deeds and the ownership is registered, the property has a building permit (a formality for those built before 1968), and is accurately entered on the Cadastral map.