Dutch Entrepreneur Split-Based: Croatia Should adopt Digital Nomad Visas

The Dutch entrepreneur, who has been living in Split, Croatia for almost 14 years, has called on Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic to follow Estonia's example and, as soon as possible, implement visas for digital nomads.

In an open letter sent to PM Plenkovic, entrepreneur Jan de Jong, born in the Netherlands, pointed out that in recent months he has been trying to promote Croatia as a country where digital nomads live and work. He states in his letter that his LinkedIn post about digital nomads earned over 450,000 views.

As a result, my inbox on LinkedIn is full of messages from individuals from all over the world who are seriously considering taking this measure, but they all wonder "how"? 'De Jong wrote, describing his letter's intent.

Imagine offering the right to come and work from Croatia up to max to those digital nomads. 12 months under a digital nomad visa, regardless of their nationality. Like the recently introduced Estonia, he said,

He further pointed out that, outside the tourism season, many apartments remain empty in Croatia, and owners have trouble seeking tenants. Digital nomads could use the digital nomad visa to occupy these apartments and improve Croatia's economy by consumer spending.

Why not open Croatia to highly paying digital nomads if we open Croatia to tourists? "At the end of his message, de Jong asks.

Over 5,000 people responded to De Jong's Facebook post, and about 400 others replied, mostly in support of the idea.

In an interview with Total-Croatia about the concept, de Jong clarified that digital nomads are people who can operate remotely, are not bound to one location, and only need access to the internet. When traveling the globe, they prefer this way of working.

He says estimates claim that there will be around a billion digital nomads worldwide by 2035. I believe that Croatia's digital nomad tourism is a big opportunity because it can turn it into a destination all year round.

He also takes Estonia as an example, which country he says was a success with its step in international media because it was the first country to implement a digital nomad visa, inviting highly qualified and highly paying teleworkers to their country, where they will eventually live and spend their salaries for a while.

'Croatia's key benefit is year-round tourism and the arrival in Croatia of highly paying workers who will not take jobs and invest their incomes. In Bali, which has a population comparable to Croatia, there are reportedly 50,000 digital nomads. If these figures could be achieved in Croatia, assuming that each nomad spends approximately ten thousand kunas a month on living, i.e. renting an apartment and a car, groceries, going to a hairdresser and dentist, etc., they could reach 500 million kunas, which goes directly into the monthly budget, de Jong says.

The Estonian Government approved the amendments to the Alien Act back in June to allow the development of a digital nomad visa, making Estonia one of the first countries in the world to set up such a visa. An Estonian digital nomad visa would allow internationals to work in the country who are engaged in employment irrespective of location and time, in particular in the field of technology, finance or marketing.

Both short-term and long-term stay plans will be granted. The Estonian Ministry of the Interior claims that approximately 1,800 individuals may be able to apply for an Estonian automated nomad visa each year.