Croatian nationals

This section explains Croatian nationals' right to live and work in the UK following the accession of Croatia to the European Union on 1 July 2013.

From 1 July 2013 Croatian citizens will become European Economic Area (EEA) nationals. Like all EEA and Swiss nationals from 1 July 2013 you can enter and live in the UK without needing to apply for our permission.

To enter the UK you will not need a visa but must provide evidence of your identity in the form of either your Croatian passport or identity card.

You will be able to reside in the UK for the first three months from your date of entry if you can support yourself and your family in the UK without becoming an unreasonable burden on public funds.

If you want to stay for longer than three months you will need either to be working, self-employed, a self sufficient person or a student. This is called exercising your Treaty rights. If you want to work as an employee in the UK, you will normally need our permission before you start work. You may need to obtain an accession worker registration certificate (called a "purple registration certificate").

For further information see the 'Living and Working in the UK' page.

Blue registration certificate

When you have been working legally as an employee in the UK for 12 months without a break, you will have full rights of free movement and will no longer need our permission to take work.

You can then apply for a blue registration certificate to confirm your right to live and work here, but this is not mandatory.

Yellow registration certificate

If you are a student in the UK, you can take employment for up to 20 hours a week during term time and full-time during vacations, but you must first obtain a yellow registration certificate confirming that you are a student.

You do not need our permission to work in a self-employed capacity. You can apply for a yellow registration certificate to confirm your right to work as a self-employed person in the UK, but this is not mandatory.

To find out how to apply for these registration certificates, see the applying page.