Long-Term Residence for EU Blue Card Mobility

What exact status does accumulated residence lead to?

Long-term residence in Croatia, reached by an EU Blue Card holder.

See recorded sources

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Long-term residence may be granted to an EU Blue Card holder who, prior to the submission of the application, has had a granted EU Blue Card in the Republic of Croatia for an uninterrupted period of five years.

What qualifying residence period is required and when does the period begin?

Five uninterrupted years as an EU Blue Card holder in EU member states, of which at least two years as a Blue Card holder in Croatia immediately before the application.

See recorded sources

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Exceptionally, long-term residence may be granted to third-country nationals who have lived in other EU Member States as EU Blue Card holders for an uninterrupted period of 5 years, at least 2 of which as EU Blue Card holders in the Republic of Croatia prior to submitting their application.

Which types of residence count fully, partially or not at all where the official rules specify this?

Residence as an EU Blue Card holder in other EEA member states counts towards the uninterrupted five-year period, of which at least two years prior to submitting the application must be as an EU Blue Card holder in Croatia.

See recorded sources

Limits of the record

The page does not state that only Blue Card time counts, nor whether time on other permits (e.g. ordinary work permit, study) counts partially for this route; the general exclusion/half-counting rules are on the permanent-stay page (capture 8ad2…).

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Exceptionally, long-term residence may be granted to a third-country national who has resided as an EU Blue Card holder in the territory of other EEA Member States for an uninterrupted period of five years, of which at least two years prior to the submission of the application as an EU Blue Card holder in the Republic of Croatia.

What absence/continuity rules affect accumulation of the qualifying residence period?

The general long-term-residence continuity rule: absences totalling no more than 10 months over the five years, or no more than 6 months at a time.

See recorded sources

Limits of the record

Stated for long-term residence generally on the permanent-stay page; the Blue Card page publishes no absence rule specific to Blue Card mobility, and does not say how absences are assessed for the years spent in other member states.

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It is considered that third-country nationals have stayed in the Republic of Croatia for an uninterrupted period of time if their several-time absence from the Republic of Croatia within a period of five years did not exceed 10 months, or if their one-time absence did not exceed 6 months.

What other major conditions apply, how is the status obtained, and what renewal, document-validity, retention or loss rules matter?

For Croatian long-term residence on the EU Blue Card route, the applicant must hold a valid EU Blue Card both when applying and when the Ministry decides. In addition to the qualifying residence period, the applicant must have a valid foreign travel document, sufficient means, health insurance, knowledge of Croatian and the Latin script, and pose no threat to public policy or national security. The application is submitted to the local police administration or station and decided by the Ministry of the Interior. Once granted, long-term residence is an indefinite status; the separate biometric residence card must be requested within eight days of approval and is issued for five years. The card must be replaced when its validity expires, details change, it is damaged or worn, or its photograph no longer matches; the replacement request goes to the local police administration or station within eight days of that event. Statutory loss grounds include an entry ban or SIS alert, absence from Croatia for more than six years, public-order, national-security or public-health grounds, long-term residence acquired in another EEA state, annulment of asylum or subsidiary protection where relevant, or the holder’s request to withdraw status. For a former EU Blue Card holder whose residence permit carries the statutory notation, more than 24 consecutive months outside the EEA is the special absence ground in place of the general 12-month rule.

See recorded sources

Limits of the record

Article 134(3) on the qualifying residence period was replaced by the 2026 amendment; those year-counting conditions belong to the route’s residence-period answer, not this R5 answer.

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(2) Državljanin treće zemlje u trenutku podnošenja zahtjeva za odobrenje dugotrajnog boravka i u trenutku odlučivanja o tom zahtjevu mora imati važeću »plavu kartu EU-a«.
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In addition to the above condition, long-term residence will be granted to an EU Blue Card holder who holds a valid foreign travel document, has means of subsistence, health insurance, knows the Croatian language and the Latin script, and does not pose threat to public policy or national security.
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Članak 152. (1) Zahtjev za odobrenje dugotrajnog boravišta državljanin treće zemlje podnosi u policijskoj upravi odnosno policijskoj postaji prema mjestu boravišta. (2) O zahtjevu za odobrenje dugotrajnog boravišta odlučuje Ministarstvo.
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3. dugotrajnom boravku (neograničeno)
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(1) Na postupak ukidanja dugotrajnog boravka bivšeg nositelja »plave karte EU-a« na odgovarajući se način primjenjuje članak 155. ovoga Zakona.
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(2) Iznimno od članka 155. stavka 1. točke 2. ovoga Zakona, bivšem nositelju »plave karte EU-a« iz članka 134. stavka 6. ovoga Zakona i članu njegove obitelji, kao i životnom ili neformalnom životnom partneru iz članka 134. stavka 10. ovoga Zakona ukinut će se dugotrajni boravak ako su neprekidno boravili izvan područja EGP-a dulje od 24 mjeseca uzastopno.
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(6) Nositelju »plave karte EU-a« kojem je odobren dugotrajni boravak u dozvolu boravka unijet će se napomena »bivši nositelj plave karte EU-a«.
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7. BIOMETRIJSKA DOZVOLA BORAVKA Zahtjev za izdavanje dozvole boravka (biometrijska isprava) dužan je podnijeti državljanin treće zemlje na: privremenom boravku (uključujući i državljane trećih zemalja kojima je izdana dozvola za boravak i rad, osim sezonskih radnika kojima je izdana dozvola za boravak i rad do 90 dana), dugotrajnom boravku ili stalnom boravku u roku od osam dana od dana odobrenja privremenog boravka, dugotrajnog boravka ili stalnog boravka u Republici Hrvatskoj, a državljanin treće zemlje kojem je izdana dugotrajna viza (temeljem odobrenog privremenog boravka ili dozvole za boravak i rad) zahtjev za izdavanje dozvole boravka može podnijeti u roku od 30 dana od početka valjanosti dugotrajne vize.
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(3) Dozvola boravka državljaninu treće zemlje kojemu je odobreno dugotrajno boravište ili stalni boravak izdaje se s rokom važenja od pet godina.
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Članak 155. (1) Dugotrajno boravište ukinut će se državljaninu treće zemlje ako: 1. ima zabranu ulaska u Republiku Hrvatsku i boravka u Republici Hrvatskoj ili izdano upozorenje u SIS-u u svrhu zabrane ulaska 2. je neprekidno boravio izvan područja EGP-a u razdoblju od 12 uzastopnih mjeseci 3. je izbivao iz Republike Hrvatske duže od šest godina 4. to zahtijevaju razlozi zaštite javnog poretka, nacionalne sigurnosti ili javnog zdravlja 5. je stekao status dugotrajnog boravišta u drugoj državi članici EGP-a 6. mu je poništen azil ili supsidijarna zaštita 7. je podnio prijedlog za ukidanje dugotrajnog boravišta.
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Članak 171. (1) Dozvola boravka mora se zamijeniti: 1. u slučaju promjene podataka 2. kada je oštećena ili dotrajala tako da više ne služi svrsi 3. kada fotografija na dozvoli boravka više ne odgovara izgledu osobe 4. istekom roka važenja. (2) Zahtjev za zamjenu dozvole boravka podnosi se policijskoj upravi odnosno policijskoj postaji prema mjestu boravišta odnosno prebivališta u roku od osam dana od dana nastupa okolnosti iz stavka 1. ovoga članka.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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What exact status does accumulated residence lead to?

What qualifying residence period is required and when does the period begin?

Which types of residence count fully, partially or not at all where the official rules specify this?

What absence/continuity rules affect accumulation of the qualifying residence period?

What other major conditions apply, how is the status obtained, and what renewal, document-validity, retention or loss rules matter?

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