Labor Market Hit by Reforms: €100,000 Turnover, Local Hires, and 14 Square Meters
From autumn, Croatia introduces stricter conditions for employers hiring foreigners, digitizes school documents, and announces a new child allowance law.
From autumn, Croatia introduces stricter conditions for employers hiring foreigners, digitizes school documents, and announces a new child allowance law.
More than 105,000 workers from third countries and the companies that employ them will enter a completely new regulatory framework from September 2026-one that introduces financial filters, housing standards, and an obligation to hire Croatian nationals. After inspections uncovered tens of thousands of irregularities, the authorities have resorted to an extensive legislative overhaul that simultaneously touches the labor market, judiciary, energy, and education, seeking to respond to domestic pressures and European demands.
Employers wishing to hire workers from outside the EU will now have to prove they generate at least €100,000 in annual turnover and that their accounts are not blocked. This is just the first in a series of criteria aimed at cutting off the practice of bringing in hundreds of people without backing. A quota for domestic labor has also been introduced: between 10 and 20 percent of employees must be Croatian nationals, directly forcing employers to advertise for local staff as well.
Similarly, providing just any accommodation is no longer sufficient-a minimum of 14 square meters per person is now required, and the monthly rent cost must not exceed 30 percent of the worker's net salary. In addition, employers will have to provide evidence of employees' health status and vaccinations, moving control into medical documentation as well.
In parallel with tightening conditions for companies, workers are being given doors that were previously only ajar. After six months with one employer, changing jobs becomes significantly easier, and the period they are allowed to remain unemployed-without losing their regulated status-is extended from the current period to three to six months.
On September 1, a reformed system for selecting judges and state prosecutors also comes into force, designed as a lever to strengthen the independence and transparency of the judiciary. On the same date, the education sector concludes a multi-year digital transition: from the end of the 2025/2026 school year, all diplomas will be issued exclusively in electronic form. Documents will be permanently stored in a central registry and accessible via the e-Citizens platform, eliminating physical archiving, certification, and trips to counters-a relief that will be felt by both families and institutions.
The tenth package of government measures to mitigate the energy crisis guarantees that electricity prices for households, the public sector, and non-profit organizations remain unchanged until September 30, 2026. The state also intervenes at the pumps: without these measures, a liter of petrol would cost €1.71, but it is now capped at €1.62. However, short-term protection comes packaged with incentives for long-term self-sufficiency-€40 million in grants have been secured for installing solar panels and heat pumps, with the state covering up to 50 percent of the investment.
At the same time, generous subsidies for large projects-wind farms and large solar plants-are becoming history. The reasoning is simple: these technologies have become market-viable, and previous incentives have cost the state billions of euros.
By the end of September, a proposal for a new Child Allowance Act is also expected, with the ambition to increase benefit amounts, expand the circle of beneficiaries, and achieve a fairer distribution-a move directly linked to poor demographic indicators. Autumn also brings stricter rules for advertising products with ecological attributes: all claims about 'green' origins will have to be backed by credible evidence, closing the door to baseless marketing games.
