Expat insurance and health insurance in Croatia

The Croatian healthcare system rests on a single public fund, the Hrvatski zavod za zdravstveno osiguranje (HZZO), the country’s sole purchaser of healthcare services: it signs contracts with all public and private providers and oversees their delivery, under the supervision of the Ministry of Health. This is a notable difference from neighbouring Slovakia, where three funds (VšZP, Dôvera, Union) share the market under regulated competition: in Croatia there is no choice of fund. Mandatory registration for an employee is funded by a contribution of 16.5% of gross salary, paid entirely by the employer — the employee pays no direct contribution for this risk, unlike most countries in the region.

The benefits basket funded by HZZO covers primary, specialist and hospital care, medicines on the reimbursement list, dental care and prostheses, orthopaedic prostheses, and certain care received abroad. Medicines on the basic list are free; for other reimbursable medicines, a co-payment remains at the patient’s expense for each prescription, waived for certain conditions or categories of patients. Optional supplementary insurance (dopunsko osiguranje), offered by HZZO itself or by private insurers, removes these residual co-payments; its price changes regularly (around 15 EUR a month in early 2026 according to the Croatian financial press) and should be checked directly with HZZO before signing up.

• Stay of less than 90 days: no visa required for an EU citizen with a valid passport or national identity card.
• Stay of more than 90 days: an 8-day deadline to file a residence application with the competent authorities (the local police, the MUP) of the place of residence in Croatia, with supporting documents that vary by situation (employment status for an employee, enrolment and health insurance for a student, sufficient means and health insurance for a non-working person or a retiree).
• HZZO registration: mandatory for any employee from the start of their activity in Croatia, declared and fully paid for by the employer (16.5% of gross salary). A self-employed person registers and contributes directly to HZZO, on their declared income.
• Without HZZO registration or European coverage: care is billed at full rate by the facility, public or private, with rates varying by facility and not published uniformly.
• Student: the EHIC is enough for a temporary stay (Erasmus-type); beyond that, local HZZO registration or supplementary student insurance is still recommended during the administrative transition period.
• Seconded employee : up to 24 months (extendable), stays on the French scheme via form A1, exempt from local registration.
• Retiree: form S1 from their French pension fund before departure, for coverage under the Croatian system with no new contribution of their own.

No individual fine is mentioned in the sources consulted for failing to register, but the employer remains required to declare their employee; for the expat themselves, the risk is above all financial, with no help from the French embassy for uncovered care.

As Croatia has been an EU member since 1 July 2013, there is no classic bilateral agreement with France: coordination goes through the EU regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009, as with other member states. Croatia has also been a member of the Schengen area and the eurozone since 1 January 2023 — a double accession on the same day, rare in Europe, which ended checks at land and sea borders with Slovenia, Hungary and Italy (air border checks removed on 26 March 2023) and replaced the kuna with the euro.

• Temporary stay: the EHIC grants the same coverage as a local insured person at HZZO-network providers; if the card is forgotten or lost, a provisional replacement certificate (PRC), valid for 3 months, grants the same rights.
• Secondment: form A1, staying on the French scheme for up to 24 months (extendable), exempt from local registration.
• Long-term move: direct registration with HZZO (through the employer for an employee, directly for a self-employed person); form S1 for a retiree, covered under the Croatian system with no new contribution of their own.
• The EHIC covers neither repatriation, nor planned care, nor a long-term move; on return, a stay not covered in advance can be reimbursed after the fact via form S3125, up to actual costs.

1. Before departure: notify French agencies of your departure (CPAM, CAF, France Travail, pension funds).
2. Seconded employee: request form A1 from your French fund before departure.
3. Retiree: request form S1 from your pension fund before departure.
4. Before departure or on arrival: request the EHIC to cover the transition period.
5. For a stay of more than 90 days: file a residence application with the MUP (local police) within 8 days of arrival.
6. Locally hired employee: check with your employer that HZZO registration is done from the start of the employment contract.
7. Self-employed: register and contribute directly with HZZO.
8. Depending on your needs: ask HZZO about the dopunsko osiguranje supplementary insurance to remove residual co-payments.
9. Register with the roll of French nationals living abroad (French embassy in Zagreb).