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Here we give you the answers to FAQ
concerning purchase of real estates in the Republic of
Croatia. In Croatia we have plenty of legal acts and
laws concerning traffic of real estates and in
connection with real estates in general. It is not our
intention to bore you with the local legislation, but to
give short and simple answers on issues that might be of
interest to you. In case there are questions that are
not contained here, feel free to contact our agency
directly. |
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WHICH DOCUMENTATION IS TO BE
PRESENTED BY THE CUSTOMER WHEN PURCHASING REAL ESTATES
IN CROATIA! |
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Proof of Croatian citizenship, either
in form of citizenship certificate, passport or personal
identification card. A copy of any of the above is
accepted in case the original can be shown
simultaneously. |
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ARE
FOREIGN CITIZENS ENTITLED TO PURCHASE REAL ESTATES IN
CROATIA? |
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Yes, but after prior consent issued by the Ministry of
legal affairs and the Ministry of foreign affairs. These
statements on consent are issued to citizens of those
countries Croatia signed a contract on reciprocity with
and in extraordinary cases, to citizens of other
countries as well. The procedure of obtaining the
statement on consent is as follows: When a foreign
citizen decides to purchase real estate in Croatia first
a sales contract is to be signed with the selling party.
At this phase the contract does not have to be verified
before a public notary jet. Together with respective
documentation, this contract is sent to the Ministry of
foreign affairs in Zagreb. When the Ministry issues to
the customer its statement on consent, the foreign
citizen is entitled to register the real estate onto his
name at the Municipal court - Cadastry department and
pays the real estate purchase tax. Foreign citizens that
establish, or already have an established company in
Croatia, can purchase real estates on behalf of this
company.
Acquisition of Immovable Property in Croatia
Incorporation of a Croatian Company Information on legal
requirements and costs related to acquisition of
immovable in Croatia. |
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1. When a natural (or
legal) foreign person purchases immovable in Croatia
A foreign person (either natural or legal)
may acquire the ownership of an immovable property in
Croatia only - if the Croatian citizens may acquire
ownership in that person's homeland (mutuality), and -
subject prior approval of the Croatian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. Before the approval of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs is given, a positive opinion of the
Croatian Ministry of Justice has to be obtained.
Following documentation has to be presented to both
Ministries: - Sale and Purchase Contract (which, until
we get the approval is not legally valid), - Extract
from the Land Register for the property in question, -
Evidence of Citizenship for both the Buyer and the
Seller(s), - Evidence that the land is not for
agricultural use If the land is for agricultural use, it
cannot be acquired by a foreign person |
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2. Running business
activities in Croatia A Croatian company
may acquire immovable property in Croatia without
limitation, notwithstanding the origin of the company's
capital (i.e. even if it is fully owned by foreign legal
or natural persons). The exception is the land for
agricultural use, where the companies with foreign
capital may not acquire ownership.
Foreign entrepreneur can run business activities in
Croatia either by establishing a registered branch
office of a foreign company, or by incorporation or
investment in an existing Croatian company. 3.
Incorporation of a Croatian company (CC) There are four
types of company, but we shall mention only the two ones
with the limited liability (company limited by shares)
and the company with limited liability, leaving the two
others (partnership and limited partnership) out of the
consideration. 1. Company limited by shares, is a
company with the strictest legal regime. It is a company
the basic capital of which is divided into shares, which
are, more or less available for public trade. 2. Company
with limited liability Members' liability is limited to
the investment quote in the company's capital, which is
stated in the Act of Incorporation, but the company is
not entitled to issue shares. The company may be
incorporated by and can have only one or more members.
Once all documents are prepared, it may take approx. 1
month to complete the registration. Since the Act of
Incorporation has to be a Croatian notary’s deed, the
Buyer has to come in Croatia to sign it before a
Croatian Notary Public in the presence of a sworn Court
interpreter. If the Buyer does not want to travel to
Croatia, he may execute a special power of attorney
(specifying all details of the company such as name,
scope, capital etc.) authorizing an attorney to execute
the Act of Incorporation in Croatia on his behalf. The
special POA has to be notarized and apostil led in the
Country of issue and translated in Croatian. If a
corporation is the founder of CC, then an original
extract from the registry of the domicile country has to
be provided, certifying the authority of the
corporation's representative to sign the POA and other
corporate papers for CC. To draft the special power of
attorney and prepare the incorporation the following is
needed: - Proposals for the name of the Company. The
name needs to be in Croatian or ancient languages. The
use of the incorporator's name is permitted.
- Address of the Company. - Names, address,
passport nos. of all the incorporators (I have your name
and passport no, but not the address, and I understood
that you would not be the sole incorporator). - Name,
address, ID no. of the director of the Company (a
foreign person may be the director, and you can
authorize another person with the domicile in Croatia to
effect the transactions on behalf of the Company, which
have to be done on day by day basis). - Activity of the
Company, - capital amount. |
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ARE
FOREIGN CITIZENS ENTITLED TO SELL REAL ESTATES IN
CROATIA? |
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Foreign natural or legal persons can
without any problems sell real estates in Croatia |
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Enactment