Croatia Cross-Border Skipper Declaration: Bilingual Template
Last reviewed: August 2026
If you are an EU or EEA national skippering in Croatia as a freelancer or through your own business at home, you must notify the Croatian authorities before you work there for the first time, and again each year.
This is the form. It costs nothing, they cannot refuse it if your documents are valid, and filing it removes a whole category of risk. Most freelance skippers in Croatia have never heard of it.
For the background, including why this declaration applies and what happens if you skip it, see Skippering in Croatia: The Legal Position for Croatian, EU and Non-EU Skippers.
Before You Start
Who Needs This?
Every independent skipper who:
- Holds an EU or EEA passport.
- Is legally registered as a freelancer, sole trader or company in another EU/EEA state.
- Is contracted directly by a guest or a charter company.
- Plans to skipper in Croatian territorial waters on a temporary basis
Who Does Not Need This?
This declaration does not apply to:
- Croatian nationals register a business instead.
- Employed skippers posted by an EU employer the employer files a posting
- Third-country nationals you need a residence and work permit.
When Do You Need to File It?
Where Do You Submit It?
Ministarstvo mora, prometa i infrastrukture
Uprava sigurnosti plovidbe
- Email: verification@pomorstvo.hr
- Copy: info@mmpi.hr
- Postal address: Prisavlje 14, 10 000 Zagreb
The Act also permits submission through the Jedinstvena kontaktna točka, the Single Contact Point for services.
What Documents Should You Attach?
- Copy of your EU/EEA ID card or passport.
- Proof of legal establishment in your home country, such as a trade register extract, tax registration or chamber of commerce certificate.
- Copy of your skipper or Yachtmaster licence, which must be one Croatia recognises.
- Proof that you are not prohibited or suspended from practising, if applicable.
Scans are fine. Croatian or English is sensible.
Croatia Skipper Declaration Template
Replace everything in square brackets with your own information.
You can send both language versions, or the Croatian version with the English version underneath.
Predmet / Subject
Prijava prekograničnog pružanja usluga, zapovjednik brodice
Declaration of Cross-Border Provision of Services, Skipper
Prima / To: Ministarstvo mora, prometa i infrastrukture, Uprava sigurnosti plovidbe
Sukladno Zakonu o reguliranim profesijama i priznavanju inozemnih stručnih kvalifikacija, ovim putem podnosim prethodnu pisanu izjavu o privremenom i povremenom pružanju usluga u Republici Hrvatskoj za profesiju: Zapovjednik brodice.
Dear Sir or Madam,
CROATIAN / ENGLISH | DETAILS |
|---|---|
Ime i prezime / First and last name | [Full name] |
Državljanstvo / Nationality | [EU/EEA country] |
Broj putovnice ili osobne iskaznice / Passport or ID number | [Number] |
Adresa prebivališta / Permanent address | [Full home address] |
Kontakt / Contact | [Email], [Phone] |
Podaci o poslovnom nastanu / Details of Legal Establishment
Izjavljujem da sam zakonito uspostavljen u [država] za obavljanje navedene djelatnosti te da mi u trenutku davanja ove izjave nije, čak ni privremeno, zabranjeno obavljanje profesije.
I declare that I am legally established in [country] for the performance of this activity, and that at the moment of submitting this declaration I am not prohibited, even temporarily, from practising the profession.
CROATIAN / ENGLISH | DETAILS | Naziv tvrtke ili obrta / Company or trade name | [Business name] |
|---|---|
Registarski broj / Registration number | [Tax or trade registration number] |
Podaci o poslovnom nastanu / Details of Legal Establishment
CROATIAN / ENGLISH | DETAILS | Naziv svjedodžbe ili dozvole / Name of certificate or licence | [Exact name, e.g. RYA Yachtmaster Offshore] |
|---|---|
Broj svjedodžbe / Certificate number | [Number] |
Izdavatelj / Issued by | [Issuing authority and country] |
Planirano razdoblje pružanja usluga / Planned Period of Service Provision
Planiram pružati usluge povremeno u razdoblju od [datum] do [datum], prvenstveno na području [npr. Splitsko-dalmatinska županija].
I plan to provide services occasionally in the period from [date] to [date], primarily in the area of [e.g. Split-Dalmatia County].
U privitku dostavljam sljedeće dokumente / Documents Attached
- Kopija osobne iskaznice ili putovnice / Copy of ID or passport.
- Dokaz o poslovnom nastanu u matičnoj državi / Proof of legal establishment in home country.
- Kopija svjedodžbe ili dozvole za zapovjednika / Copy of skipper licence.
- Dokaz o nekažnjavanju ili neizricanju zabrane, ako je primjenjivo / Proof of no prohibition, if applicable.
Three Practical Notes
Keep the Acknowledgement
Ask for confirmation of receipt and keep it with your ship’s papers. The value of the declaration is being able to produce it, and an inspector at a charter base will want to see something rather than hear about a treaty right.
File It Before Your First Job
The obligation is to declare before providing the service. Filing retrospectively after being asked is worse than not filing.
Diarise the Renewal
The declaration runs per calendar year, not twelve months from filing. A skipper who files in June 2027 and returns in May 2028 needs a fresh declaration, not one that has eleven months left on it.
Download the Croatia Skipper Declaration
Use the completed template to prepare your declaration before providing skipper services in Croatia.
The downloadable files contain the same bilingual declaration template provided on this page.
Related Croatia Skipper Resources
If you need to understand the legal requirements before completing the declaration:
For broader information about yacht crew work authorisation and how the rules differ between private yachts, commercially chartered yachts and freelance work on bareboat charters: