Croatia: passport and entry requirements
Croatia joined the Schengen area in 2023, so it now follows the same EU entry rules as Spain or Italy. There's no visa for a holiday, and everyone in the family travels on their own in-date passport.
Your passport
Every passport has to have been issued less than ten years before the day you arrive, and still have at least three months left on it after the day you leave.
The ten-year test needs a closer look on any passport renewed before September 2018. Back then, unused time from an old passport could be added to the new one, so a passport can show more than ten years between its issue and expiry dates. Anything beyond ten years doesn't count, and what matters is the issue date, which has to be less than ten years before you arrive.
Check every passport as you book rather than the week before you fly. A child's passport lasts five years against an adult's ten, so they rarely all expire together. Renew any that are getting close, as it takes weeks to come through.
Getting in
A stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period needs no visa. Croatia is in Schengen now, so those days are shared with the rest of the area, and the limit only matters if you spend long or repeated stretches in Europe within the same six months.
On arrival you go through EES, the EU's new entry and exit system, which records your photo and fingerprints digitally instead of stamping your passport. It's free and the record lasts three years. Your accommodation registers your arrival with the police within 48 hours, which a hotel does automatically. If you're staying in a private rental that doesn't handle it, you register yourself.
ETIAS, an online travel authorisation the EU plans to bring in, isn't running yet and has no confirmed start date, so there's nothing to apply for before you travel. When it does start it'll cost €20 (last checked August 2026) and last three years, and under-18s won't pay the fee.
Every child needs their own passport, from newborns upward, since none can travel on a parent's. Those aged eleven or younger aren't fingerprinted for EES, and once ETIAS starts each child needs their own authorisation too, free for under-18s.
Where we cover in Croatia
Our family guides to the parts of Croatia we've researched.
Official sources
Last checked 11 August 2026. Passport and entry rules change, so always confirm on GOV.UK before you book or travel.
