New border crossing regulation for seamen, that we were all waiting for, is now officialy accepted across all Croatian borders. Professional crew will be stamped in and out of the yachts, so their time on the yacht will not affect their visa allowance days. This makes it a wonderful news for yachts looking to stay longer periods in Croatia, as in the past it was allowed to stay only 90 days in 6 months.
The following is a new instruction on how to record and regulate the stay of a crew member on a ship of foreign nationality as informed by the Border Service of Police:
Seafarers who are on board a ship of foreign nationality, registered as crew members on board and placed on board the ship while their ship is in port do not count short-term (tourist) stay during the service on board. During the ship’s stay in the port, crew members may move to the place where the border crossing or port is located, or to neighboring municipalities.
Each disembarkation / embarkation of a seafarer must be recorded by placing a border stamp in the travel document, as well as entering it in the NISUDG* system by scanning the travel document or by manual entry. When the seafarer disembarks from the ship, the entry stamp is imprinted on the travel document, and when boarding the ship, the exit stamp is stamped.
If a seafarer wishes to enter the territory of the Republic of Croatia outside the place where the ship is located (e.g. from Dubrovnik to Zagreb) it is subject to entry checks and any disembarkation (for tourist purposes) must be recorded with an entry stamp. Also, after returning to the ship, the seafarer’s entry stamp is entered in the travel document, so the authorized maritime agent of the company and the ship is obliged to announce any disembarkation / embarkation from the ship, which will avoid the situation of a person in violation.
*NISUDG stands for National Border Management Information System
All crew members who will be embarking in the future, when entering Croatia (at the Croatian border at the airport) must mention that they are going to embark on the yacht in order to be registered as seafarers.
Contact us for detailed instructions on stamping in /out, required documents and procedures.
