The system cannot be fixed by urgencies/expedited procedures.

The management of the workforce from third countries has become one of the key topics of the Croatian economy.
Industries such as tourism, construction, and logistics have been reporting a serious shortage of domestic workers for several years, and employers are increasingly relying on hiring people from Nepal, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, and other countries.

However, although the market clearly shows its needs, institutional capacities and approval processes (work permits, visas, consents) in Croatia often do not keep pace with this dynamic.

Today a paradox is happening:

• On the one hand, employers urgently seek workers because the season is just around the corner.
• On the other hand, documentation is processed slower than ever.

In practice, this means that workers who have already passed selections, left their previous jobs, and paid visa and travel costs wait for months.
Sometimes more than 70 days, just to get an appointment at the embassy.

That is not an exception, and unfortunately, it is becoming a pattern.

In an attempt to “save the season,” employers often send urgent requests, urgencies, and even formal complaints. But a system that functions on the principle of urgent requests – is not a system.

Instead of urgency, there should be planning.

Agencies that approach this work seriously have long since changed their approach. Instead of chasing every project, the focus is placed on long-term collaborations, educating clients about deadlines and the importance of early planning. For example, serious seasonal recruitments in tourism are finalized as early as February, because it is known that everything after that is risky.

A quality agency does not solve the problem, but anticipates it.

The process of employing foreign workers includes:

• advertising through the CES (Croatian Employment Service)
• documentation to the Ministry of the Interior
• appointment at the embassy
• visa processing
• arrival, accommodation, registration of residence
• employment and probationary period

Each phase has its challenges, and when one fails, a week, sometimes a month, is lost. And while the system waits, the season does not wait.

That is why the role of quality intermediary agencies today is not only operational, but also advisory toward clients, institutions, and the workers themselves.

The system is not fixed by urgencies/expedited procedures, but by understanding.

If we want a market that functions, we must stop reacting when it is already too late.
Planning must become a standard, not a privilege of the few.

The employment of foreign workers is not necessarily slow, but it is not simple either.
And that is the reality that all stakeholders must learn to work with.