Required Documents when Chartering a Yacht in Croatia

Travel documents

The absolute first thing to do before starting to pack for your long-expected nautical holidays is to prepare all the documents you might need during the charter. There are several important groups of documents required for your charter vacationing in Croatia. Here we will try to group and shortly describe them, but it is up to you than to check their validity in accordance to Croatian law and expiration dates. We would also suggest that you bring extra copies of all most important documents just in case.

Travel documents

All the passengers traveling to Croatia must possess an internationally recognized identity document valid at least three months longer beyond your planned departure date. If you’re coming from Europe, North America or Australia and are chartering a crewed yacht, a valid passport is basically all that you will need for an up to 90 days stay in Croatia. Some European nationals can even enter Croatia only with their identity cards, so you should check the below list to see if your country is one of them.

COUNTRIES WHOSE CITIZENS REQUIRE ONLY IDENTITY CARDS FOR ENTERING CROATIA

· Austria

· Belgium

· Denmark

· Finland

· France

· Greece

· Ireland

· Italy

· Luxembourg

· Hungary

· Netherlands

· Germany

· Portugal

· Slovenia

· Spain

· Sweden

· United Kingdom

However, there is a certain number of countries whose citizens have to obtain an entry visa issued by one of the Croatian embassies and consulates. To make it easier for you, here is the list of countries whose citizens do not require an entry visa.

COUNTRIES WHOSE CITIZENS DO NOT REQUIRE ENTRY VISAS FOR ENTERING CROATIA

· Andorra

· Argentina

· Austria

· Australia

· Belgium

· Bolivia

· Bosnia and Herzegovina

· Brazil

· Brunei

· Bulgaria

· Cyprus

· Czech Republic

· Chile

· Denmark

· Ecuador

· Estonia

· El Salvador

· Finland

· France

· Greece

· Guatemala

· Honduras

· Ireland

· Iceland

· Italy

· Israel

· Jamaica

· Japan

· Canada

· Republic of Korea

· Costa Rica

· Latvia

· Liechtenstein

· Lithuania

· Luxembourg

· Hungary

· Macedonia

· Malaysia

· Malta

· Mexico

· Monaco

· Nicaragua

· Netherlands

· Germany

· Norway

· New Zealand

· Panama

· Paraguay

· Poland

· Portugal

· Romania

· San Marino

· Singapore

· Slovakia

· Slovenia

· Spain

· Sweden

· Switzerland

· Turkey

· United Kingdom

· USA

· Uruguay

· Vatican

· Venezuela

If your country is not on this list there is a great chance you will need a visa for coming to Croatia. In this case I recommend the web site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at www.mvp.hr where you will find more details about the entry requirements of the Republic of Croatia. You can also call directly +385 (0)1 45 69 964, whatever is easier for you.

Navigation certificates

In case you decided to go for a bareboat yacht charter in Croatia the most crucial requirement is that at least one of the crew members possesses a valid nautical certificate of competence and a VHF radio certificate. The Croatian law is very strict on this matter and you won’t be able to charter a bareboat yacht without the mentioned documents. Another thing to remember is that you should bring originals with you, copies are not accepted. The thing is that different countries issue different types of certifications and not all of them meet the Croatian requirements. From our experience, many world charterers come to Croatia without previously informing themselves, convinced that their documents are ok when in fact they’re not. I couldn’t begin describing their surprise and disappointment after finding out that the bareboat charter is not an option for them and that they will need to hire a skipper to be able to spend a week on the yacht as planned. Therefore, to be absolutely sure your certificates are valid according to the Croatian laws, we strongly advise you to send one copy to the yacht charter agency before you definitely book the yacht and ask for their confirmation. In case you’re chartering a skippered or crewed yacht, you do not need to worry about these regulations – your skipper will have all the necessary documents for operating your yacht.

Boat documents

During the check-in in one of the charter bases along the Adriatic coast you will be provided with all the documents needed for bareboat charter in Croatia. According to the Charter Agreement (it is always wise to have one copy of the contract with you, just in case), the charter company is obligated to prepare the rental documents including permit, registration, concession etc., as well as the crew list with all the party member details. Obviously, these documents are property of the charter company and should be handled with care and returned to the charter company during the check-out.