Belgium or Croatia
Two countries side by side across the same rows as the full comparison. A dash means the value is missing: fields are not filled with guesses. about the data
| Belgium | Croatia | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | $ 51 210 | $ 56 900 |
| Citizenship | 5 years | 8 years |
| Partner can work | yes | yes |
| Parents | — | difficult |
| Pets | no trouble | difficult |
| Pet limit | 5 | 5 |
| Quarantine | no | no |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 1 764 | $ 1 081 |
| Basket | $ 45,5 | $ 40,1 |
| Life expectancy | 82.3 | 78.93 |
| Homicides/100k | 1.08 | 1.01 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Belgium — 54, Croatia — 91. Types present in both: work, study, family, job seeking and working holiday. Belgium adds: startup and retirement. Croatia adds: remote work, investment and repatriation.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Belgium: fees range from 152 to 377 EUR. Routes with no fee: 2. Routes stating an income threshold: 22; the lowest is 1,038 EUR a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 39; the shortest is 15 days. Croatia: fees range from 13.27 to 93 EUR. Routes with no fee: 2. Routes stating an income threshold: 1; the lowest is 3,622.5 EUR a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 1; the shortest is 15 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: both after 5 years. Citizenship: Belgium after 5 years, Croatia after 8 years. Belgium allows a second citizenship, Croatia does not.
Belgium in brief
Belgium is an EU country with a single labour migration procedure (single permit / EU Blue Card), but the criteria are split regionally between Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Citizenship and permanent residence come after 5 years; dual citizenship is allowed. The main natural hazard is river flooding (Wallonia, July 2021).
Croatia in brief
A member of the EU, Schengen and the eurozone with a growing tech sector (Zagreb, Split) and a Mediterranean coast; permanent residence after 5 years, and a digital nomad visa of up to 18 months. Held back by citizenship at 8 years requiring you to give up the previous one (dual is difficult), noticeable seismic risk (the 2020 earthquakes), corruption above the EU average and IT salaries below Western European levels.
Other comparisons
More on each: Belgium · Croatia. Build your own comparison — up to four countries
This material is for reference and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax thresholds and prices change. Before deciding anything, check the official sources and consult a licensed professional in the relevant country.