In the process of European Union accession, Croatia has the obligation to align its visa regime with that of the European Union three months before accession at the latest. Since Croatia will join the Union on July 1, the Croatian visa system must be aligned by April 1 at the latest, which means that as of that day, the classic visa regime will apply to the citizens of Russia and other non-EU countries.
Political, business and cultural contacts between Croatia and Russia have intensified in recent years. Since Russian citizens are increasingly visiting Croatia and it has become one of their favourite destinations, Croatia will try to simplify and shorten the visa issuance procedure as much as possible. This means visas will be issued within five days of receipt of applications and there is a possibility to issue multiple-entry visas, the ministry said.
Russian citizens will have no problem getting visas for Croatia, which will do its best to make the process as efficient as possible so that it does not impact the tourist season, the Croatian Embassy in Moscow said, adding that the Consular Office there would hire 12-15 new employees.
Croatian-Russian relations are intensifying and the introduction of visas will not impact any segment, the embassy said.
Russian tourists generated 1.8 million nights in 2012, up 11 per cent on the year, accounting for three per cent of Croatia's tourism turnover and ranking tenth among Croatia's most important tourist markets, according to the Croatian National Tourist Board.