"ZAGREB, June 19 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament resumed its 26th session with a debate on a government-sponsored bill on foreigners which has been adjusted to EU guidelines.
A state secretary in the Foreign Ministry, Ivica Buconjic, said one of the conditions for foreigners to get permanent residence in Croatia would be knowledge of the Croatian language and the Latin script, under the bill which the government forwarded to parliament on Thursday, after adjusting it to EU guidelines.
The bill defines the stay of foreigners in Croatia as short-term (up to 90 days), temporary and permanent.
To obtain permanent residence, a foreigner would have to have had at least five years of uninterrupted temporary residence in Croatia (multiple stays outside the country during that period must not be longer than 10 months, while a single stay outside the country must not be longer than six months).
Foreign students, seasonal and au pair workers and providers of services would not be able to obtain permanent residence.
Temporary residence could be granted for the purpose of family reunion (but not in case of a marriage of convenience) and for humanitarian purposes (to a foreigner who is a victim of people trafficking, an abandoned minor from a foreign country, and a victim of crime).
The granting of a work permit would no longer automatically mean the granting of temporary residence.
Under the new law, foreigners whose temporary residence has expired must leave Croatia.
The government plans to allocate some three million kuna for the implementation of the law in 2008, and an additional four million kuna in 2009 and 2010.
Deputies supported the government-sponsored bill, although some of the Opposition parties proposed that the new law be discussed in one more reading."