Social rights and taxes for Ukrainian citizens residing in Republic of Croatia
For all crew members engaged on ships in internal waters and the territorial sea of the Republic of Croatia (national navigation) the employer shall submit the application to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute and is obliged to pay social contributions and taxes.
For ships engaged in public liner transport service, it is obligatory that crew members in charge of passenger safety and all crew members in charge of watchkeeping, if they are not Croatian citizens, to understand and be able to give orders, instructions and reports in Croatian language in accordance with their duties. As evidenced by a certificate issued in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages -
Level B1 standard.
In the case of embarkation of a crew member on a ship engaged in international navigation, the following rules shall apply:
- The ship flying the flag of the Republic of Croatia.
The initial application for insurance to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute shall be submitted by the Croatian shipowner or company, and the crew member is obliged to pay contributions. The informative calculation of contributions can be checked at the following
link.
- The ship flying the flag of EU/EEA Member States other than Croatia
Pursuant to Article 11.4 of Regulation 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems (Text with relevance for the EEA and for Switzerland) a seafarer is considered to be insured in the flag State.
If wishes so, a crew member may submit an application for a derogation from the right to social security in the country whose flag the ship is flying and by that obtain the status of an insured person in the Republic of Croatia. In this case, it is necessary to fill
the A1 form.
If the application is approved and the A1 form is issued, the application for the start of insurance to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute shall be submitted by the Harbor Master's Office, in which case the crew member is obliged to pay contributions. The informative calculation of contributions can be checked at the following
link.
If a crew member has concluded the seafarers’ employment agreement with a Croatian company, then the Croatian employer shall apply for insurance to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute. In this case too, the crew member is obliged to pay contributions. The informative calculation of contributions can be checked at the following
link.
- The ship flying the flag of third countries - Croatian company owner.
The initial application for insurance to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute shall be submitted by the Croatian shipowner or company, and the crew member is obliged to pay contributions. The informative calculation of contributions can be checked at the following
link.
- The ship flying the flag of third countries.
The initial application for insurance to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute shall be submitted by the Harbour Master's Office. The crew member is obliged to pay contributions. The informative calculation of contributions can be checked at the following
link.
In cases when seafarers disembark and unemployed, a crew member must submit an application to the Croatian Health Insurance Fund within 30 days after disembarkation in order to get the right for free health insurance.
Income tax (applicable for seafarers engaged in international navigation)
All crew members are obliged to submit an annual income tax application. Along with the annual income tax application, the seafarer is obliged to attach the DPOM form (which will be delivered to the seafarer's home address by the Harbour Master's Office), the EPOM form and the attachments on the basis of which the EPOM form was compiled.
The DPOM form is a confirmation document on the number of days in international navigation and if the total number of days is over 183 days, the seafarer is exempt from income tax, but is not exempt from the application the annual income tax.
The EPOM form represents record of income that can be found
here.
In the sum of 183 days, the following days are included
- the days of navigation;
- the days spent on voyages from the place of residence to the place of embarkation;
- the days needed for repatriation;
- the days for the treatment of an illness or an injury inflicted on the way to the place of embarkation, abroad or on a return voyage;
- the days for the treatment of an illness or an injury inflicted following the disembarkation or before embarkation, which would prevent from the obtaining the medical fitness certificates of a crew member;
- the days spent on training abroad or in the Republic of Croatia;
- the days until the termination of the seafarers’ employment agreement which has not been completed due to abandonment of the crew member by the shipowner or the termination of the seafarers’ employment agreement due to business related reasons.
In the case of hijacking, captivity, retirement or death in the tax year, it shall be assumed that the requirement of 183 days has been met for that tax year.
