Croatia

Our relationship with Croatia

New Zealand and Croatia share a warm relationship that is built on long-standing people-to-people connections. Croatian immigrants began arriving in New Zealand from the 1850s and today there are more than 100,000 New Zealanders of Croatian heritage.

The first Croatian immigrants settled in Northland and the Kaipara Harbour. It was here that the special relationship between Northern Māori and the Croatian people developed, leading to a number of descendants that share Māori and Croatian heritage.

Our people-to-people links were further strengthened in 2013, following the establishment of reciprocal visa free status to Croatian tourists wishing to visit New Zealand and Croatia joining the European Union. Croatia’s parliament also maintains a Croatian-New Zealand Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group.

New Zealand and Croatia also have shared interests in the United Nations’ peacekeeping efforts. From 1992 until 2007, New Zealand played a peacekeeping role during and following the Yugoslav wars. Croatia is active in peacekeeping operations and post-conflict recovery.

Working Holiday Scheme

Information on New Zealand’s Working Holiday Scheme with Croatia(external link) is available on the Immigration New Zealand website.

Trade

New Zealand’s trade with Croatia is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

In July 2023, New Zealand and the EU signed a high-quality, comprehensive, and progressive Free Trade Agreement which entered into force in May 2024. As a European Union member state, Croatia is party to the EU-NZ FTA. The FTA contains world-leading commitments on sustainable and inclusive trade.

Embassies

• New Zealand is represented in Croatia by the New Zealand Embassy, Rome
• New Zealand has consular services in Zagreb
• Croatia is represented in New Zealand by the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia
• Croatia have consular services in Auckland and Nelson