Information required on the Croatian Visa for Research Scholar/PhD

Question

I got into University of Zagreb, Croatia as Early Research Scholar/PhD in Cleopatra Project of EU. I will be employed by the university and have received the hosting contract.

I need help in applying for the Visa for entry. As per my research, I have to apply for Visa C which is valid for 90 days and then apply for Temporary residence permit when I land. I check VFS global website, I am confused as in which category of visa do I fit in ? Is it studies or other(research)

My contract says my employer will provide me with the health insurance and stuff , do I need extract travel insurance when I travel in Croatia ?.

There are also dates like **number of days in Croatia for which I will be staying/expected date of departure **. I am going to do PhD for next 3-4 years, what should I put into this section ?

I have tried calling/mailing the Embassy of Croatia in India, but either no one answers the phone or no response for email was received.

Please can anyone help me in this regard

Answer 1

It was one hell of a ride. I went to VFS with duration of stay as blank and explained them my case. The guy at VFS office did some changes to my form as he was unaware that researcher and conference visitors are different people. I ended up getting call from embassy of Croatia for incomplete information. I had to call my university to call Croatian embassy and explained them everything.

The matter was resolved and I got type C visa for entry into the Croatia for 30 days . I have applied for temporary residence permit and waiting for it. I don't think croatia has type D visa now. You have to enter the country on type C visa and regularize your stay by applying for temporary residence permit for one year. Also renew the same every year till your either contract or PhD thesis is not over.

If anyone needs any help on Croatian Visa for study or contractual work permit do ping below. I am well experienced in all of processes.

Answer 2

I applied for a Visa D as a researcher to Austria. I too had the same questions, so I just walked into my visa appointment with those areas (ie. duration of stay and date of expected departure) blank and explained to the visa official that I was unsure of what to fill in given that I was staying for quite a long time.

In short, the officer told me to leave the "duration of stay" blank and to fill in the date of departure as the last day of my program. In my visa that is shown as "XX".

Regarding your insurance question, my institute provided an insurance document which the consulate accepted for my visa. So no need for extra insurance in my case and I suspect the same for your situation.

This is from my experience. I would recommend you go in with them blank and ask the official face to face.

Edit: Just realized you have to go through VFS, something I didn't have to do as I dealt with the consulate directly. Have you called VFS? They can usually clarify these questions over the phone.