55 MARTINDALE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE urban and rural areas, and providing jobs for returning scientists (Strategija Demografske…., 2024). In the 2033 Demographic Revitalization Strategy, Croatia set the goal of developing a comprehensive migration strategy. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) highlights that having a strategy would outline the role immigration would have in the country’s development, beyond short-term considerations, such as skill shortages (OECD, 2025). This goal comes after Croatia’s previous Migration Strategy expired in 2015, which left a void in guidance for government and non-government stakeholders (World Bank Group, 2025). OECD recommendations for this new policy include outlining the role immigration would play in the country’s long-term goals, developing an integration policy as immigrants are coming from less culturally similar countries, and improving diaspora policies (OECD, 2025). These recommendations reinforce and extend the goals outlined for 2033, which are key to responding to recent migration trends. These policies must include practical, durable solutions that not only consider labor market needs but also make Croatia a place where emigrants and immigrants can build careers and lives. Near-term incentives are important, but long-term considerations would help create a more lasting effect on Croatia’s labor market and future migration goals. Croatia’s short-term policy In the absence of a national framework, Croatia has already developed policies that incentivize return migration as well as ease restrictions for work-related immigration. They address emigration and immigration but lack elements needed to be effective responses to demographic changes. Emigration In responding to the human capital loss from emigration, Croatia has incentivized reverse migration. “I Choose Croatia” is an active employment policy for Croatians to pursue business opportunities in areas that are economically less developed and affected by demographic decline. The program provides monetary subsidies directly to Croatian citizens in two target groups. The first group includes Croatian returnees up to age 60 who have worked 12 of the prior 24 months in the European Economic Area, the Swiss Confederation, the United Kingdom, North or South America, Australia, or New Zealand, or those who were in full-time education, unemployed upon returning to Croatia, or self-employed in 2025 or 2026. The second group includes those already receiving employment support in 2025 or 2026 who moved to low socioeconomic factor areas to high ones (Croatian Employment Service [CES], 2026; Odluka o razvrstavanju…, 2024). The policy intends to promote added value for the economy from business owners who gained experience abroad as well as internal and return migration, in an effort to respond to demographic shifts (CES, 2026). In addition to this work incentive, Croatia has other policies that support the reverse migration process. Croatian emigrants, their descendants, and members of their families from the Croatian diaspora are eligible to rent state-owned housing units. Similar to “I Choose Croatia,” the purpose is to incentivize the return of the Croatian diaspora, specifically in areas that need demographic renewal (Ministry of Demographics and Immigration, n.d.-b). This group is also eligible for five-year income tax exemption after living abroad for at least two years (Ministry of Demographics and Immigration, n.d.-a). These measures demonstrate that current policy addresses multiple aspects of the return migration process, including work and tax incentives as well as access to housing. The government views return migration as a part of its response to demographic decline and has taken initial steps to support it. However, these programs are only effective for Croatia’s regional concerns if they facilitate return sustainably over many years. The OECD states that recent emigrants would require less integration support, whereas integration plays a larger role for diaspora members outside the EU, who may face added barriers (OECD, 2025). One recommendation the OECD makes is to improve Croatia’s capacity for outreach to return migrants, including incentives to encourage recent emigrants in EU countries to return (OECD, 2025). Although this recommendation identifies a more targeted approach for recent emigrants, it focuses on incentives for return, rather than on reasons for leaving. As previously mentioned, EU accession was a key driver of emigration, aligning with the peak of the labor market crisis, which was then followed by Croatians searching for better jobs and opportunities abroad (OECD, 2025). Reverse migration relies in part on the idea of preparedness, which is shaped by perceptions of institutional, economic, and political conditions of the origin country and their implications for reintegration (Cassarino, 2004). Croatian
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