Part one · 2 steps
Visa & residency
Start the Temporary Residence Permit (financial self-sufficiency / "sufficient means"); no dedicated retiree visa path
Croatia's route for retirees. Plan on roughly $1,016/month of provable income — pension, Social Security, dividends — and expect the consulate to want it documented. The current read:
From our Split research
Croatia has NO retiree/pensioner visa. Retirees use a non-EU Temporary Residence Permit on grounds of financial means (savings, pension, investment/rental income), issued 1 year and renewed ANNUALLY; permanent residence only after 5 continuous years. Statutory minimum jumped in January 2026 to 60% of the prior-year average net salary: EUR 869.40/mo single, EUR 1,086.75/mo couple (~$994 single / ~$1,243 couple; NN 3/2026, 2025 average EUR 1,449). In practice officers still often expect roughly EUR 1,200-1,500/mo per person plus registered local address and private health insurance. Note: the Digital Nomad Visa (EUR 3,622.50/mo as of Mar 2026) requires ACTIVE remote work and does not fit true retirees. The annual-renewal grind and uncertainty are the real pain points.
Read the full Split profile →Get key documents apostilled + certified-translated
Birth/marriage certificates, background checks — start early; it's slow, and every residency application wants them.
Our visa paperwork guide →Part two · 3 steps
Healthcare
Map your care in Split
Know where you'd go before you need it — the hospital for something serious, the specialist, the pharmacy that speaks English. Here's our current read:
From our Split research
KBC Split (Firule) is Croatia's 2nd-largest hospital (~1,850 beds) and handles acute/emergency care; the public HZZO system has small co-pays (~EUR 17.70/day, capped ~EUR 530/stay). English is reliable in private polyclinics (e.g. Poliklinika Priska Med, Tourist Doctor Split) but variable in the public ER with older staff. Adequate for most needs; for the most complex tertiary care, Zagreb (KBC Zagreb, ~3-4.5 hrs by road) or Vienna/Italy is the fallback. Carry private insurance for speed and English access.
Read the full Split profile →Know what Medicare does — and doesn't — cover abroad
Original Medicare generally doesn't cover care outside the US. Whatever your plan becomes, it has to answer that gap.
Medicare abroad, explained →Compare international / expat health insurance
See what international health plans actually cover — and what they cost.
Part three · 5 steps
Money & taxes
Pressure-test your Split budget
A comfortable month in Split runs about $2,659 for a couple, at current exchange rates. Build your own version on top of that base — your rent tier, your healthcare, your flights home — and see what's left over.
Build the real monthly number →Understand US taxes as an expat in Croatia
You still file US taxes abroad, and FBAR applies once foreign accounts pass $10,000. The country side matters just as much:
From our Split research
Croatia taxes residents on WORLDWIDE income (not territorial). Foreign pensions receive a 50% tax-base reduction; US Social Security/pension taxing rights are governed by the US-Croatia income tax treaty (signed Dec 2022, the first-ever, now in force). There is NO US-Croatia totalization (social security) agreement, so coordination of payroll/SS taxes is unresolved — get cross-border tax advice before establishing residency.
Read the full Split profile →Set up low-fee international money transfers
Bank wires quietly cost 3–5% in bad FX; specialists are far cheaper.
Have someone check the retirement math before you commit
Plan day-to-day cash + card access (and a backup card)
Check your cards' foreign-ATM fees before you go, and carry a backup card on a different network in case one gets swallowed.
Part four · 4 steps
The scouting trip
Book the Split reconnaissance trip
Not a vacation — a rehearsal. Rent in an ordinary neighborhood for a few weeks and live a normal week: groceries, buses, a doctor's appointment, a quiet Tuesday. Getting there and back:
From our Split research
Nonstop Newark (EWR)-Split via United, 3x/week, but seasonal (~late Apr/May to early Sep 2026 only). Off-season requires connecting through a European hub (Frankfurt/Munich/Vienna/Istanbul).
Read the full Split profile →Compare trip insurance for the scouting trip
Read the safety picture for yourself
Split sits under a US State Department Level 1 (“exercise normal precautions”) advisory. Check the current one before you book, then weigh it against the on-the-ground picture:
From our Split research
US State Dept Travel Advisory Level 1 (Exercise Normal Precautions, as of May 2026) — among Europe's safest. Violent crime is very low, well below the US. Main risks are petty: pickpocketing on transit/beaches in peak season and online "romance"/authority-impersonation scams. Comfortable for solo and older travelers.
Read the full Split profile →Test the season, not the postcard
Every place has a month the brochures skip. If you can, scout in the worst one:
From our Split research
Classic Mediterranean: hot, dry, sunny summers (28-32C, ~2,600 sun hours/yr) and mild but wet, windy winters (Jan highs ~10-12C, cold "bura" wind, significant rainfall). Not warm year-round — winters are cool and damp, and many seafront places close.
Read the full Split profile →Part five · 6 steps
The move itself
Rent first — live a full season before you even think about buying
The single biggest regret-saver. The market isn't going anywhere.
Book a short-term furnished rental for your landing
Give yourself 1–3 months to find the right neighborhood.
Decide what to ship, store, or sell
Shipping a household is expensive; many movers regret over-shipping.
Re-home your US mail before you go
Banks, the IRS, Medicare — the mail keeps coming after you leave. Keep a US address you check from anywhere, or hand the whole job to a service.
Sort pet import + airline requirements early
Timelines for vaccines and paperwork can be months.
Our pet-move guide →Scan and cloud-back-up every key document
Passports, prescriptions, insurance cards, the marriage certificate — one folder you can open from any phone, anywhere.
Part six · 4 steps
Settling in
Find your people in Split
Loneliness is the #1 reason people move home — build the community before you build anything else. What's already there:
From our Split research
Croatia ranks #2 worldwide in the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index ("Very High"), and Split is a tourism hub, so day-to-day English is effortless. The foreign/expat scene exists but skews younger digital nomads and German/Central-European seasonal residents rather than a large established American-retiree community (smaller than Portugal/Mexico hubs). Easy to function; harder to find a ready-made peer group of US retirees.
Read the full Split profile →Join the expat community before you arrive
Start the conversations months before the flight.
Our community guide →Set up a local SIM + home internet
If your phone's unlocked, an eSIM can cover you from day one; sort home internet once you have an address.
Start the language — even 20 words changes everything
Croatian is what your daily life will run in — the clinic front desk, the market, the neighbors. A head start pays off from day one.
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