On 1 July 2013 Croatia became the 28th Member State of the European Union. Croatian nationals will be able to live freely in Europe provided they do not become unreasonable burden on the public purse, but will need to obtain work authorisation if they wish to take up employment.
Work authorisation is normally issued in the form of an Accession Worker Registration Certificate (“Purple Registration Certificate”).
Croatians who had been working in the UK on 30 June 2013 and had done so for a continuous period of 12 months will be able to work in the UK without worker authorisation. Family members of Croatian workers with work authorisation will be exempt from work authorisation scheme.
Croatian students will not need to be sponsored under Tier 4 but if they wish to work they will need to obtain a yellow registration certificate.
