Over 3,000 foreigners held up in Croatia and in no rush to leave   

Dubrovnik

25 April 2020 – A number of foreigners have been held up in Croatia due to the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, more than 3,000 are in the country. 

With the government extending permits and visas for an extra 30 days due to the crisis, all of them are able to stay in the country. If they want to return, their embassies will enable them. However, there are those who currently prefer Croatia over their own home country and are in no rush to leave.

Although deserted, you can still bump into foreign tourists in Dubrovnik. Amanda has been in town for two months, and so far, she doesn’t want to return home to the US.

“The Secretariat of State offered us air travel, but it was a very expensive option. And I don’t want to go home, it’s safer here than in the US. The owners of the apartment offered me to stay at half price. This is now a special place for being alone, I mean without tourists, it is amazing,” Amanda told Dnevnik.hr.

Coronavirus also left Corina and Stephan in Dubrovnik as well, they have a family home there, so they have extended their vacation. “People stick to the rules here, and it’s certainly a lot nicer to stay at home here than to sit in an apartment in Germany. We have a view and are having a great time here,” Stephan said.

3383 foreigns currently in Croatia 

According to data from the e-visitor system, there were 3,383 foreigners in Croatia as of Thursday, Dnevnik.hr reports. More than 50 percent are staying in commercial accommodation, with the majority of foreigners in Zagreb, Split, Umag, Vir, and Dubrovnik.

A small cruiser, without passengers, of course, sailed into the port of Gruz in Dubrovnik from Seychelles this week with only a crew of about sixty members, including several Croats. They will wait there until they can get home or wait for the cruise season to continue.

Samir and Mario from the cruiser say it was better in Seychelles. 

“There are no people there, they immediately canceled flights. It was great for us, we were able to swim and enjoy,” they said, adding that they will not be able to get off the cruiser at all now.

The Dubrovnik Port Authority is providing the cruiser with food, water, and oil.

“Although they have been unmanned for almost a month and have not sailed anywhere on land, they still have a prescribed 14-day self-insulation upon entering our border waters. Croatian staff have the option of exiting while the rest are practically quarantined and cannot leave the ship until the situation is normalised or borders are opened, “explained Blaz Pezo, Director of the Port Authority of Dubrovnik.

All foreign nationals can ask their embassies to return home – but it seems that a good part of them are satisfied with staying in Croatia.