“Want to work in Croatia? Learn Croatian” – new billboards go up in the capital

(Photo: Domovinski Pokret/Facebook)

A series of new billboards urging foreign workers to learn the Croatian language have appeared across Zagreb this week.

The billboards, which feature messages in multiple languages stating “Do you want to work in Croatia? Learn Croatian”, were installed by the Domovinski Pokret political party.

The posters have been placed in several busy areas of the capital, including Savska cesta near Dom sportova and Branimirova street.

The posters reference Article 11, Paragraph 5 of the Croatian Language Act, which states that multilingual public notices and promotional messages must first be written in Croatian, followed by other languages.

Domovinski Pokret confirmed their involvement via social media, and their Member of Parliament Ivica Kukavica reiterated the party’s stance, stating that the posters are in full compliance with the law.

“Croats who go abroad to work adapt to the culture, learn the language and are expected to know at least the basics. We believe the same should be expected from foreign workers coming to Croatia – that they integrate into our society and respect our language, culture, traditions and customs,” said Deputy Prime Minister and DP Minister David Vlajčić.

He added: “People of all nationalities are welcome here. We want everyone to feel comfortable – Croatians are among the best hosts in the world. But it is normal to expect foreign workers to speak Croatian, especially in everyday situations like cafés, taxis or deliveries. That should be the minimum.”

This move comes after Domovinski Pokret recently criticised a Kaufland marketing campaign where a billboard promoting Indian and Filipino products featured text predominantly in Hindi, with Croatian appearing second.

Last year, Croatia granted 206,529 work permits, marking a 210% rise from four years prior. The largest shares were allocated to the construction sector (75,071), followed by tourism and hospitality (56,228), industry (28,486), transport (16,149), and trade (7,925).

The majority came from countries such as Nepal, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India, the Philippines, North Macedonia, Bangladesh, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, and Egypt. 

The party argued that such campaigns violate the Croatian Language Act, which clearly states that Croatian must come first in all multilingual public communication.

Kukavica further explained the motivation behind the campaign, saying that the posters aim to demonstrate how multilingual public communication should be presented under the law, with Croatian appearing first.

“Foreign workers must be motivated to learn the language, and both employers and the state should support them in this. This is especially important in the service sector. We are working with the government and employers to encourage these practices, and we are not ruling out further legislative initiatives,” he said.