The Croatian government on Thursday decided to temporarily suspend visa requirements for nationals of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Ukraine in the period between 1 April and 31 October 2010, HINA reports.

Valid passport holders planning to stay in Croatia for up to 90 days or travelling via Croatia to their final destinations will not be required to have visas.

The government also decided on the temporary facilitation of the entry of foreigners into Croatia on the basis of valid Schengen short stay visas for the purpose of tourist visits to Croatia.

This measure refers to foreigners with alid Schengen short stay visas, guests on cruiser yachts visiting Croatia who hold valid Schengen visas, nationals of India and China on group tourist visits to Croatia who have valid Schengen visas, as well as to nationals of Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates with valid Schengen visas.

A similar measure was adopted last year ahead of the start of the tourist season which resulted in an increase in the number of visits from the countries to which free visa travel was introduced, the government's public relations office said in a statement.