Durga Phuyal had hoped to start anew when she landed in Croatia, but the Nepali migrant faced an uphill battle to adjust to life in the Balkan country.
Phuyal is among the tens of thousands of migrants who have flocked to Croatia from as far afield as Asia, as the small EU country desperately tries to overcome a chronic labour shortage.
Traditionally reliant on seasonal workers from Balkan neighbours, Croatia is increasingly counting on labourers from Nepal, India, the Philippines and elsewhere to bridge the gap.
Mass emigration and a shrinking population has created tens of thousands of vacant positions in construction and the service industry in the tourism-dependent country, famous for its picturesque beaches along the Adriatic sea.
But not everyone has put out the welcome mat, with migrants facing cramped and expensive housing, and occasional anti-immigrant rhetoric that has spiked ahead of elections.
In Nepal, Phuyal paid 7,000 euros in total for the various fees, documents and travel expenses before landing Croatia.
But after barely a month after arriving, she had lost her job and was offered no assistance by the agency that helped hire her.
"It was very difficult," the 27-year-old said of the two-month ordeal.
"I had no job, no accommodation, no food."
The country provided nearly 120,000 non-EU nationals with work permits in 2023, a 40 percent jump over the figure from the previous year.
But in the run-up to general elections in April, right-wing parties have accused migrants of threatening the country's security and stealing jobs from Croatians.