Organization : Ministry of the Interior
Facility : Determining Croatian Citizenship
Country : Croatia
Website : https://mup.gov.hr/aliens-281621/citizenship/281629
How To Apply For Determining Croatian Citizenship?
An application for determining Croatian citizenship can be submitted by persons whose information is not entered into the registers of citizens of the Republic of Croatia, but who acquired this status pursuant to the regulations which were valid until the entry into force of the Croatian Citizenship Act.
Related / Similar Facility : How To Apply For Termination of Croatian Citizenship?
Whether the legal requirements for subsequent entry of information into the registers of citizens have been met or not is determined in accordance with the regulations valid at the time the applicant was born.
The application for determining Croatian citizenship is submitted in person at a police administration or a police station, according to the location of granted temporary or permanent stay. Exceptionally, in case of persons with a disability, the application can be submitted by their legal representative or authorised person.
If the applicant does not have granted temporary or permanent stay in the Republic of Croatia, the application for determining Croatian citizenship is submitted at a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Croatia.
The following documents must be enclosed in addition to the required application form for determining Croatian citizenship:
** Curriculum vitae
** Extract from the birth register, and, if the person is married, an extract from the marriage register
** Certified copy of a valid identity document
** Certificate proving that the applicant’s information is not entered in the registers of citizens at the registry office in which they should have been entered at the time of the applicant’s birth under the regulations that were valid at the time
** If the applicant holds a foreign citizenship, a certified copy of its acquisition or a certification of a competent foreign authority regarding the manner and the time of acquiring the citizenship
** Certificate of citizenship or certificates stating that both or one of the applicant’s parents are registered in the registers of Croatian citizens
** Extracts from national registers (birth, death or marriage) of the applicant’s parents, if available, not necessarily recent
** Persons who have emigrated from the Republic of Croatia (outside of the former FPRY/SFRY territory) should also enclose proof of previous Yugoslav citizenship (an old passport, certificate of citizenship, military or employment records and similar)
The procedure for determining Croatian citizenship is conducted for persons who had acquired the status of a Croatian citizen pursuant to the legislation valid up to the day on which the Croatian Citizenship Act entered into force (8 October 1991), but their information was not entered into the Register of Citizens.
Pursuant to the Act on amendments to the Croatian Citizenship Act (Official Gazette, No: 102/19), which entered into force on 1 January 2020, persons born between 8 January 1977 and 8 October 1991, for whom another citizenship was entered into the citizenship records, are also considered to be Croatian citizens if both of their parents had Croatian citizenship at the time of their birth, provided that they submit an application for determining Croatian citizenship within two years from the entry into force of this Act.
Articles 4 and 5 of the Act lay down the conditions for the acquisition of Croatian citizenship by origin for newborns and persons born after the entry into force of the said Act, that is, after 8 October 1991. Adults under the age of 21 submit their application/request for direct entry into the birth register (if they were born outside the Republic of Croatia) and the Register of Citizens to the Ministry of Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia through a competent diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Croatia if they reside abroad.
Those over the age of 21 submit their applications for entry into the Register of Citizens of the Republic of Croatia pursuant to the provisions of Articles 4 and 5 on a questionnaire form for determining Croatian citizenship.
In addition to other documents required, persons whose application is based on the provision of Article 5, paragraph 2 of the Act (persons over the age of 21, born abroad, whose one parent was a Croatian citizen at the time of their birth) are also obligated to enclose a police certificate with their application, issued by a competent foreign authority, not older than six months.
The provision of Article 5, paragraph 2 of the Act is of provisional character, given that the applications can be submitted within two years from the entry into force of the Act on amendments to the Croatian Citizenship Act (Official Gazette, No: 102/19).