Croatian citizenship application rejected — now what?

A decision has arrived refusing your application for Croatian citizenship. That is not necessarily the end: the decision must contain a statement of reasons and an instruction on legal remedy, and the Croatian Citizenship Act does not prohibit a new application with better evidence. Below is what the regulations say about this — and what they do not say.

First: read the decision carefully

Under the General Administrative Procedure Act (ZUP, Article 98), a decision contains, among other things, a statement of reasons and an instruction on legal remedy. The statement of reasons sets out the facts established, the reasons that were decisive in assessing the evidence, and the regulations on which the decision is based. You need three things from the decision:

• the legal basis on which the application was decided (for example Article 11 or Article 16);
• why it was refused. Article 26 of the Croatian Citizenship Act covers two cases: the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) refuses an application if the requirements are not met (paragraph 1), and may refuse it even when they are, if it finds there are reasons of interest to the Republic of Croatia (paragraph 2);
• what the instruction on legal remedy says and the date of service — deadlines run from it. When you collect the decision you sign a delivery receipt stating the exact date.

Option 1: Legal remedy — what the decision itself says

Which legal remedy you have is stated in the instruction on legal remedy in the decision itself: under Article 98(6) ZUP, that instruction informs the party whether they may lodge an appeal against the decision or bring an administrative dispute, before which body, within what time limit and in what manner. That instruction is authoritative.

The Croatian Citizenship Act contains no provision on appeal or on administrative disputes. An earlier version of this article claimed that an appeal "is not allowed"; we did not find a regulation that expressly says so, and we removed that claim. The general rules are these:

• ZUP, Article 12: a party has the right to appeal against a first-instance decision "unless otherwise provided by law"; an administrative dispute may be brought against a first-instance decision against which no appeal is allowed.
• Administrative Disputes Act (ZUS), Article 40(1): the lawsuit is filed with the court within 30 days of service of the contested decision. If the instruction on legal remedy states a longer time limit, the lawsuit may be filed within that limit (paragraph 4).
• Who may represent you: under Article 26 ZUS, the claimant's representative may be an attorney, but also a blood relative in the direct line, a brother, a sister or a spouse. The law therefore does not require you to have an attorney; whether you engage anyone is your decision.

In an administrative dispute the court reviews the lawfulness of the decision. We cannot assess the prospects in any particular case and make no claims about them.

Option 2: A new application

We found no provision in the Croatian Citizenship Act that prohibits filing a new application after a refusal. (An exception of a different kind is Article 21(2): a person who renounced Croatian citizenship as an adult cannot reacquire it.) How the authority treats a repeated application with the same evidence has not been officially published — ask the consular office before filing. A new application makes sense if it removes the reason given in the statement of reasons:

• Evidence of belonging to the Croatian people — if that was the basis, look at the documents listed by the Act and MUP: employment booklet, military booklet, school certificate, student record book, extracts from the register of births or marriages, evidence of activity in Croatian associations. In detail: how to prove Croatian nationality.
• A different basis — check whether another legal basis fits you better; an overview is in the comparison table and in the article on citizenship through grandparents.
• Formal defects — for example a certificate of no criminal record older than 6 months, a missing attachment, or a CV without the reasons for applying (see how to write the CV).

Bear in mind that for an application filed abroad the consular fee is paid on filing, so a new application means a new fee; confirm the amount with the consular office.

What not to do

• Do not miss the time limit in the instruction on legal remedy. It runs from service of the decision, whether or not you are still considering a new application.
• Do not file the same application with the same attachments if the statement of reasons names a defect you have not remedied.
• Do not rely on other people's experience of outcomes. Every case is assessed individually.

A practical sequence of steps

1. Note the date of service and read the instruction on legal remedy.
2. Establish the exact reason for refusal from the statement of reasons.
3. Within the time limit in the instruction, decide whether to use the legal remedy.
4. If you file a new application, remedy every reason given in the statement of reasons and only then book an appointment.

How the decision is served and how a case is followed is covered in citizenship application status — how to check it; the length of the procedure in how long the MUP decision takes.

Sources

• Croatian Citizenship Act (zakon.hr) — Articles 21 and 26
• General Administrative Procedure Act (zakon.hr) — Articles 12 and 98
• Administrative Disputes Act (zakon.hr) — Articles 26 and 40
• MUP — Procedure instructions: acquiring Croatian citizenship

Note: this website is an unofficial information guide and this text does not replace legal advice. The instruction on legal remedy in your decision is authoritative; regulations change — check the current text of the law before taking any step.