How to Get Croatian Citizenship and a Passport — Everything You Need to Know in 2026

Introduction – why this matters and what we cover

For many people in Serbia, Croatian citizenship is not an abstract legal concept. It is a practical link to part of their family history, and it also brings a very concrete status: citizenship of the European Union, with the right to live and work in the member states without a visa and without a work permit.

Croatia has been a member of the EU since 1 July 2013 and part of the Schengen area since 1 January 2023. A Croatian passport (putovnica) allows visa-free travel to a large number of countries; the United States requires an electronic ESTA authorisation and the United Kingdom an ETA. For citizens of Serbia with roots in Croatia, this is an option worth looking into.

The process is not simple, however. The law has been amended several times, some deadlines have expired, and the information is scattered across many sources. This guide is based on the current text of the Croatian Citizenship Act (Zakon o hrvatskom državljanstvu) and the Act on Travel Documents of Croatian Citizens (Zakon o putnim ispravama hrvatskih državljana), and on the instructions published on the official websites of the Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP RH) and the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP RH). Where we rely on readers' experience, we say so explicitly – treat those remarks as a rough guide, not as a rule.

Legal grounds for acquiring Croatian citizenship

Before you start collecting paperwork, you need to understand one key point: there are several different legal grounds on which you can claim Croatian citizenship, and each has its own procedure and its own set of documents. If you mix them up, you will collect the wrong paperwork.

It also helps to understand the difference between three terms that come up all the time:

• Acquisition by descent (Articles 4 and 5 of the Act) – citizenship is acquired through a parent who was a Croatian citizen at the moment you were born; a person who acquires it by descent is deemed a citizen from birth (Article 24a)
• Naturalisation (prirođenje, Articles 8–16) – you apply to be granted Croatian citizenship; this includes the facilitated grounds for emigrants and their descendants (Article 11) and for members of the Croatian people (Article 16)
• Determination of citizenship (utvrđivanje državljanstva) – a procedure establishing that you already are a Croatian citizen under earlier legislation (Article 30), but have simply not been entered in the register

Article 5(1) – Child of one Croatian parent, up to age 21 ACTIVE

Today this is the main active parent-based ground for people born outside Croatia. Under Article 5(1) of the Croatian Citizenship Act, a person born abroad, one of whose parents was a Croatian citizen at the moment of the birth, acquires Croatian citizenship by descent if, before reaching the age of 21, he or she is reported at a Croatian diplomatic mission or consular office abroad, or at a registry office (matični ured) in Croatia, for entry in the register as a Croatian citizen. (If both parents were Croatian citizens at the moment of the birth, citizenship is acquired under Article 4, without this time limit.)

The provision is fairly clear, but in practice there are a few nuances:

• Were you born in Serbia, and was one of your parents a Croatian citizen at the moment you were born? You are entitled on this ground until you turn 21.
• Are you under 18? Your parents file the report for you; check with the consular office or the registry office whether the consent of both parents is required.
• Are you between 18 and 21? You file the report yourself, at a Croatian consular office or at a registry office in Croatia.
• Are you over 21? Read the following sections – the situation is more complicated.

Article 5(2) – Adults (21+), one Croatian parent DEADLINE EXPIRED

The Act on Amendments to the Croatian Citizenship Act (Official Gazette, Narodne novine, NN 102/19), which entered into force on 1 January 2020, introduced a temporary option for people over 21, born abroad to one Croatian parent, to apply for entry in the register – but only within three years of the entry into force of that Act, and on condition that MUP first established that there were no impediments under Article 8(1), point 5 (respect for the legal order, public dues settled, no security impediments). That time limit expired at the beginning of 2023.

Applications filed in time are decided under that provision; according to readers' experience, some of those cases were pending for a long time. New applications on this ground can no longer be filed.

Article 30a(2) – Both parents Croatian citizens, born 1977–1991 DEADLINE EXPIRED

The same Act also introduced an option for people born between 8 January 1977 and 8 October 1991, BOTH of whose parents held Croatian citizenship at the moment of the birth, but who had a different citizenship entered in the records: they are deemed Croatian citizens if, within three years of the Act's entry into force, they applied for determination of citizenship. That time limit also expired at the beginning of 2023. We cannot reliably say how long it takes to decide applications that were filed in time.

Article 16 – Membership of the Croatian people (ethnicity) ACTIVE

This ground has no time limit, but the burden of proof is demanding. Under this article, a member of the Croatian people who has no registered residence in Croatia may acquire Croatian citizenship if he or she meets the requirement in Article 8(1), point 5: respecting the legal order of the Republic of Croatia, having settled all public dues that have fallen due, and the absence of security impediments. In legal terms, this is acquisition by naturalisation.

The key word is "prove". Under Article 16(2), membership of the Croatian people is established by earlier declarations of that membership in legal transactions, by that membership being stated in public documents, by protecting the rights and promoting the interests of the Croatian people, and by active participation in Croatian cultural, scientific and sports associations abroad. As examples of documents, MUP RH lists the employment booklet, the military service booklet, school certificates, the student record book (indeks) and birth or marriage certificates. Earlier declarations may be visible, for example, in the following documents – which of them MUP accepts depends on its assessment in each case:

• University ŠV forms (statistical enrolment forms) or the student record book (showing how you declared yourself on enrolment)
• Primary and secondary school certificates and confirmations with an ethnicity field
• Employment booklet (ethnicity field)
• Military service booklet
• Confirmation of entry in the special electoral roll of the Croatian national minority
• Extracts from civil registers in which ethnicity is recorded
• Confirmations from Croatian cultural, scientific and sports associations of membership and active participation
• Other documents in which ethnicity is stated (for example the record of notice of intended marriage, which states ethnicity)
• Baptismal certificate – it can be supporting evidence, but on its own it says nothing about ethnicity

Article 16(3) is particularly important: evidence of membership of the Croatian people does not have to be submitted by a person whose parents' membership of the Croatian people has been established beyond dispute. More on this in our article on how to prove Croatian ethnicity.

How long the procedure under Article 16 takes cannot be stated reliably – according to readers' experience the wait is long, and there is more on this in our article on how long the MUP decision takes. The administrative fee for the decision granting Croatian citizenship is €139.36 (MUP RH) and, according to the MUP instructions, is paid when the decision is collected if the application was filed in Croatia. For an application filed abroad, MUP states only that the consular fee is paid on filing, without giving an amount – confirm the amount and the moment of payment with the consular office.

Article 11 – Emigrants and their descendants ACTIVE

This ground applies to emigrants and their descendants. Under the Act, an emigrant is a person who emigrated from the territory of the Republic of Croatia before 8 October 1991 with the intention of living abroad permanently. By way of exception, an emigrant is also "a member of the Croatian people who emigrated from the territory of the former states which, at the time of emigration, included the territory of today's Republic of Croatia".

Determination of citizenship under earlier legislation (Article 30)

Many people have never heard of this ground. Under Article 30(1), a person who acquired Croatian citizenship under the legislation in force until the Act entered into force (8 October 1991) is deemed a Croatian citizen – MUP RH calls this the principle of continuity of citizenship. In the time of the SFRY (socialist Yugoslavia), every citizen held a republic-level citizenship in addition to the federal one. It is therefore possible that you, or your parent, held Croatian republic-level citizenship under the legislation of the time, and that this is not recorded in the Croatian register today. MUP RH points out an important limit here: anyone who, under the legislation in force until 8 October 1991, acquired the citizenship of another republic within the SFRY (for example Serbian) does not meet the conditions for determination of Croatian citizenship.

If you think this might apply to you, contact the registry office in Croatia competent for your parent's (or your own) place of birth and ask whether there is an entry in the citizenship register. If there is no entry, and you believe you acquired citizenship under earlier legislation, an application for determination of Croatian citizenship is filed – from Serbia, through a consular office (Article 24(5)).

Registering children (up to age 21)

If you are a Croatian citizen, your child born abroad acquires citizenship by descent when you report the child for entry in the register, no later than the child's 21st birthday (Article 5(1)). What you need to know:

• The report is filed at a Croatian consular office or at a registry office in Croatia
• What is decisive is that you were a Croatian citizen at the moment the child was born; a person who acquires citizenship by descent is deemed a citizen from birth, while a person who acquires it by naturalisation is a citizen only from the day the decision is delivered (Article 24a)
• If you acquired citizenship by naturalisation under Article 11 or Article 16, your minor child acquires it by naturalisation under Article 13; the application is filed by one parent with the written consent of the other
• Children with no registered residence in Croatia are entered in the central register kept in the City of Zagreb
• For a child under 18, the parents file the report; between 18 and 21, the person files it personally

Through marriage – naturalisation of foreign nationals

Under Article 10, a foreign national who is married to a Croatian citizen, who has been granted permanent residence and who lives in the territory of Croatia may acquire Croatian citizenship by naturalisation even without meeting the requirements in Article 8(1), points 1–4. In other words, marriage alone is not enough: granted permanent residence and life in Croatia are required (the conditions for permanent residence are governed by the legislation on foreigners – check them with MUP RH). This is not an option for people who live and work in Serbia and do not intend to move. The exception is the spouse of an emigrant under Article 11 – he or she may acquire citizenship without residing in Croatia (Article 11(2)).

Documents – what you need to prepare

Documents for determination of citizenship (Article 30)

This is a fairly compact list compared with Article 16. According to the MUP RH instructions on determination of Croatian citizenship, the following are submitted:

• Application on the prescribed form (questionnaire) – completed legibly, in the Latin script
• A životopis (a short written account of your life – a CV in narrative form)
• Extract from the register of births – on the international form; MUP gives no age limit in these instructions, so check with the consular office whether it requires an extract no older than 6 months
• Extract from the register of marriages (if you are married)
• Proof of citizenship status (a Serbian citizenship certificate showing when and on what basis you acquired it); confirm with the consular office whether a translation is needed
• Certified copy of a valid photo identity document (passport or identity card)
• Certified copies of the parents' citizenship documents (the domovnica, the Croatian certificate of citizenship) or a confirmation from the registry office that the parents, or one of them, are entered in the citizenship register
• Confirmation from a registry office in Croatia that you are not entered in the citizenship register
• Extracts from civil registers for the parents (if available)
• Certificate of no criminal record – MUP does not list it in the instructions for determination; obtain it only if the consular office asks for it

Documents for Article 16 – Membership of the Croatian people

This is a larger set of documents, because alongside your personal documents you also submit evidence of membership of the Croatian people. The basic list, according to the MUP RH instructions on acquiring citizenship:

Personal documents (mandatory)

• Application for acquisition of Croatian citizenship by naturalisation, on the prescribed form (Form 1, 2 or 3 – Obrazac 1, 2, 3; see our Documents page)
• A životopis, which also briefly states your reasons for applying
• Extract from the register of births (unless you were born in Croatia)
• Extract from the register of marriages, if you are married (unless the marriage was concluded in Croatia)
• Proof of citizenship status (citizenship certificate, passport or identity card)
• Certificate of no criminal record from the country of which you are a citizen and the country in which you live , with a translation into Croatian – no older than 6 months
• Certified copy of a valid photo identity document
• For children: the child's extract from the register of births, proof of the child's citizenship status, and the consent of the other parent

Evidence of having declared yourself a Croat (Article 16(2))

• University ŠV forms, student record book or enrolment form (field: ethnicity)
• Primary and secondary school certificates and confirmations
• Employment booklet (field: ethnicity)
• Military service booklet (field: ethnicity)
• Confirmation of entry in the special electoral roll of the Croatian national minority in Serbia
• Extracts from the registers of births and marriages in which ethnicity is recorded
• Confirmations from Croatian cultural, scientific and sports associations
• Record of notice of intended marriage (which states ethnicity)
• Baptismal certificate – as supporting evidence
• Originals or certified copies; submit older documents, because the Act requires earlier declarations

Documents of parents and ancestors

• Extracts from the register of births for your parents (and grandparents, if you rely on them)
• Ancestors' domovnica certificates (if they exist)
• Ancestors' old citizenship certificates
• Ancestors' employment booklets and military service booklets (with an ethnicity field)
• Article 16(3): if your parents' membership of the Croatian people has been established beyond dispute, you do not have to submit evidence of your own membership

Note: Article 16(3) of the Act speaks of parents. Your grandparents' documents can help establish your parents' ethnicity, but on their own they do not replace evidence – see our article on citizenship through grandparents.

The životopis – what to write

The životopis is submitted with the application and, according to the MUP RH instructions, it also briefly states your reasons for applying. The official instructions do not mention a separate "motivation letter" – the reasons go in the životopis itself. A detailed guide with a suggested structure is in our article on the životopis for Croatian citizenship.

For determination of citizenship (a shorter životopis)

State: where and when you were born, who your parents are (in particular which one is a Croatian citizen and since when), your education, work, marriage, children and, briefly, why you are applying.

For Article 16 (a more detailed životopis)

A more detailed approach is useful here: your personal and family history, how you and your parents declared yourselves and in which documents this can be seen, your involvement in Croatian associations, and the reasons why you are seeking citizenship. Everything you state should be consistent with the documents you enclose.

OIB – the personal identification number

The OIB (Osobni identifikacijski broj, personal identification number) is a number that is printed in both the passport and the identity card (osobna iskaznica). According to the Croatian Tax Administration (Porezna uprava), Croatian citizens are assigned an OIB automatically:

• when the fact of birth is entered in the register of births, or
• when citizenship is entered in the register of citizens
• If you are a citizen but have no OIB, you file a "Request for determination and assignment of an OIB" (Zahtjev za određivanjem i dodjeljivanjem OIB-a) together with an identity document – the instructions are on the website of the Tax Administration (porezna-uprava.gov.hr)
• Ask at the registry office, when you collect your domovnica, whether an OIB has already been assigned to you

The procedure, step by step

1. 1

   Book an appointment in good time

   This is the first step – and it is worth doing before you start collecting documents with a limited validity, because the first free appointment may not be soon.

   • Where to book: for Belgrade, on the Croatian consular portal (konzularniportal.mvep.hr); for Subotica, according to the Consulate General's official page, by phone on +381 24 656 900, on working days between 12:00 and 13:00. Our website is not that portal and does not book appointments.
   • Belgrade: Consular Section of the Croatian Embassy, tel. +381 11 3679 140, email crocons.beograd@mvep.hr (open to the public Mon–Thu 9:00–13:00)
   • Subotica: Consulate General of Croatia, tel. +381 24 656 906 and +381 24 656 900 (office of the Consul General), email gkrh.subotica@mvep.hr (open to the public Mon–Fri 9:00–13:00)

   The consular office does not decide on the application – it receives the documents and forwards them. The booking process is described in our article on booking an appointment at the consulate in Belgrade.

2. 2

   Collect and prepare your documents

   Collect your documents while you wait for the appointment. Watch the age of the documents – the certificate of no criminal record must be no older than 6 months, so it is not a good idea to obtain it too early.

   Before you pay for translations, ask the consular office what it requires to be translated; translations are done by a certified court interpreter for the Croatian language.

3. 3

   File the documents at the consular office

   The application is filed in person. According to the MUP RH instructions, when the application is filed abroad the consular fee is paid on filing; confirm the amount and the moment of payment with the consular office before your appointment. According to the consular portal (konzularniportal.mvep.hr), the consular fee cannot be paid in cash (the portal states this on its passport page) – check the payment method when you book your appointment. The case is then forwarded to Croatia.

   If a document is missing, do not panic. Ask whether you can submit it later, as a supplement.

4. 4

   Waiting – and how to follow the status

   We cannot confirm, in the sources we checked, the time limit within which MUP must decide a citizenship application, and the duration depends on the legal ground and on how complete the documents are. According to readers' experience:

   • determination of citizenship (Article 30, Article 30a) generally takes less time
   • Article 5(2) (one parent; only applications filed before the time limit expired): from several months upwards
   • Article 16 (ethnicity): the longest, not infrequently several years
   • every request for additional documents prolongs the procedure

   You can ask about the state of your case at the consular office where you filed the application, or at MUP RH – the contacts are on mup.gov.hr. In your enquiry, give your full name, date of birth, and the date and place of filing.

   More on waiting times: how long the MUP decision takes.

5. 5

   A possible request for more documents, or an interview

   During the procedure you may be asked to supplement your documents, and according to readers' experience some applicants are also invited to an interview. Watch the deadline stated in the notice and check your post regularly; if you cannot attend or cannot meet the deadline, contact the authority that sent the notice straight away.

   According to readers' experience, the questions at the interview are about family history, education, employment and the reasons for the application. Answer truthfully – if you do not know something, say openly that you do not know.

   The invitation in itself tells you nothing about the outcome.

6. 6

   A positive decision – what next

   The consular office where you filed the application informs you of the outcome. In the case of naturalisation, citizenship is acquired on the day of delivery of the decision (rješenje) granting it (Article 24a), and a person acquiring it by naturalisation takes a solemn oath (Article 24b).

   What follows is entry in the citizenship register, which is kept by the registry office. People with no registered residence in Croatia are entered in the central register in the City of Zagreb (Article 27). The OIB is assigned when citizenship is entered in the register of citizens.

   Before you set off to get your documents, check with the registry office whether the entry has been made – only then can you obtain a domovnica. We cannot reliably say how long the entry takes.

7. 7

   Getting the domovnica, passport and identity card

   Once you are entered in the citizenship register, the domovnica is issued by the registry office; you file the passport application at a consular office or at a police administration or police station in Croatia; and the identity card is issued only by police administrations and stations in Croatia – see the next section for details.

Where and how to get a passport and ID card in Croatia

Tovarnik – the station right on the border

Tovarnik lies right next to the border crossing with Serbia (Šid), so readers from Serbia often mention it as the nearest place for Croatian documents. Legally, Tovarnik has no special status: you can file the application at any police administration or station that handles administrative matters. Before you travel, check:

• Whether the station accepts applications: MUP states that applications are accepted by police administrations and stations that handle administrative matters – not by all of them. The list and contacts are on policija.gov.hr, and for this area on the page of the Vukovar-Srijem Police Administration
• Opening hours for the public – for both the police station and the registry office; we do not publish them because they change
• Payment: by payment slip at a post office, FINA (the Croatian Financial Agency) or a bank, by internet banking, or by card when filing the application
• Photograph: bring one 35×45 mm photograph (tell the photographer it is for a biometric passport)
• Urgent procedure: a passport produced in the urgent procedure is collected at the police administration, not at a station

Ilok and Vukovar

Readers from Vojvodina also mention Ilok (across the river from Bačka Palanka) and Vukovar. The same applies as for Tovarnik: there is no special status, and everything should be checked in advance.

• Check whether the particular station handles administrative matters and when it is open to the public
• Bring your photograph (35×45 mm) with you – do not count on having it taken on the spot
• A passport produced in the urgent procedure is collected at the police administration, not at a station – check the address on the website of the Vukovar-Srijem Police Administration
• Contacts: vukovarsko-srijemska-policija.gov.hr; registry offices: vusz.hr

Zagreb – for urgent cases

If you need a passport urgently, according to the MUP RH passport page the Zagreb Police Administration has the shortest time limit – and a lower urgent-procedure fee than the other administrations (that is how mup.gov.hr states it):

• Urgent procedure at the Zagreb Police Administration: 48 hours, fee €54.42
• In Zagreb, an urgent application cannot be filed at police stations – check the filing address on the website of the Zagreb Police Administration (zagrebacka-policija.gov.hr)
• At other police administrations and their stations: the time limit in the urgent procedure is 3 working days, fee €61.72
• The central citizenship register for people with no registered residence in Croatia is kept by the City of Zagreb – look for the contacts on zagreb.hr

What to bring when getting your FIRST passport and identity card

If you have just acquired Croatian citizenship and have been entered in the citizenship register:

1. A

   Registry office (matični ured)

   The registry office issues the domovnica – the public document that proves Croatian citizenship (Article 28) – and an extract from the register of births, if you are entered in it. Bring your decision and a valid photo identity document. Check the fee at the registry office; more on our page What is a domovnica.

2. B

   Police administration or station (MUP)

   With a passport application, you present an identity card or another document from which identity and citizenship can be established (Article 36) – someone getting Croatian documents for the first time brings the domovnica and a valid photo identity document (for example a Serbian passport). MUP also lists: proof of payment (if you are not paying by card) and one 35×45 mm photograph. Two fingerprints and a signature are taken when you file (Article 37).

   For the identity card, you submit a colour photograph of 3.5×4.5 cm and a photo identity document to establish your identity. A Croatian citizen with no registered residence in Croatia can obtain an identity card – a residence outside Croatia is entered in it. An identity card cannot be obtained at a consular office: it is issued only by police administrations and stations in Croatia.

Renewing (replacing) an expired passport

If you already have a Croatian passport and it has expired, the procedure is simpler: you also submit your old passport with the application, and it is cancelled (Article 37(6)). The application can also be made online, through the e-Građani (e-Citizens) system, if you already have a previously issued passport and an identity card no more than one year old with identification and signature certificates – in that case no photograph is submitted. A person with no registered residence in Croatia chooses, in the e-application, the police administration or station where the passport will be collected; there is no delivery abroad.

Current fees and time limits (2026)

The amounts for documents issued by MUP RH are taken from the mup.gov.hr pages (checked in September 2026), and the consular fees from our Costs page. Always check the amount currently in force before you pay.

Passport (Croatian putovnica)

Passport validity: 10 years; citizens under 21 are issued a passport valid for 5 years (Article 12 of the Act on Travel Documents). Anyone who loses two or more passports within a period of 5 years is issued a new one valid for one year.

Identity card (electronic eOI)

Validity of the identity card and its certificates: 5 years; an identity card issued to a person aged 70 or over is valid for 40 years (Article 4 of the Identity Card Act), while its certificates, if it has any, are still valid for 5 years.

Other costs and fees

Travel, dual citizenship and everyday life

Dual citizenship – yes or no?

On the grounds described in this guide – yes. Release from foreign citizenship is a requirement only for regular naturalisation (Article 8(1), point 2), and emigrants and their descendants (Article 11) and members of the Croatian people (Article 16) are exempt from it; in the case of acquisition by descent the question does not arise at all. Bear Article 2 in mind: a Croatian citizen who also holds a foreign citizenship is regarded, before the state authorities of the Republic of Croatia, exclusively as a Croatian citizen. The Serbian side of the question is covered on our Dual citizenship page.

Which passport do I use at the border?

This question confuses many people. A practical rule:

• Serbian border (leaving/entering Serbia): your Serbian document
• Croatian border and entry into the EU: your Croatian passport or Croatian identity card – before the Croatian authorities you are exclusively a Croatian citizen (Article 2)
• At the airport: show the airline the document with which you will enter the country of destination

The Croatian identity card for crossing borders

The Croatian identity card (eOI) is a document with which EU citizens travel within the Union:

• EU member states and, as a rule, the EEA states (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) and Switzerland
• For countries outside the EU – including the countries of the region – check on the MVEP RH website whether they accept the identity card

A Croatian citizen with no registered residence in Croatia can obtain an identity card – a residence outside the Republic of Croatia is entered in it. The application is filed exclusively at a police administration or station in Croatia. The card is useful for travelling within the EU without a passport and for Croatian e-services.

Travelling to the USA and the UK

• USA: Croatia is in the Visa Waiver Program. Before you travel you need an ESTA authorisation, which is applied for online; check the current fee on the official website esta.cbp.dhs.gov.
• United Kingdom: You need an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) – an online application, for which a fee is charged. Check the current conditions on gov.uk.

A passport without stamps – what that means in practice

There are no regular border checks at the internal borders of the Schengen area (for example Croatia–Slovenia, Croatia–Hungary). At the external borders – and the border between Serbia and Croatia is an external border – EU citizens are checked, but their travel documents are not stamped; the stamp (or the electronic record of entry and exit) applies to third-country nationals. Countries outside the EU apply their own rules.

EU Directive 2004/38 – spouses of Croatian citizens

This is one of the most useful, yet less well-known, consequences of EU citizenship: under Directive 2004/38/EC, the spouse of an EU citizen (and, under the conditions laid down in the Directive, a registered partner) has the right to accompany the EU citizen and to reside with him or her in another member state to which the EU citizen moves – regardless of the spouse's own citizenship.

Driving licence

Citizenship in itself does not entitle you to a Croatian driving licence: under EU rules, a driving licence is issued in the country where you have your normal residence. If you live in Serbia and have no plans to move, you keep your Serbian driving licence. Check the conditions for issue and exchange on the MUP RH website.

All contacts and useful links

Croatian consular offices in Serbia

Appointments for Belgrade are booked on the consular portal (konzularniportal.mvep.hr). Appointments for Subotica are, according to the Consulate General's official page, booked by phone on +381 24 656 900, on working days between 12:00 and 13:00.

MUP RH – status and information

Registry offices and police – Croatian border towns

Croatian Tax Administration – OIB

porezna-uprava.gov.hr – Assignment of an OIB (Dodjeljivanje OIB-a)

Legal assistance

This website does not recommend lawyers, agencies or intermediaries and does not publish their contact details. If you need representation – for example after a refused application – turn to a lawyer of your own choosing; in Croatia, a directory of lawyers is available through the Croatian Bar Association (Hrvatska odvjetnička komora). For what you can do yourself, read our article on a refused citizenship application, and for indicative lawyers' fees see our Costs page.

Sources and useful links

• Croatian Citizenship Act – Zakon o hrvatskom državljanstvu (NN 53/91 … 138/21) – zakon.hr
• Act on Travel Documents of Croatian Citizens (Zakon o putnim ispravama hrvatskih državljana) – consolidated text on zakon.hr
• MUP RH – Citizenship (Državljanstvo)
• MUP RH – Procedural instructions: acquiring Croatian citizenship
• gov.hr – Acquiring Croatian citizenship (Stjecanje hrvatskog državljanstva)
• MUP RH – Passport (Putovnica)
• MUP RH – Identity card (Osobna iskaznica, eOI)
• ePutovnica – e-application for a passport
• MVEP RH – Consulate General in Subotica, contact and opening hours
• Croatian Tax Administration – Assignment of an OIB
• Croatian consular portal (konzularniportal.mvep.hr)
• Narodne novine – International Treaties 6/98 – Treaty on Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Matters (Article 19)
• MVEP – Legalisation of documents (list of bilateral treaties that abolished legalisation)

Note: this is an unofficial information guide, not legal advice. Regulations and fees change — check with the competent authority before you file.