From Application to an EU Passport

Before you start collecting documents, check which grounds apply to you: descent, ethnicity, marriage or naturalisation. People under 21 whose parent was a Croatian citizen at the time of their birth do not go through naturalisation — they are entered in the citizenship records, a procedure handled by registry offices.

Gather your documents: the application form (download from mup.gov.hr), a CV (životopis) in Croatian, civil registry extracts, a criminal record certificate (not older than 6 months, with a Croatian translation) and proof of your parent's citizenship. An apostille is as a rule not required: legalisation of public documents between Croatia and Serbia was abolished by the Treaty on Legal Assistance (NN-MU 6/98, Art. 19), as the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) also states. The Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP) expressly requires a translation of the criminal record certificate. Before you pay for any certification or translation, confirm with the consular office that they ask for nothing more for your document.

Clients are received by appointment only. Belgrade (Consular Section of the Croatian Embassy, Kneza Miloša 82, 1st floor, Mon–Thu 9:00–13:00, tel. +381 11 3679 140): appointments are booked on the Croatian Consular Portal — konzularniportal.mvep.hr. Subotica (Croatian Consulate General, Maksima Gorkog 6, Mon–Fri 9:00–13:00): according to the consulate's official page, appointments are made by phone on +381 24 656 900, working days 12:00–13:00. For an application filed through the consulate, the fee is paid on submission; confirm the amount and the payment method with the consulate (the MUP tariff for an application filed in Croatia is €139.36).

The consular office forwards the case file to the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) in Zagreb, which decides on the application. There is no statutory deadline — the duration depends on the grounds and the complexity of the case. You can check the status by written inquiry to the office where you filed (crocons.beograd@mvep.hr or gkrh.subotica@mvep.hr) or to pitanja@mup.hr.

The decision is delivered at the office where the application was filed. In naturalisation, you become a Croatian citizen on the day the decision granting citizenship is delivered to you (Art. 24a). A domovnica (certificate of citizenship) is issued by a registry office in Croatia; it can also be requested through the consular office or the e-Građani system.

For a first passport you enclose a domovnica or other proof of citizenship, a birth certificate not older than 6 months, proof of your current address and a 35×45 mm photo. Fee: €74.32 (21+) or €55.74 (under 21) — cash is not accepted, so confirm the payment method with the consulate. Appointments: Belgrade — at konzularniportal.mvep.hr; Subotica — by phone on +381 24 656 900, working days 12:00–13:00. The finished passport is collected at the office where the application was filed. The law requires the application to be decided within 30 days; ask the consulate how long production and delivery take.

You collect the passport at the office where you applied. It is valid for 10 years (5 years if under 21). As a Croatian citizen you are also an EU citizen. Croatian law does not require release from Serbian citizenship for descent, marriage, emigrants or members of the Croatian people.