PASSPORT
Putovnica (Passport) is a Croatian travel document of a Croatian citizen which proves a person's identity and Croatian citizenship.
Croatian citizens who live abroad for more than three months are allowed to apply for a passport at the relevant Embassy.
A passport application should be submitted in person. Forms 1 (yellow) and 7 (blue) should be collected at the Croatian Embassy in Pretoria.
Documents required for acquiring a Croatian passport
For issuing of the first passport following documents are required:
1) two passport-size photographs (3,5 x 4,5 cm) in colour, with bright
background, face should occupy about 75-80% of the photograph surface;
2) domovnica (Croatian citizenship certificate) or rješenje o primitku u
državljanstvo (ruling of the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Croatia that
you are received into Croatian citizenship);
3) rodni list or izvadak (izvod) iz maticne knjige rodenih – that is how your birth certificate is called if you were born in Croatia (or maybe Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia or Montenegro); if you were born in South Africa or elsewhere, you should submit your unabridged birth certificate (original), translated into Croatian with a Seal APOSTILLE (you can obtain it from the Directorate for Consular Services of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the RSA, or any SA High Court or notary public);
4) proof that you have been residing in South Africa or elsewhere abroad for more than 3 months (ID, passport);
5) proof of payment of 1108 rands consular fee (826 rands for young people up to 27 years of age) – you can pay via internet, with credit card or send a cheque drawn to the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia as a beneficiary, or deposit it directly to our account: Standard Bank, Hatfield branch, Pretoria, branch code: 1545, account number: 011978279, and send us a copy of the deposit slip;
6) If you're paying in US dollars (for non-South African residents), you should pay 161 US$ consular fee (120 US$ for young people up to 27 years of age) into the Embassy's bank account with the same bank and branch as stated above. Dollar account number: 090228596, SWIFT code: SBZAZAJJ. If, however, the banking system of the country where you reside does not work properly, you are allowed to send the stated amount in cash.
For issuing of a new passport following documents are required:
1) two passport-size photographs (3,5 x 4,5 cm) in colour, with bright
background, face should occupy about 75-80% of the photograph surface;
2) Croatian passport which has expired or is inadequate (full with stamps, visas) to use;
3) Croatian ID (osobna iskaznica) or other doucument proving your identity and citizenship;
4) proof that you have been residing in South Africa or elsewhere abroad for more than 3 months (ID, passport).
For minors (children up to 18 years) application should be submitted by one parent. The yellow form should be signed by one parent and the child if literate. One parent should submit a proof of citizenship (copy of passport).
As for the forms, they should be completed in the following manner:
1) leave the blue form empty, except for your signature, which is to be placed inside the box at the bottom of the page, and done in black ink;
2) as for the yellow form, fill just the front side; circle number 1 (PUTOVNICA); jedinstveni maticni broj gradana is to be found in your old passport or in domovnica under the abbreviation JMBG (if it's not there, leave it empty)
3) prezime = surname; ime = first name(s); rodeno prezime = maiden name; dan, mjesec i godina rodenja = date of birth; spol = gender (sex – put M for male, Ž for female); mjesto rodenja = place of birth (if you were born abroad, state the country as well; RSA = JAR); prebivalište i adresa… = legal permanent (main) residence (address); if abroad (not in Croatia), add the country at the end);
4) for convenience, at the bottom of the front side, state your contact telephone number;
5) at the back side of the yellow paper, fill just datum podnošenja zahtjeva (date of submission of the request) and sign (potpis podnositelja zahtjeva).
If you have more than two Christian (given) names or surnames, before submitting your application for a new Croatian passport, you would need to give a statement (in Croatian) which name(s) you want to drop, because Croatian laws allow for maximum two given names and two surnames.
Minors
A minor younger than 14 years is allowed to travel abroad only accompanied by a parent or other legal representative. A minor can be accompanied by another person only by his/her parents consent. Consent of both parents should be certified by a Commissioner of Oath (public notary, police etc.) or by the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Pretoria.
A passport is issued for a period of 10 years. For persons younger than 27 a passport is issued for a period of 5 years.
There is no option of including children into a parent's passport, but they are issued with a separate passport with a validity of 5 years.
For minors a passport application should be submitted by both parents or by one parent with a certified consent of the other parent.
If a passport application is submitted by divorced parents, the application should be submitted by a parent who was entitled of legal custody by a court. Such a foreign Court decision (Divorce Certificate) must be certified by a competent municipal court in Croatia.
Whilst applying for a child's passport parents are obliged to show to the consular officer their Croatian passports or Croatian ID (osobna iskaznica), as well as their foreign passport/ID. If the parents are registered on different addresses, they should make a statement stating on what address their child should be registered.
Changing of name/surname
If an applicant got married abroad and has changed his/her surname, a passport with a new name cannot be issued before the change of the name/surname has been registered in the competent Registry of Birth and the Registry of Marriage in Croatia.
In accordance with the Croatian Act on Personal Name, a Crotian citizen can use at most 2 first names and 2 surnames. If a person has more than two first names and two surnames, he/she must give a statement stating which two first names and surnames he/she will use in the Croatian legal affaires. By this statement a person does not change its identity, but states that such a shortened name will be used only for Croatian legal affairs.
Lost or stolen passport
If a passport has been lost or stolen, a Croatian citizen is obliged to report this immediately to the Embassy and make a affidavit about the circumstences in which the passport got lost or stolen. He/She is also obliged to submit an Affidavit from the competent foreign Police Station that the Croatian passport was stolen or got lost. This statement should be translated into Croatian.
The Croatian Embassy will adopt an Official Statement (rješenje) declaring the passport null and void. This Statement must be made public in the Croatian Official Gazette (Narodne novine). After the notification of the lost passport has been published in the Official Gazette the procedure of issuing a new passport can begin.
TRAVEL CERTIFICATE (PUTNI LIST)
Putni list is a Croatian travel certificate which is issued to a Croatian citizen whose passport got lost, stolen or damaged. It is issued for the purpose of returning to Croatia and apply for a new Croatian passport there.
Putni list is issued for a reasonable timeframe which is necessary for the return to Croatia, at most for 30 days.
A Croatian citizen must prove his/her identity. If the persons's document have been stolen, the identity could be verified by a testimony of other Croatian citizens, who know the person and are ready to testify under financial and legal liability.
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