Response to articles on crowds in front of Belgrade consulate

The Consular Department of the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade end-2014 received an increased amount of applications by Croatian nationals for temporary residence abroad

The Consular Department of the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade end-2014 received an increased amount of applications by Croatian nationals for temporary residence abroad, because of which crowds occurred in front of the building. We would like to point out that the Croatian nationals with a temporary or permanent residence abroad have had a chance for the past two years to regulate their status. Unfortunately, it seems that some of them have waited until the very deadline, which resulted in crowds, but the articles on the unprofessional conduct by the Embassy’s officials are entirely inaccurate. All of the necessary consular information is available on the web pages of the Embassy and are also provided at the offices of the Consular Department as well as via email. We are pleased to point out that it was precisely because of its professionalism that the Consular Department has gotten hundreds of appreciative feedbacks by the clients. Although the Consular Department is officially opened 9-12 h, clients are regularly received afterhours in order to finish the procedures in one day. The competent Serbian authorities (the Ministry of the Interior) have posted their own officials at the entrance of the Croatian Consulate and the clients are allowed to enter in a certain number (10-15 persons) in order to avoid crowding the building. In the last several weeks, when the crowds did occur, the number of processed applications has also increased and officials have been transferred from other posts to the Consular Department in order to cope with the demand. Applications for residence cancellations have been received even after the deadline. 

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