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 which should be submitted are the following
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 statement about the circumstences in which the passport got lost or stolen. He/She is also obliged to submit an Affidavit (Statement) 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.
CITIZENSHIP
Acquiring a Croatian citizenship is regulated by the Act on Croatian Citizenship (the text of the Act can be obtained at the web site of the Croatian Ministry of Interior www.mup.hr).
The application for acquiring the citizenship must be submitted in person at the Embassy. If accepted the Croatian Ministry of Interior adopts a Ruling (Rješenje) on Granting Croatian Citizenship.
Forms for acquiring, confirming, releasing or giving up of the Croatian citizenship
REGISTRATION OF BIRTH
If a child, whose parent/parents are Croatian citizen, was born abroad, its birth should be registered in the Croatian Registry of Birth and the Croatian Book of Citizens. The following documents should be submitted when applying:
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completed form of birth registration
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unabridged birth certificate + Seal Apostille i certified Croatian translation;
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proof of parents' citizenship: valid Croatian passport and Certificate of Citizenship (domovnica)
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foreign residence permit (ID or passport).
If the other parent is a foreign citizen he/she should make a certified statement stating that he/she agrees the child be registered in the Croatian Registries.
A Croatian citizen who got married abroad should apply for a marriage registration in the Croatian Registry of Marraige. Following documents should be submitted:
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completed form of marriage registration
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unabridged marriage certificate + Seal Apostille and certified translation into Croatian);
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valid passport;
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Certificate of Citizenship (domovnica);
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proof of residence in South Africa or abroad (ID or passport).
Besides the mentioned documents an authorised consular official can request for other relevant documents to be submitted.
PASS CHECK FOR CORPSE (sprovodnica)
A person who wants to transport a body of a deceased person in order to bury it in Croatia shall be issued a Pass Check for Corpse. Following documents must be submitted:
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completed form
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Death Certificate + Seal Apostille and certified Croatian translation;
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doctors statement on the cause of death
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burrial permit from the undertaker;
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proof of citizenship of the deceased person;
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Croatian passport of the deceased person which must be declared null and void;
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letter from the cemetary (church registry) where the place of burial is stated;
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data from the undertaker: flight number, air company, airport.
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If a person is applying for a transit pass (transiting Croatia in order to bury the body in a third country) all data about the transporting device must be submitted as well as the data of the relevant Croatian border crossing points.
If a person applies for the transport of exhumed remains to Croatia, besides the mentioned documents also a statement of the competent authorities stating the date, time and place of exhumation must be submitted.
CERTIFICATE OF RESIDENCE (FOR CUSTOMS EXEMPTION)
A customs privilege can only be used once in a lifetime. The household items can be imported in Croatia within a timeframe of one year. A list of all the items intended to be imported must be submitted.
Following requirements should be fulfilled in order to benefit from the customs privilege:
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proof of being a resident abroad for at least 3 years;
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statement that a customs privilege hasn't been used ever before;
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the household items should have been used for at least 12 months.
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for the import of business inventory a company must be registered in Croatia.
The Embassy can issue a Statement confirming that the relevant person has been overseas for at least three years, in accordance with Article 187 paragraph 1 line 11 and 12 of the Croatian Customs Act.
Besides the application form following documents should be submitted:
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foreign documents prooving an uninterrupted residence for at least three years abroad;
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proof of identity and citizenship;
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proof of the Croatian residence (temporary or permanent).
REGISTRATION OF MARRIAGE
In accordance with the Article 187 paragraph 11 of the Croatian Customs Act, a Croatian citizen who intends to move back to Croatia, all his/her household items or inventory with business purpose are exempt of customs and VAT taxes if these items have been in use for at least one year. A personal vehicle also represents a household item.
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