LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Acquisition of Croatian citizenship based on emigration is one of the legal bases for acquiring Croatian citizenship by naturalization, which is legally regulated by the provision of Article 11 of the Croatian Citizenship Act (Official Gazette nr 53/91, 70/91, 28/92, 113/93, 4/94, 130/11, 110/15, 102/19, 138/21, hereinafter: CCA).
According to the aforementioned provision, which was amended by the Amendments to the CCA, which entered into force on January 1, 2020, an emigrant and his descendants, as well as their spouse, can acquire Croatian citizenship if the conditions are cumulatively met at their end: that they have reached the age of 18, as well as that they respect the legal order of the Republic of Croatia and have settled due public debts and there are no security obstacles to their admission to Croatian citizenship. In accordance with this amendment, the CCA liberalized the procedure of acquiring Croatian citizenship by naturalization for emigrants, their descendants and their spouses, i.e. they will be able to acquire Croatian citizenship under "more favorable conditions", although they do not meet the necessary legal prerequisites for knowledge of the Croatian language and Latin script, Croatian culture and social order, whereby it is clear the intention of the legislator to simplify the process of acquiring Croatian citizenship by abolishing the obligation to take exams of knowledge of the Croatian language and culture.
DEFINITION OF THE TERM "EXPATRIATE/EXPAT" WITHIN THE MEANING OF ART. 11. OF THE CCA
An emigrant is considered to be a person who emigrated from the territory of the Republic of Croatia with the intention of permanently living abroad before October 8, 1991, but not if he emigrated on the basis of an international treaty or emigrated to other countries of the former Yugoslavia or emigrated from the territory of the Republic of Croatia, and did not have former Croatian republican citizenship / homeland in the territory of the Republic of Croatia.
On the other hand, an emigrant is not considered to be a person who emigrated from the territory of the Republic of Croatia on the basis of an international treaty or renounced Croatian citizenship, a person who changed his residence to other states that at that time were part of the state union to which the Republic of Croatia also belonged, and a person who emigrated from the territory of the Republic of Croatia, and she did not have former Croatian republican citizenship, i.e. homeland on the territory of the Republic of Croatia.
Practically, if a descendant of an emigrant were to apply for Croatian citizenship based on his application on a kinship with an emigrant who is found to have emigrated from the territory of the Republic of Croatia after 8 October 1991 or emigrated before that date, but returned after a short time back to Croatia or renounced his Croatian citizenship or emigrated from the territory of the Republic of Croatia to another country that was part of the Republic of Croatia, or that this ancestor was born and lived in the territory of a Yugoslav state other than Croatia, his application will be rejected as unfounded solely because of the lack of legal basis for acquiring Croatian citizenship on the stated basis.
For the explanation, the aforementioned date of October 8, 1991, represents the day when the Republic of Croatia, by state-legal independence, i.e. the termination of state-legal ties on the basis of which it, together with other republics and provinces, formed the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), became a sovereign and independent state.
We would like to point out the sentence from the judgment of the High Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia, decision nr.: Us-11445/2008-3 of 23 October 2009 according to which "persons from the territory of the annexed SFRY under the Peace Treaty with Italy, who opted for Italy, are considered persons who have retained Italian citizenship continuously, and therefore they were not Croatian citizens." Provision of Article 2. Pursuant to Article 10 of the Law on the Citizenship of Persons in the Territory annexed by the SFRY under the Peace Treaty with Italy ("Official Gazette of the SFRY", No. 104/47), it was stipulated that persons who exercised the right of option did not acquire the citizenship of the FNRJ and the corresponding republics as of 15 September 1947, but retained Italian citizenship continuously. Therefore, the provision of Article 15. Pursuant to Article 10 of the Croatian Citizenship, Act which refers to Croatian citizens who have obtained and sought revocation from Croatian citizenship to acquire which foreign citizenship, for legally prescribed reasons, cannot be applied in the case of the plaintiff".
SPOUSES OF THE DESCENDANTS OF EXPATRIATES
If the descendant of an emigrant whose application for admission to Croatian citizenship is adopted is a foreigner, the same can apply for Croatian citizenship under the same conditions as his spouse, more precisely they can acquire Croatian citizenship if the conditions are cumulatively met on their part: that they have reached the age of 18, as well as that they respect the legal order of the Republic of Croatia and have settled due public benefits and there are no security obstacles to his or her admission to Croatian citizenship.
APPLYING FOR CROATIAN CITIZENSHIP
The application for acquisition of Croatian citizenship by naturalization is submitted personally or through an authorized proxy in the police administration or police station, according to the place of approved temporary or permanent residence. If the applicant has not been granted temporary or permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia, the application for acquisition of Croatian citizenship by naturalization shall be submitted through a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Croatia abroad.
The procedure for acquiring Croatian citizenship is carried out by the Ministry of the Interior (Article 25 of the CCA) at the headquarters that examines whether all legal prerequisites for acquiring Croatian citizenship have been met in relation to the applicant – if they are, the Ministry of the Interior issues a positive decision on the admission of a person to Croatian citizenship and becomes a Croatian citizen on the day of delivery of a positive decision.
Upon acquisition of Croatian citizenship, a person can obtain a Croatian certificate of citizenship, which is a public document proving Croatian citizenship, issued by the registry office, while acquiring the right to make a Croatian identity card and/or passport proving Croatian citizenship with documents in legal transactions.
SOLEMN OATH
Upon receipt of Croatian citizenship, the person makes a solemn oath whose text reads: "I swear with my honor that as a Croatian citizen I will abide by the Constitution and the law and respect the legal order, culture and customs in the Republic of Croatia. "
The Ordinance on the manner and procedure for giving solemn oath is adopted by the Minister of the Interior Ministry as the head of the body, and the text of the Ordinance from October 2021 (OG 108/2021) is currently in force. The Ordinance stipulates that the oath is given only by an adult, and it is organized at least once a year, as a rule, on holidays and memorials of the Republic of Croatia. The solemn oath is given in an appropriate space with prominent symbols of the Republic of Croatia (coat of arms and flag).
A person who has been admitted to Croatian citizenship will be invoked personally for the purpose of taking a solemn oath by mail, e-mail or the website of the Ministry of the Interior, or the competent diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Croatia abroad, while a formal oath may be given when taking over the decision on receipt into Croatian citizenship, with the competent authority in the Republic of Croatia or in the abroad, if there are justified reasons for this (e.g. high age, health status, long distance between the place of residence and the place of solemn oath, etc.).
A person who receives a decision on admission to Croatian citizenship in the Republic of Croatia shall be given a solemn oath at the police administration, i.e. at the police station or in another appropriate premises. The oath ceremony is conducted by a state official or an official of the Interior Ministry who is authorized to do so by the Minister of the Interior. At the beginning of the ceremony, the anthem of the Republic of Croatia is performed and the introductory speaker introduces the person to the importance of acquiring Croatian citizenship and the rights and duties of a Croatian citizen, while the text of the oath is personally pronounced by the person who has been admitted to Croatian citizenship and finally signed an oath by the person who takes the oath and certifies it is the head of the ceremony.
A person who receives a decision on the admission to Croatian citizenship abroad, is given a solemn oath at a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Croatia or in another premises used for official purposes. At the same time, the head of the diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Croatia or his deputy shall take the oath of office in Croatian.
In conclusion, prior to taking the oath, the Ministry of the Interior issues a positive decision on the admission of a person into Croatian citizenship and becomes a Croatian citizen on the day of receiving a positive decision, and not an oath, which is only a solemn act celebrating previously acquired Croatian citizenship.
Anja JURŠETIĆ, mag.iur.