If your mother or father was a Croatian citizen when you were born, you may be Croatian by origin. Born outside Croatia, you need to be registered with a Croatian mission or registry office before you turn 21. Nothing has to be proved about emigration: what counts is your parent’s citizenship on the day you were born.
If an ancestor was born in Croatia and left to live permanently abroad before 8 October 1991, their descendants can naturalise without the conditions other foreigners face. This is the route for most Australians and New Zealanders with Croatian grandparents or great-grandparents, and for their spouses.
Article 11 waives three of the conditions in Article 8 that apply to other people who want to become Croatian. For emigrants, their descendants and their spouses, these are simply not part of the application.
A language test
Residence in Croatia
Giving up your citizenship
You still prove who you are and where you come from. For applications lodged in Australia, the Croatian foreign ministry asks adults for:
Australian and New Zealand documents need an apostille and a certified Croatian translation, and you lodge in person.
The full document checklistStart with the closest Croatian-born relative in your direct line. If it is a parent who was a citizen when you were born, read the parent path first: it can be the simplest. If it is a grandparent or great-grandparent, the question is when they left. Before 8 October 1991, Article 11 applies to you as their descendant.
Your spouse can apply alongside you on the strength of your descent, and children under 18 become Croatian with you. If your family left after 1991, or your link is through Croatian identity rather than birth, Article 16 may help; it is explained on our law page.
Not sure? The two-minute quiz asks the questions that decide it, and a free consultation with us confirms where you stand.
No. Descendants of Croatian emigrants are exempt from the language and residency requirements.
Article 11 of the Citizenship ActThere are two main routes. By origin, if a parent was a Croatian citizen when you were born (Articles 4 and 5 of the Citizenship Act). And by naturalisation as an emigrant or an emigrant’s descendant (Article 11), which is how grandchildren and great-grandchildren apply. Spouses and children under 18 can follow an Article 11 applicant.
Read the Act in EnglishThe Act defines an emigrant as someone who left Croatia before 8 October 1991 intending to live permanently abroad. If your ancestor left later, the Article 11 route does not cover them.
Article 11 in fullNo. Article 11 waives the condition of releasing your other citizenship, and both Australia and New Zealand allow dual citizenship.
Dual citizenship explainedAdults apply in their own right; Article 8 requires applicants to be 18. Children under 18 are included through a parent under Article 13.
Citizenship for your children