Second Pass

Reacquiring Lost Citizenship in Croatia

The Verdict: Clear Path

You can take Croatian citizenship back under article 23 once you have lived in Croatia for a year. Before you plan a move, find out whether your parents were released or renounced, because release may open a route from abroad.

Article 23 of the Croatian Citizenship Act covers a person whose citizenship ended while they were under 18 because their parents' did. You reacquire it with one year of continuous residence in Croatia and a written statement that you consider yourself a Croatian citizen. There is no language test and no need to give up your current citizenship.

The year has to be lived, so you need a residence status while you do it: family reunification, work, study, the diaspora return permit if you belong to the Croatian people, or the digital nomad permit if you work remotely for a company outside Croatia.

If your parents were released (otpust) rather than renouncing, and the family left Croatia before 8 October 1991, article 11 may reach you with no residence at all, because release does not cost emigrant status. The Ministry of the Interior holds the records of both.

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