Steps taken on making Croatian citizenship easier for Croats abroad to aquire ​

ZAGREB, Dec 13 (Hina) – Acquiring Croatian citizenship should be easier for Croats abroad and Croatian emigrants, the government proposes in amendments to the Citizenship Act which it sent to parliament on Thursday.

This bill of amendments is aimed at simplifying the acquiring of Croatian citizenship, which will recognise and valorise the economic, demographic, social, scientific and other potential of Croatian emigrants, said Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic.

Since 1992, when the Citizenship Act came into force, nearly 1.1 million foreigners have been naturalised, which does not include children of Croatian citizens, he added.

The amendments raise the age limit for registering in the register of Croatian citizens to 21 for persons born abroad whose parent was a Croatian citizen when they were born.

The amendments leave out the generational restriction for acquiring Croatian citizen for descendants of emigrants and they and their spouses will no longer have the obligation to know the Croatian language, the Latin script and Croatia’s culture and social order.

A spouse whose naturalisation would represent an interest for the state must have legally lived in Croatia for one year.

Minors, one of whose parents acquired Croatian citizenship as an emigrant or a descendant of emigrants, can also be naturalised.

A person who renounced Croatian citizenship as an adult can no longer be granted citizenship. Citizenship can be lost if it was acquired based on marriage for gain or false presentation or fraud.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said the bill was part of promises from talks with the government’s Office for Croats outside Croatia.