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Croatia: Whether a person who acquired Yugoslav citizenship in 1995 but also obtained a Croatian "domovnica" document in 2002 would be recognized as a citizen of Croatia

In a 29 January 2007 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a consular official from the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Ottawa stated that a domovnica (Croatian citizenship certificate) is proof of Croatian citizenship and that the bearer is a Croatian citizen, provided that the document is not a forgery. In a later interview, the Consular Official added that while a domovnica proves that the bearer is a Croatian citizen, it does not specify whether the bearer is an ethnic Croat, since ethnic identity is not indicated on the certificate (Croatia 6 Feb. 2007). An image of a domovnica can be found on the Web site of the Croatian Ministry of Interior (ibid. n.d.).

According to an uncorroborated 13 September 2006 article appearing in the Croatian newspaper Vjesnik, some 1.15 million people have obtained Croatian citizenship since the Law on Croatian Citizenship came into effect in October 1991. Article 2 of the Law on Croatian Citizenship stipulates that a "citizen of the Republic of Croatia who is at the same time [a] foreign citizen, shall be, before the authorities of the Republic of Croatia, deemed to be exclusively a Croatian citizen" (Croatia 1991).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Croatia. 6 February 2007. Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, Ottawa. Telephone interview with a consular official.
_____. 29 January 2007. Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, Ottawa. Telephone interview with a consular official.
_____. 1991. The Law on Croatian Citizenship 1991, with Amendments of 1992 and 1993. (Council of Europe Web site) <http://www.coe.int/t/e/legal_affairs/legal_co-operation/foreigners_and_citizens/nationality/documents/national_legislation/Croatia-The%20Law%20on%20Croatian%20Citizenship.asp> [Accessed 25 Jan. 2007]
_____. N.d. Ministry of Interior. "Domovnica." <http://www.mup.hr/UserDocsImages/domovnica.jpg> [Accessed 29 Jan. 2007]

Vjesnik [Zagreb]. 13 September 2006. "Croatia Grants Citizenship to 1.5 million since 1991." (Factiva/BBC Monitoring European 20 Sept. 2006)