• Text size  | | |
• Email this document
• Printable version

Croatia: Information on whether Croatia, in 1993, issued passports of convenience to displaced persons from Bosnia who had gone to Zagreb for safety in order to facilitate their travel to North America, even though such persons did not qualify for Croatian citizenship

The president of the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (CHC) in Zagreb stated that the CHC is unaware of the issue of "passports of convenience" by the Croatian authorities to displaced persons from Bosnia who wish to leave Croatia for third countries (23 Nov. 1994). The CHC president added that Bosnians of Croatian nationality are entitled to dual citizenship and therefore to a Croatian passport (ibid.). Ethnic Muslims and Serbs from Bosnia are not entitled to Croatian citizenship and therefore are not entitled to Croatian passports (ibid.).

According to a counsellor at the Croatian embassy in Ottawa, Croatia does provide travel documents on a case-by-case basis to Bosnians in Croatia who wish to leave the country but do not have their own travel documents (21 Nov. 1994). The counsellor stated that these travel documents cannot be issued to Croatian citizens, but are issued to persons from Bosnia and other foreign nationals and that they are not valid for a return to Croatia (ibid.).

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Croatian Helsinki Committee, Zagreb. 23 November 1994. Fax received from the president in response to questions posed by DIRB.

Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, Ottawa. 21 November 1994. Telephone interview with counsellor.

Attachment

Croatian Helsinki Committee, Zagreb. 23 November 1994. Fax received from the president in response to questions posed by DIRB.

Topics: Right to a nationality,