An identity card is an electronic public document that the Croatian citizen uses to prove identity, Croatian citizenship, sex, date of birth, and permanent residence in Croatia.
All Croatian citizens have the right to hold the Croatian electronic identity card, regardless of their age and whether or not they have permanent residence in Croatia.
The Croatian citizen who does not have the permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia, can acquire the identity card and their residence outside the Republic of Croatia will be entered in it. In such a case the identity card cannot be used as proof of permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia.
The identity card is a mandatory document for Croatian citizens over 18 years of age who have registered permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia.
The application for issuing an identity card can be submitted at a police administration or police station that deal with administrative affairs, competent according to the applicant’s permanent residence. The person who has, in addition to their permanent residence, registered a temporary residence can also submit their application at a police administration or police station competent according to their temporary residence. Applicants who have a permanent residence abroad can submit their application at any police administration or police station in charge of administrative affairs.
An identity card contains an electronic data carrier (chip) where, in addition to the visible data printed on the card, one or two certificates can be stored, and those are:
An electronic identity card with an active identification certificate is used for registration on e-Citizen portal on the Internet site https://pretinac.gov.hr and other e-services. Together with the signature certificate an electronic identity card can be used for certification of documents with an electronic signature, as a valid substitute for a handwritten signature.
Types and validity period of eID
An identity card has an electronic data carrier (chip) where, depending on the age of the holder, digital certificates are stored:
Persons who have attained the age of 65 can depending on their preference , obtain an identity card with or without an identification and a signature certificate.
Validity period of eID and the certificates it contains is 5 years.
Exceptionally, identity card issued to the person over 65 years of age has no validity period (permanent identity card).
The applicants for an identity card that contains the certificates who have attained the age of 65, can use the identity card after the validity period expires (5 years), but they will not be able to use it as a proof of their identity, or use it to create a qualified electronic signature. If they wish to use their identity card as an electronic proof of their identity and to create a qualified electronic signature ( as an electronic document) they will have to make an application for issuing a new identity card.
Application for issuing a new eIC
Application for issuing a new eIC is submitted in person. An application for issuing an identity card of a child or a person deprived of legal capacity in the matter related to his or her status shall be submitted by a legal representative.
A legal representative of a child may be his or her parent, guardian or a person who has been awarded custody of a child by a court order in full or in that matter.
If parents have joint custody of the child, the application for issuing an identity card shall be submitted by both parents in person.
Exceptionally, the application for issuing an identity card to a child may be submitted by one of the parents together with the statement that the other parent shall collect the identity card in person.
If the other parent is prevented from collecting the identity card in person, the parent who submitted the application may collect the identity card if he or she provides a written consent from the other parent with the signature certified by a notary or by a competent authority, or in a consular office of the Republic of Croatia if he or she is not present in the territory of the Republic of Croatia
The application for issuing an identity card may be independently submitted by one of the parents if the other parent has died or has been declared dead, if he or she has been deprived of legal capacity in the matter related to acquiring the identity card, if he or she has custody in full or in that matter based on a court order or if the other parent’s custody has been suspended based on a court order.
In cases of emergency, when a child is in danger or the issuance of an identity card is in child’s particular interest, the application for issuing an identity card for the child may be submitted and the issued identity card may be collected by the same parent with a written consent from the social care centre competent according to the location of the permanent or temporary residence of the child, or if a child does not have a permanent or temporary residence in the Republic of Croatia, from the social care centre competent according to the headquarters of the authority to which an application for issuing an identity card has been submitted.
A child under the age of 12 is not obliged to be present when the application for issuing an identity card is submitted.
When submitting the application for issuing the identity card, the applicant has to:
When an applicant has to renew an identity card that expired he or she has to provide the old identity card which is then annulled and returned.
If the identity card or the passport of the Republic of Croatia has not yet been issued to the applicant, and he or she has not been registered to Register of births in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, the applicant has to provide an extract from foreign Register of births or a birth certificate.
If a person has multiple names and surnames, which due to the number of characters cannot be entered into the space for entering names and surnames, those words which a person has declared by statement made in front of a registrar as the name and surname to be used in legal transactions will be entered into the form of the identity card.
Exceptionally, the photo does not have to be provided if the applicant has been issued with a passport or an identity card within the last five years that contains a personal identification number (OIB) and for which a photo had already been provided and the applicant’s appearance has not significantly changed)
A Croatian citizen who does not have a registered permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia may obtain an identity card in which information on his or her permanent residence outside the Republic of Croatia is entered according to the data on permanent residence contained in the public document issued to him or her by the competent authority of the state in which he or she has a registered permanent residence or in which he or she has been granted stay.
Agreement on certification services
The applicant has to sign the Agreement on certification services with a service provider for issuing an identity card containing one or two certificates
After the application for issuing an identity card has been received, a filled out contract will be provided to the applicant, and by signing the contract the applicant will complete the contract with certification service provider.
When retrieving eIC the applicant is given a sealed code envelope containing initial password and the PIN.
The person has to activate the identity card in order to use it successfully. The activation procedure can be completed on the eID Portal (www.eid.hr) and consists of three basic steps:
Deadlines and Prices of Issuance of Identity Card (eIC)
In a regular procedure, electronic identity cards are issued within 30 days from the day of application:
Missing identity card or the suspicion of its abuse
A person is obliged to report a missing identity card, the suspicion of its abuse or its recovery to the nearest police administration or police station without delay.
If an identity card is missing or is found abroad, a person is obliged to report the fact of it being missing or found to the nearest diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Croatia which immediately has to notify of the fact the police administration or the police station which issued the identity card.
After the status of the missing identity card has been registered as invalid, a request for suspension of the certificates must be automatically initiated.
For the purpose of suspension of the certificates a missing identity card or a suspicion of its abuse may be reported by using an electronic service of the certification service provider. In that case the person is obliged to report the missing identity card to the nearest police administration or the police station as soon as possible for the purpose of registering the identity card as wanted in the record kept in the IT system of the Ministry of the Interior.
If a person whose identity card certificates have been suspended due to the missing identity card reports the recovery of the identity card within eight days from the date of the suspension of the certificates, the certificates will become valid again.
Upon the expiry of the eight-day period from the date of the suspension of the certificates, the certificates will be automatically revoked and can no longer be used.
The missing identity card issued without certificates to a person over 65 may continue to be used by the person to which it was issued if he or she reports its recovery within 15 days
If a person over 65 reports the recovery of the missing identity card issued without certificates within 15 days from the date on which the status of identity card was registered as invalid in the identity card records, he or she may continue to use it.
https://www.mup.hr/gradjani/osobna-iskaznica
https://www.mup.hr/gradjani/osobna-iskaznica