Records on a child birth, marriage and death of Croatian citizens abroad are registered in the state registry on the basis of excerpt issued by a foreign authority.
Excerpt from the relevant foreign register has to be written on an official form, in line with the provisions of international conventions, or in line with regulations of the country where the excerpt is issued.
Excerpts issued abroad which do not comply with international conventions require that they be legalized according to the regulations applied in international legal transactions. Exceptionally, if the excerpt could not be obtained through the above mentioned process data/records about the child born abroad can be entered in birth register based on the decision made by a competent authority. Applicant has to provide evidence of administrative procedure being conducted.
When records of birth, marriage or death are entered in the Croatian Registry the following procedure should be followed:
- Record of birth - in register of births according to the parents’ place of residence provided that one parent is a Croatian citizen at the moment of child’s birth . If these criteria cannot be met (i.e. if a parent has no registered place of residence in the Republic of Croatia) then the child is registered in the birth register of the town of Zagreb where records are at the same time entered in the Central Registry of Croatian Citizens;
- Record of marriage - in Register of marriages in the place where spouses had their last residence, and if not available or unknown, the last place of residence of the spouse who submitted the request for registration of marriage ;
- Record of a deceased person – in register of deaths in the place where a deceased person had the last place of residence. If the last place of residence cannot be determined, registration will be made in relevant registry office in the place where the person was born in the Republic of Croatia. If the registration cannot be performed in any way previously stated, it will be carried out in the state registry of the City Office for General Administration.
A person who lives abroad and is not able to come to Croatia may submit a request for the document to be issued and sent through diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Croatia abroad. A person can also submit the request for issuance of the document by attorney or send a written request to a competent registry office.
Apart from a written request a person is obliged to submit the proof of payment of administrative fee and of application form required.
A list of registry offices with contact details and working hours is available at the website of the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration.
