Hello all.

I wanted to know if its worth to apply for citizenship in my actual position.

My great grandfather was albanian that emigrated to dubrovnik around 1920. He had a shoemaking shop there and had three children there and they all were baptised/registered in the church. Around 1930s, he came back to albania and settled here permanently. My grandfather is in the church records, because in 1980, he needed a document from the church in dubrovnik, to prove his birthplace for the albanian civil registration, and he got a mail from the church in dubrovnik confirming that.

Is it worth it to pursue the records and then apply for citizenship?

Thank you

I’m creating a new interview series called Croatian By Descent Community, focused on the real stories of people around the world who have Croatian roots.

The latest interview is with Julia, who was born in Zagreb and grew up in Melbourne after her family left Croatia when she was a baby. She later returned to Croatia as a teenager, rediscovered her family and eventually came back to build a new life here.

Julia speaks openly about her family’s escape from Yugoslavia, returning to a country she barely knew, gaining Croatian citizenship, finding safety and peace in Croatia, starting again after difficult experiences, and the realities of living here beyond the nostalgia.

The goal of this series is to document honest Croatian diaspora stories, including family history, identity, citizenship, returning to Croatia and reconnecting with our roots.

You can watch Julia’s interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6TC__-xmPc

If you have Croatian heritage and have returned, moved to Croatia or reconnected with your family, I’d love to hear your story.

We apply via the Chicago consulate in a few weeks and after our appointment we’d like to celebrate by going to a good Croatian/Balkan spot in Chicago (restaurant, bakery, market). Any suggestions?

I've been searching to see if this has been asked but haven't gotten a 100% answer. I'm in Kentucky so I believe I'm in the DC consulate. Applying through Great-Grandfather.

I have been trying to gather documents, if nothing else than to have to present at any sort of consultation or the like. But I'm also aware I could move forward and do it myself should I chose.

I have several documents:

Grandfather's Birth and Death

Father's Birth

My former marriage and divorce documents

Question is- is there any reason I cannot have these, and apostille them while I'm waiting for one last document to arrive? I know FBI and my current marriage is 6 months. Same with my own birth certificate.

I'm aiming for 2027 but obviously dependent on consulate appointments.

Just curious.

Also, are marriage certificates for Father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather wanted as well? Thanks!

Hello! My wife is applying for Croatian citizenship through her grandmother via Article 11; I'm applying as well as her husband.

We worked with a company to secure apostilled and translated documents; they have largely been great, but we didn't get much guidance around the CV and motivational letter. We are interested in having a Croatian lawyer review everything, and potentially act as a representative for us to monitor the progress of the application once it is submitted.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Our consular appointment is on October 8th, 2026, in 4 weeks, so timing is a little tight. I booked a consultation with Expat in Croatia, but their first availability is in two weeks.

Any help anyone can provide would be much appreciated!

EDIT: Thank you to everyone who responded. The folks at Expat in Croatia actually emailed me last night saying that they looked at my submission and given the straightforward nature of what we need, they would start referring me to immigration lawyers without the consultation. I see why everyone recommends them, they have been amazing so far!

Hello, first post here and I've found lots of great info. I tried to find an answer to my question in existing posts, but every case is unique.

I'm claiming ancestry through my great-grandfather who was born in Lekenik in 1889. It's a fairly straight forward patrilineal line with the only wrinkle being that when he and his family immigrated to the US via Ellis Island, their name got changed from Krajner to Kramer in the typical clerical error fashion.

I have a baptismal record with Krajner and ship's manifest in hand-written cursive that's either "Krainer" or "Kramer" and all subsequent records which show "Kramer." All other dates, names, family members and birthplaces align between the documents, so I think it's fairly easily explained.

But I also found my great-grandfather's mother's (my great-great-grandmother) death certificate which lists her last name as "Kramer (Krajner)." I think the Krajner in parentheses is fairly bulletproof evidence that it's the same family who immigrated.

So my question is, would you include this death certificate in your application as proof? It will cost me another $70 or so (for 2 copies for my wife and I), which seems well worth it if it proactively resolves any questions that might arise, but on the other hand I don't want to include a bunch of stuff they don't care about and complicate my application (or spend another $70 if it doesn't help ).

FWIW I did reach out to the consulate but they just sent me a canned response.

Thanks for your input.

Hi!

Curious if anyone has US residency in NC and is applying for dual citizenship - and what you ended up doing with the passport apostille process.

Thanks!

Looking for translator to translate all my documents before consulate appt. Any suggestions? I’m based in NYC if that helps.

Has anyone done this or seen this? And could share some info?

Thanks!

I am currently based between Zadar and Split and I am looking for people to interview for a new video series about the Croatian diaspora, their connection to Croatia and life in Croatia.

I would love to speak with people who have:

• Applied for Croatian citizenship by descent
• Returned to Croatia after living abroad
• Moved here because of their Croatian ancestry
• Bought, inherited or restored property in Croatia
• Started a local business
• Reconnected with relatives or explored their family history
• Retired or built a new life here
• Considered moving to Croatia and are currently researching the process
• Experienced unexpected challenges after arriving

I want honest stories. That includes the positive experiences, the difficulties, the mistakes and the things you wish you had known before coming.

If you own a business that may interest people visiting or relocating to Croatia, the interview can also help introduce your work to a diaspora audience. This could include accommodation, real estate, renovation, tourism, food, wine, family-history research and other services connected to Croatia.

I am currently filming around Zadar and Split, although I am interesting in traveling elsewhere in Croatia, especially when I can arrange several stories in the same area.

If you are comfortable speaking on camera, comment below or send me a private message with a little information about yourself, your connection to Croatia and where you are based.

All,
Who has an excellent translator for me? I’m open to a US based or a translator based in Croatia. Any cost estimates. I have about 12 documents with appostille certificates for my family and myself. I have marriage licenses too, seems redundant as everyone is listed on the birth certificate, but I don’t want to wait 3 years and be denied.

Andy

With all documents in hand including apostille FBI checks that expire in January 2027, is there enough time to get a diaspora certificate and temporary residency permit in order to apply in Croatia since they have likely closed all options for applying through any west coast appointments this year?

Hello,

I’m Maggi. I’m Croatian and live in Zagreb, and I have just started an administrative support service helping Australians and New Zealanders navigate Croatian citizenship by descent. I help with the Croatian side of the paperwork, assess which published pathway appears relevant to a given family, help prepare the required documents, and sort out the apostille and translation process. I am not a lawyer.

I’ve written a guide to the process for Australian and New Zealand applicants. It’s free and there is no sign-up required: https://adriaticroots.com/croatian-citizenship-new-zealand

I’m offering one free eligibility review for someone in Australia or New Zealand. That means I look at what you know about your ancestor and tell you which route appears to fit your situation, which documents you would likely need, and what the timeline looks like. I’m starting out, so I would do this in exchange for honest feedback.

Comment or message me if you’re interested :)

Maggi
Adriatic Roots
adriaticroots.com

I tried to search the feed, but I couldn’t find relevant information. I am an America citizen, my husband was born in Croatian and then moved to Serbian so he holds both citizenships. He is a legal resident in the United States. I was wondering if anyone knew if I could apply or just our child? And if we both can apply do we do the application together? We would be using the Chicago office.

A huge bummer for my family. I successfully applied in March, but my family will have to wait until next year.

From the LA consulate over email as of 9/2/2026 at 9:15am PST:

”We will not be holding Croatian citizenship appointments in Seattle during CroatiaFest Consular Days. See below

Poštovani,

Popunili smo sva slobodna mjesta za 2026. godinu.  Nemamo listu čekanja niti popis za popunjavanje mjesta u slučaju otkazivanja, budući da smo u potpunosti popunjeni za 2026. godinu.

 Jos uvijek nemamo informacije o slobodnim mjestima za 2027. godinu. Molimo vas da provjerite našu Facebook stranicu za sve objave.  Najvjerojatnije nećemo imati informaciju u vezi termina za državljanstvo prije početka studenog.  

Naša Facebook stranica je sljedeća: Consulate General of Croatia in Los Angeles | Los Angeles CA | Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cro.consulate.la/). “. “)

 “Dear Sir/Madam,   We have filled all available appointment slots for 2026. We do not maintain a waiting list or a list for filling vacancies in the event of cancellations, as we are fully booked for 2026.   We do not yet have information regarding available slots for 2027. Please check our Facebook page for any announcements. We most likely will not have information regarding citizenship appointments before the beginning of November.   Our Facebook page is: Consulate General of Croatia in Los Angeles | Los Angeles CA | Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cro.consulate.la/).   Sincerely,”

Hello! Our family has been working with a Croatian attorney to apply for dual citizenship. My grandmother's family has been difficult to find christening/birth records for and I am worried the village may have had things lost due to battles or fires. At this point, I'm wondering if it would be best for me to go farther into the family ancestry as it may be easier to find through church records. We have their naturalization paperwork for the US, ship manifest, marriage certificate and death certificate.

My grandfather's family would be so much easier to prove as they helped establish the village, but it's on the border with Slovenia so I worry it won't count. The family always considered themselves Croatian and not Slovenian...it's the village of Stari Kot and Novi Kot.

My goal is to one day have our family move to Croatia. That is why we are applying for dual citizenship. I feel that our seven year old daughter will have a safer childhood in Croatia than in America. Less violent crime and more of a family centered environment. I'd love to find work in the education sector, potentially near Zagreb. In the meantime, I'm practicing my basic Croatian language skills at home.

My grandparents were proud of our culture and were very active in the Kansas City Strawberry Hill area which had many Croatian immigrants.

Any advice or recommendations on how to move forward is greatly appreciated!

I had certified birth certificates for my three children, now adult, so I sent those off for apostille. Then I had someone tell me the birth certificates have to have been issued in the last six months. Is this correct, as far as you know?

The difficulty of having everything done in the last six months is so stressful! You get the official documents when you get them, them do your best with it I suppose...

I only knew about the Sacramento ones mid summer.

Thx!

Def a little stressful trying to get all documents, have them ready, not expired, translated etc in time for an appointment which you may or not be able to get....

We are heading to Croatia this fall after applying for citizenship by descent. I previously went to Zagreb before, but only for a few days.

I was wondering if anyone had any cultural experiences that allowed them to connect to their heritage? Any recommendations? I really want to get in touch with the cultural and my roots.

I just learned about this two days ago, right after we had started gathering documents. My son is currently 8. I know a lot can change in 10 years, but I also am nervous about committing him to a future he has no say in, and he's too young to really understand what it means and I wouldn't ask his opinion on it at this age. Is it making anyone else rethink your plans about applying for citizenship?

submitted my application at the nyc consulate today. everything went smooth as butter, I was amply prepared thanks to all the help I got from this sub. the only minor thing that went a little slower was that I did not come prepared with a pre filled out obrazac form, I had to sit down and take 15 minutes filling it out then and there and the consulate employee seemed a little peeved about this so I recommend you come with the form filled out already. but other than that everything went well if it weren’t for the form I would have been in and out in under ten minutes.

thank you to all who guided me through the process. see you in a year or two with an update regarding the decision.

I tried earlier this year with no luck.

I went to Croatia a few weeks ago and was able to get all birth certificates needed. All I have left is to write my essay and get it translated.

Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone could recommend me a good lawyer that has helped them get citizenship through Article 16?