Croatian citizenship by naturalization: residence and tests

Residence, language and the culture quiz: the conditions in order

For Croatian citizenship by naturalization, the residence clock is the condition to plan around: Article 8 of the Citizenship Act counts registered residence (prijavljeni boravak), so years on temporary residence count too, as long as they run for 8 years without a break up to the application. Article 8 also requires approved permanent-residence status (stalni boravak) on the day you apply. The language proof, the culture quiz and the renunciation of your other citizenship all come after that.

The residence clock. The permanent status only has to be in place on the day you apply. For EU citizens, that status comes after 5 years of continuous lawful residence under Article 27 of the act on European Economic Area (EEA) nationals (Zakon o državljanima država članica EGP-a). Absences of up to 6 months a year, or up to 12 months in a row for justified reasons, do not break that continuity, and a 10-year residence card confirms the right.

For non-EU nationals the picture is less clear. Under the current Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), the general status after 5 years of continuous temporary residence is long-term residence (dugotrajni boravak, Article 150). Permanent residence is now granted only to listed groups, for example a family member of a Croatian citizen after 4 years of temporary residence for family reunification (Article 156). The Citizenship Act, the guidance pages of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova, MUP) and the application forms all speak only of permanent residence, and none of them says whether long-term residence counts. Confirm this with the police administration that handles your residence before you plan around it.

That is often the real obstacle, more than the 8 years. In 2018 the government proposed a fast track for foreigners with Croatian-language degrees from Croatian universities. Frane Staničić, then an associate professor at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, wrote in Novi informator that its only real benefit was that the applicant would not need permanent-residence status. The fast track was never enacted. The Citizenship Act also sets no limit for absences during the 8 years, unlike the limits of 10 months in total or 6 months at once for long-term residence (Aliens Act, Article 150), so raise any long stay abroad with the police before you apply.

A worked example. Lena, a hypothetical EU citizen, registers residence in Rijeka. After 5 years Lena has the right to permanent residence under the EEA act. After 3 more years without a break, Lena has 8 years of registered residence plus permanent status, and can apply. If Lena takes the language exam at Croaticum, the Croatian-for-foreigners centre of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, the official costs are:

• language exam at one level at Croaticum: €140
• decision on admission to citizenship: €139.36

That makes €279.36 in total, before translations of the criminal-record certificates.

Proving the language. The rulebook on the language and culture check (Pravilnik, NN 6/2021, Article 2; NN stands for Narodne novine, the official gazette) accepts three kinds of proof:

• a certificate of a passed Croatian language and Latin script exam from a university, or from a secondary school, the National Centre for External Evaluation of Education or an approved adult-education institution;
• a Croatian primary, secondary (including the state matura) or higher-education certificate or diploma;
• a course certificate or transcript from a foreign higher-education institution that shows at least B1 level of Croatian.

The rulebook names B1 only for that third route. For an exam certificate it states no level. The faculties in Osijek and Pula run a B1 exam under the long-term residence rulebook (NN 100/2021) and state that their certificate serves for citizenship. Osijek charges €170 per candidate for the 2026/2027 winter semester, and Pula charges €142.68. Non-EU nationals with long-term residence have usually passed that exam already. Many EU citizens meet the language requirement for the first time at the citizenship stage. Refugees who lived in Croatia for at least 10 years, and residents of 8 October 1991 who use return, reconstruction or housing programmes, prove their Croatian by completing the application form themselves in front of the police official.

A separate rule arrives on 4 June 2027: non-EU nationals who have stayed in Croatia for at least a year on a residence-and-work permit issued under Article 97 or Article 110, point 32 of the Aliens Act will need a basic A1.1 Croatian exam, paid for by the employer, to renew that permit or obtain a new one (Article 92.a). Seasonal workers, people who completed primary, secondary or higher education in Croatia and speakers of a South Slavic language are exempt. That is a lower, different test from the B1 exam.

The culture quiz. You take it at the police station when you apply. The official picks a 15-question questionnaire at random, you answer it alone in front of that official within 60 minutes, and the official grades the quiz immediately. You pass with at least 10 correct answers (Pravilnik NN 6/2021, Articles 5 to 7). The questions cover the social system, history, culture, customs, art, literature, sport, economy, tourism and geography. All of them come from a fixed pool of 110 published in the rulebook's annex, from the Vukovar water tower to the Korčula sword dance, so you can study the whole pool in advance.

Your other citizenship. Article 8 requires release (otpust) from your foreign citizenship, or proof that you will be released once Croatia admits you. The condition counts as met if you are stateless or lose the other citizenship automatically. If your state does not allow release, or sets conditions you cannot meet, a statement that you renounce it on condition of becoming Croatian is enough. If you meet every other condition, MUP can issue a guarantee of admission (zajamčenje) under Article 8.a, valid for two years. Use that order. MUP may refuse an application even when all conditions are met if it judges that the interest of the Republic of Croatia requires it (Article 26, paragraph 2). A person who renounced first could then be left without any citizenship.

Shorter routes. Residence-based applicants face the strictest route. The spouse of a Croatian citizen who has permanent residence and lives in Croatia skips the 8 years, the tests and the renunciation (Article 10). A person born in Croatia who lives there with permanent residence skips the 8 years and the tests (Article 9). Emigrants and their descendants skip the renunciation, the 8 years and the tests (Article 11). Under Article 13, a child acquires citizenship when both parents naturalize, or when one parent does and the child lives in Croatia with permanent residence, among other cases.

Where to apply and what it costs: official fees for 2026 (NN 156/22)

You submit the application for Croatian citizenship in person at the police administration or police station for your place of residence, or at a Croatian embassy or consulate abroad (Citizenship Act, Article 24). In Croatia, the fee for the decision on admission is €139.36, paid when you collect it; abroad, the consular fee is €185.81, paid on submission.

MUP decides every application centrally. According to the MUP procedure page, bring these documents:

• a CV that briefly states why you are applying;
• a birth-register extract on the international form (not needed if you were born in Croatia) and, if you are married, a marriage-register extract;
• proof of your citizenship;
• a criminal-record certificate from your state of citizenship and from your state of permanent residence, original or certified copy, with a Croatian translation and not older than 6 months;
• a certified copy of a valid identity document with a clearly visible photo.

If the file is unclear or incomplete, MUP may ask you in writing to correct it. The application form and the general procedure are also described on gov.hr.

The fee decree (Uredba o Tarifi upravnih pristojbi, NN 156/22, Tariff no. 9) sets €139.36 for the decision on admission to Croatian citizenship. There is no fee for a refusal, and no fee for minors admitted together with their family. The amending decree NN 130/2025 changed other tariff numbers, not Tariff no. 9.

Waiting for a decision: timing, the oath and Eurostat figures for 2020–2024

MUP publishes no fixed processing time for Croatian citizenship by naturalization: it says the procedure lasts as long as each case requires, because it collects data from other ministries, tax offices and courts. The general administrative rule (Zakon o općem upravnom postupku, Article 101) is a decision within 60 days of a complete application.

“The procedure for acquiring or terminating Croatian citizenship lasts depending on the complexity of each individual application.”

— Ministry of the Interior (MUP), official FAQ

The Citizenship Act sets no special deadline of its own. Under Article 101 of the General Administrative Procedure Act, if no decision is issued and delivered within 60 days of a complete application, you may lodge an appeal or start an administrative dispute.

You become a Croatian citizen on the day the decision on admission (rješenje o primitku u hrvatsko državljanstvo) is delivered to you (Article 24.a). Adults then give a solemn oath (Article 24.b): “I swear on my honour that as a Croatian citizen I will abide by the Constitution and the laws and respect the legal order, culture and customs of the Republic of Croatia.” The oath rulebook (NN 108/2021) says ceremonies take place at least once a year, as a rule on Croatian holidays and commemorative days; exceptionally, for justified reasons such as old age, poor health or a long distance to the ceremony, you may give the oath when you collect the decision.

According to Eurostat data updated on 27 March 2026, 793 people usually resident in Croatia acquired Croatian citizenship in 2024. The highest count in the series was 1,149 in 2020 and the lowest was 654 in 2023. These counts include residents only and every mode of acquisition, from spouses to emigrants, so residence-based naturalizations under Article 8 are only one part of each year's total.

This article does not replace professional legal advice.