Croatian Citizenship Act of 1991
Zakon o hrvatskom državljanstvu, NN 53/91, 28/92, 113/08
The foundational Croatian citizenship law, enacted after Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia. Established the framework for citizenship by birth (jus sanguinis), naturalisation, and special provisions for the Croatian diaspora. Allows dual citizenship under Article 8.
What this law actually does
Article 4: A child acquires Croatian citizenship by birth if at least one parent is a Croatian citizen (jus sanguinis)
Article 8: Croatian citizenship may be acquired by naturalisation — dual citizenship is permitted
Article 11: Naturalisation for emigrants from Croatian territory (who left before 8 October 1991) and their descendants, without needing to meet all of Article 8's general conditions
Article 16: Separate naturalisation provisions for members of the Croatian people who cannot document a specific emigrant ancestor
This law is one piece of the Croatia eligibility picture. See the full overview for how it interacts with disqualifiers, documents, and timelines.
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