Croatian citizenship application taking months? How to lawfully speed up the Ministry of the Interior’s decision — deadlines, reminder letter and action for administrative silence

Summary: what you need to know in 60 seconds

• The application is filed in person at a police administration or police station, but the decision is taken by the Ministry of the Interior at its headquarters (Articles 24 and 25 of the Croatian Citizenship Act)
• The Citizenship Act sets no specific deadline for the decision — so the general deadlines of the Administrative Procedure Act apply: 30 days, or 60 days where an examination procedure is conducted (Article 101)
• In practice, procedures take considerably longer — months, and not rarely more than a year
• Expiry of the deadline without a decision is administrative silence: the applicant may then bring an administrative court action (Article 101(3) of the Administrative Procedure Act)
• No administrative appeal lies against a citizenship decision of the Ministry — legal protection is sought directly before the Administrative Court
• A written status enquiry and a reminder letter (požurnica) are useful, but they are not a precondition for the court action
• The action for administrative silence may be filed at the earliest eight days after the deadline expires (Article 40(2) of the Administrative Disputes Act); the court orders the authority to decide within a set time
• If the Ministry decides only during the court proceedings, the court discontinues the case and may order the Ministry to pay the costs
• The action does not deliver citizenship “automatically” — it delivers a decision, to which the applicant is entitled

1. Who decides on a Croatian citizenship application, and within what deadline?

An application for Croatian citizenship by naturalisation is filed in person at the police administration or police station of the place of your approved temporary or permanent residence, or through a Croatian diplomatic mission or consular office abroad (Article 24(3) and (5) of the Croatian Citizenship Act). The police administration only receives the application and, if necessary, asks you to complete it; the application itself is decided by the Ministry of the Interior at its headquarters (Article 25), which then serves the decision on you through the police administration or the consulate.

The Croatian Citizenship Act contains no specific deadline within which the Ministry must decide. That does not mean there is no deadline. Where a special act is silent, the General Administrative Procedure Act applies: a decision on an applicant’s request must be issued and served within 30 days of the filing of a complete application, or within 60 days where — as in citizenship cases — an examination procedure is conducted and information is obtained from other authorities (Article 101(1) and (2)).

The Ministry itself states in its instructions that the duration of the procedure depends on the complexity of each individual application, because it obtains information from other authorities — tax offices, courts and other ministries. Complexity, however, does not abolish the statutory deadline: if the Ministry fails to issue and serve a decision within it, the applicant is entitled to bring an administrative court action (Article 101(3)). The expiry of the deadline without a decision is known as administrative silence — and it is not legally neutral.

2. Why is waiting for citizenship so costly?

For a foreign national who has lived and worked in Croatia for years, waiting for the decision is far more than an administrative inconvenience:

• documents expire: the criminal-record certificate and the marriage certificate extract must not be older than six months — after a long wait the Ministry asks for fresh documents, which means new costs of obtaining them from your home country, translating and certifying them
• rights that depend on citizenship are put on hold: a Croatian passport and freedom of movement within the European Union, the right to vote, access to jobs reserved for Croatian citizens, simpler family reunification
• the guarantee of admission has a time limit: an applicant who still has to obtain release from their current citizenship is issued a guarantee of admission (zajamčenje) valid for two years (Article 8a of the Citizenship Act), while the release procedure in the home country has deadlines and costs of its own — every delay by the Ministry creates a risk that those deadlines will not align
• life cannot be planned: marriage, children born while waiting, a change of job or a move — all of this can affect the case, and the applicant does not know whether the decision will arrive in a month or in two years

That is why, in the case of prolonged administrative silence, passive waiting is usually not a good option — every month without a decision has its price.

3. First steps: checking the status of your case and the reminder letter

The first step is to find out where your case stands. According to the Ministry’s instructions, information on the stage of a filed application can be obtained on the basis of a written request by the applicant, by post or by e-mail. The applicant also has a statutory right to be informed about the course of the procedure and to inspect the case file (Article 84 of the Administrative Procedure Act) — and the reply often already shows whether the Ministry is waiting for another authority’s opinion, whether a document is missing, or whether the case is simply sitting idle.

A reminder letter (požurnica) is a short written request that the Ministry issue its decision. It has no prescribed form: it is enough to state the applicant, the date and place of filing, the case reference number if known, the fact that the statutory deadline has expired and an express request for urgent decision-making. It is submitted in writing, with proof of delivery.

GOOD TO KNOW: A reminder letter is not a precondition for bringing an action for administrative silence — the action may be brought without it, as soon as the statutory deadline expires. The reminder letter is an optional, practical step: sometimes it alone gets the case moving, and it shows the court that the authority was expressly warned about the delay. Telephone enquiries leave no trace and legally do not exist.

4. The action for administrative silence: how it is brought and what it achieves

The Ministry of the Interior decides on citizenship applications as a first-instance authority with no superior second-instance body above it. For that reason no administrative appeal lies against its decision; legal protection is sought in an administrative dispute before the court (Article 12(2) of the Administrative Procedure Act) — and the same applies when the Ministry stays silent. The Administrative Disputes Act expressly provides for a dispute concerning an authority’s failure to decide on a party’s right or legal interest within the statutory deadline (Article 3(1)(3)) and allows the claimant to demand that the decision not issued in time be issued (Article 38(2)(2)).

The action is filed with the administrative court having jurisdiction according to the claimant’s place of residence (Article 13(1) of the Administrative Disputes Act) — for applicants from Rijeka and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County that is the Administrative Court in Rijeka. It may be filed at the earliest eight days after the deadline for the decision has expired (Article 40(2)), and proof of the date of filing the application must be attached (Article 39(4)). The action postpones nothing and risks nothing — the court is asked only for what the applicant is entitled to: a decision. In practice there are two outcomes:

• if the Ministry still does not issue a decision during the court proceedings, the court will uphold the claim and order the authority to issue a decision within a reasonable time (Article 117(3) of the Administrative Disputes Act)
• if the Ministry complies with the claim in full during the proceedings, i.e. issues its decision, the court will discontinue the case (Article 103(1)) and may award the applicant the costs of the proceedings against the authority — because the dispute was caused by its failure to act

It is important to understand what an action for administrative silence can and cannot do. As a rule the court will not decide in the Ministry’s place whether you are admitted to Croatian citizenship — the Act leaves it to the Ministry to assess whether there are reasons of interest to the Republic of Croatia for refusing an application even when the conditions are met (Article 26(2) of the Citizenship Act), and in such matters the court orders the authority to decide rather than deciding itself (Article 117(3)). The action therefore does not buy a positive outcome; it restores to the applicant what the law guarantees: a decision within the deadline — which, if negative, can then be contested before the court.

5. What if the decision is negative?

In a decision refusing the application, the Ministry must establish that the conditions of Article 8 of the Act are not met (Article 26(1)) or rely on reasons of interest to the Republic of Croatia (Article 26(2)). No administrative appeal lies against such a decision either; instead, an action is filed with the administrative court within 30 days of service (Article 40(1) of the Administrative Disputes Act). The court examines whether the Ministry correctly established the facts — for example the continuity of eight years of residence, the settlement of public dues or respect for the legal order — and whether the reasoning is sufficient for the decision to be reviewed by a court at all. We will address challenges to negative citizenship decisions in a separate article.

6. What does practice show?

Our office’s experience in administrative disputes against the Ministry of the Interior — particularly in residence and work permit cases, which we have covered in a separate guide in Croatian — shows that once court proceedings are initiated, authorities often speed up their handling: cases that had been sitting for months are resolved shortly after the action is filed, after which the court discontinues the case and orders the authority to reimburse the applicant’s costs. The same procedural mechanism applies to citizenship procedures, because the same Ministry decides on both types of application and the same rules of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Administrative Disputes Act apply.

NOTE: An action for administrative silence is neither an automatic step nor a means of generating costs. Case law sanctions the use of actions without a genuine interest. Before starting proceedings it is therefore necessary to check whether the application was complete and in order, whether the deadlines have really expired, and whether the Ministry has perhaps already requested additional documents to which the applicant has not responded — because in that case the delay cannot be attributed to the authority.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about waiting for Croatian citizenship

How long may the Ministry of the Interior take to decide on a Croatian citizenship application?

The Croatian Citizenship Act sets no specific deadline, so the general deadlines of the General Administrative Procedure Act apply: 30 days, or 60 days where an examination procedure is conducted, counted from the filing of a complete application (Article 101). Once that deadline has expired, the applicant may bring an administrative court action for administrative silence.

Can I sue the Ministry for administrative silence if I have not sent a reminder letter first?

Yes. A reminder letter (požurnica) is not a statutory precondition for an action for administrative silence. The action is filed with the administrative court at the earliest eight days after the deadline for the decision has expired (Article 40(2) of the Administrative Disputes Act), together with proof of the date on which the application was filed.

Will a court action harm my citizenship application?

It must not. The Ministry is obliged to decide on the basis of the law and the established facts; using a legal remedy provided by law cannot be a ground for refusing the application. Making the handling of a case conditional on giving up legal protection would be unlawful.

Can the court decide in place of the Ministry that I am granted citizenship?

As a rule, no. In cases of administrative silence the court orders the Ministry to issue a decision within a set time (Article 117(3) of the Administrative Disputes Act), because the Citizenship Act leaves the assessment of reasons of interest to the Republic of Croatia to the Ministry. If the decision is negative, it is contested by a separate action before the same court.

Who pays the costs of the court proceedings for administrative silence?

If the dispute was caused by the Ministry’s failure to act and the Ministry decides only during the proceedings, the court discontinues the case and may order the authority to pay the costs. The court decides on costs in each case individually.

How can I find out what stage my citizenship application is at?

By a written request to the Ministry of the Interior, by post or e-mail, as stated in the Ministry’s instructions; the applicant also has a statutory right to inspect the case file (Article 84 of the Administrative Procedure Act). A lawyer holding your power of attorney can do this on your behalf.

Can I hire a lawyer for the citizenship procedure if I do not speak Croatian?

Yes. The Law Office of Toni Primorac in Rijeka represents foreign nationals in proceedings before the Ministry of the Interior and the administrative courts throughout Croatia, and communicates with clients in English — from the first assessment of the case to representation in court.

Conclusion: waiting for citizenship has legal limits

The Croatian Citizenship Act does not give the Ministry unlimited time: once the deadline under the General Administrative Procedure Act expires, the applicant is entitled to legal protection. A status enquiry and a reminder letter are the first, informal steps; the action for administrative silence is the statutory remedy by which the authority is required to do its duty — to decide — with the possibility that the costs of the proceedings are borne by the authority that stayed silent. The action does not secure citizenship, but it secures an answer, and with it the possibility of further protection of your rights. If you have not yet applied, start with our guide to Croatian citizenship by descent (Articles 11 and 16).

About the author — Law Office of Toni Primorac

Attorney Toni Primorac heads the Law Office of Toni Primorac, based in Rijeka, with a particular focus on administrative law and administrative disputes, immigration and citizenship law, and civil litigation. The office represents domestic and international clients before administrative authorities and courts throughout Croatia, and is available to clients in English.

Waiting for a decision on Croatian citizenship? There is a lawful way forward

Primorac Legal provides legal support to foreign nationals at every stage of the Croatian citizenship procedure:

• assessing the state of your case, the completeness of the application and the deadlines that have expired, before any step is taken
• written status enquiries, inspection of the case file and drafting the reminder letter
• the action for administrative silence and representation before the administrative court, including recovery of costs from the authority
• challenging a negative citizenship decision in administrative court proceedings
• advice in English for clients who do not speak Croatian

Our office is at your disposal to assess your case and the strategy to pursue. Contact us with confidence — we will assess your situation and propose a suitable approach.

Telephone: +385 91 781 8171
E-mail: t.primorac@primorac-legal.hr

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice in any specific case.