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INFORMATION ABOUT ACQUIRING REAL
ESTATE PROPERTY IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA FOR FOREIGN CITIZENS AND ENTERPRISES
According to the Law of property and other real estate rights
- Article 356 paragraph 2 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia Nos.
91/96, 68/98, 13 7/99, 22/00 and 73/00), foreign citizens and enterprises, who
want to become owners of real estate in the Republic of Croatia need to obtain
previous consent from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of
Croatia. In order to apply for consent, applicants must submit a request written
in Croatian, either personally or through an attorney, to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Consular Department, Meduliceva 34, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. In
addition, applicants must enclose the following with the application:
-
basis on which the property is acquired (contract of purchasing the
property, gift contract etc.), - original or duly legalized copy;
-
proof of title (land registry certificate etc.) - original not older than
six months;
-
certificate issued by authorized authorities for urban planning which
proves that the particular real estate is located within the zone in which
construction is allowed, according to the zoning plan, - original not older
than six months;
-
proof of buyer's citizenship (legalized copy of passport, for instance), -
original or duly legalized copy;
-
power of attorney for the attorney - original or duly legalized copy;
-
copy of each document filed with the request.
Applicant shall deliver other necessary documents on request.
The fees for the application includes HRK 20.00 application fee pursuant to
Article 1 of the Croatian Law on Administrative Fees (Official Gazette of the
Republic of Croatia Nos. 8/96, 77/96-Decree, 131/97, 68/98, 66/99-Decree,
145/99-Decree, 30/00-Constitutional Court Decision, 23/02 and 91/02); plus,
pursuant to Article 2 of the above mentioned law, HRK 50.00 per applicant for
the Decision.
If the fee exceeds HRK 100.00, it shall be payable directly to the national
budget of the Republic of Croatia (account No. 100 1005-1863000160,
reference No. 24, first adjacent field No. 5002, plus first and last
names and address of the applicant, pursuant to Article 13 of the
above-mentioned law. If the fee is paid from abroad, according to Article 15 of
the above-mentioned law, the payment shall be effected in foreign currency at
the mean exchange rate determined by the Central Bank of Croatia.
After the application has been completed and submitted, it shall be referred,
for regular procedure to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where each application
is decided on an individual basis.
Pursuant to Article 357 paragraph 2 of the above-mentioned law, the
administrative procedure requires previous opinion from the Ministry of Justice
of the Republic of Croatia, particularly focusing on the following:
-
Foreign citizens and enterprises cannot acquire ownership of agricultural
land, pursuant to Article 1 paragraph 3 of the Law on Agricultural Land
(Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia Nos. 66/01 and 87/02);
-
Foreign citizens and enterprises cannot acquire ownership of forests and
forest land, pursuant to Article 1 paragraph 32 of the Law on Forests
(Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia Nos. 54/83, 32/87, 47/89, 41/90,
52/90 - final version, 51/91, 61/91, 26/93, 76/93, 29/94, 8/00 and 13/02);
-
If the object of acquisition is a protected cultural monument, it shall be
offered to the authorities first (Republic of Croatia, Municipality, City,
County), and only if they decline to exercise their pre-emptive right may the
property be offered to foreign citizens and enterprises, pursuant to Article
37 paragraph 1 of the Law on Protecting and Preserving Cultural Monuments
(Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia No. 66/99)
In deciding on each individual application, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs shall determine whether there is reciprocity between the
Republic of Croatia and the applicant's state in real property matters. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs collects and examines foreign laws concerning
reciprocity with respect to foreign nationals. Interested parties can contact
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for information on reciprocity between the
Republic of Croatia and other states. For any additional information regarding
reciprocity between the Republic of Croatia and other states please contact the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Consular Department.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ISSUANCE OF THE LAISSEZ-PASSER FOR A CORPSE TO BE
TRANSPORTED TO THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
The Embassy of the Republic of Croatia requires the following documents
to be submitted in order to issue a laissez-passer for the corpse to be
transported to the Republic of Croatia:
- Completed and signed application form for Laissez-passer for a corpse
(form has to be submitted by a member of the immediate family).
- Photo ID and proof of Croatian citizenship of the deceased.
Original or notarized copy of the certificate of death.
Transit permit issued by the Department of Health of the respective
state.
Certificate of the medical examiner that the deceased did not
die due to a contagious disease.
Affidavit from the funeral home that the body of the deceased
was properly encased and that the casket contains only human remains.
Check or money order in the amount of 37 USD for the consular
fee made payable to the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia.
Do not send cash.
Applicants applying for transport of deceased who died of contagious
diseases, or deceased who are exhumed for reburial in the Republic of Croatia,
or individuals without Croatian citizenship must establish contact with
the Consular Department of the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia so that
special procedure relating to such cases can be initiated.
If you have any questions about these requirements, please contact the
Consular Department at (202) 588-8933.
Washington, D.C., August 14, 2003
Currency
The national currency of the Republic
of Croatia is the "kuna" (HRK).
Kuna paper notes are in denominations
of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 Kunas. Kuna coins are in denominations
of 1, 2 and 5 Kunas (100 lipa equals 1 Kuna).
Credit cards such as Diners, Visa,
American Express, Eurocard and MasterCard are acceptable.
Useful numbers for calling Croatia:
011 international / 385 country code
/ 1 city code for Zagreb
City codes for some major cities:
020 Dubrovnik / 047 Karlovac / 031
Osijek / 051 Rijeka / 021 Split |
