INFORMATION ABOUT ACQUIRING REAL ESTATE PROPERTY IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA FOR FOREIGN CITIZENS AND ENTERPRISES

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 that shall decide on each application individually.
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.