Guidance

Croatia: civil partnership information

Published 5 December 2017

Applying for Certificate of no Impediment in Croatia

Please check with the register office where you have agreed to register Civil Partnership to see which documents they will require from you/ your partner because they might occasionally change and are set out by the Croatian law. Also, please check about when you will need to submit the documents to the local register office, i.e. how long in advance of the actual date of registration.

Local registrars usually require documents issued in the UK to be stamped with the Apostille stamp, but you should check that in advance with the local registrar. You can apply for Apostille stamps by post at the Legalisation Office, Norfolk House (West), 437 Silbury Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 2AH, email legalisationenquiries@fcdo.gov.uk, see more information here.

You can ask the Legislation Office to send your Original Apostilled documents directly to the Embassy.

You can apply for Certificate of no Impediment at the Embassy which shows that no impediment for the intended partnership has been shown to exist.

Certificate of no Impediment (CNI)

There are two ways to give Notice of Intended Civil Partnership in order to obtain a CNI:

1. by applying in person at the Embassy in Zagreb
2. by sending documents signed in front of a local Public Notary in Croatia via post (mainly to be used by residents in Croatia)

By applying for CNI in person at the Embassy in Zagreb you will need to:

• make an appointment at the Embassy in Zagreb for after the 3 days of residence, earliest on the 4th day, to give Notice of your marriage and show your original British passport

• show proof of 3 days residence in Croatia when applying for the Certificate of No Impediment by means of hotel booking, residence permit, flight ticket, etc.

• show the original Decree Absolute if you have been married before and divorced/ marriage annulled

• give Notice of Intended Civil Partnership and swear an Oath/ sign an Affirmation

By sending documents signed in front of a local Public Notary in Croatia by Post:

• print out, fully complete and sign the Notice of Intended Civil Partnership and Affirmation documents, found in the “Civil Partnership Pack”, in front of a Notary Public in Croatia

• print out, fill in and sign the Credit card Authorisation form and service Application forms also found within the “Civil Partnership Pack”

• obtain a certified copy of your passport - certified by a Croatian notary public, or a relevant authority in the UK, please see the details here

• send all documents directly to the Embassy in Zagreb by post or courier to British Embassy, Consular Section, Ivana Lučića 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Notice of Intended Civil Partnership will then be displayed in the public area at the Embassy for 7 clear days and, if no impediment has been shown to exist, a CNI will be issued on the 8th day, dated that day.

You do not need to be in Croatia the entire time, but only the initial 4 days as explained above. Please see documents collection by the 3rd party and consent below for details.

You can also apply for the Certificate of no Impediment in the UK (see below under applying for the Certificate of no Impediment in the UK).

Documents collection by the 3rd party and consent

Documents can be collected by the applicant or by a 3rd party (an authorised person, e.g. wedding planner, friend etc). In order for a 3rd party to collect your CNI you must give consent to the Embassy within the application form found in the “Civil Partnership Pack”.

We need this consent because it is required under the Data Protection Act, as we are passing private information of a British national to a 3rd party. Your consent should specify the full name and the date of birth of the 3rd party (i.e. your wedding planner, a friend, etc.), and when this authorised person collects the CNI, they should bring their passport or their Croatian ID.

Certifying documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zagreb

Please note: Registrars in Croatia usually require for all Embassy issued documents to be certified by the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zagreb, Department for certifying signatures, Petreticev Trg 2, Zagreb, Tel 00385 1 4599 400. Please check this with your registrar in advance as this too refers to the local law, which is subject to change and not in our authority.

Applying for the Certificate of no Impediment in the UK

The procedure is similar to the above but the Notice of Intended Civil Partnership is given to a Register Office in the UK and the Register office will issue you with the Certificate of no Impediment in English. You need to check requirements (for residency or other) for applying for a CNI in the UK with a registrar in the UK.

Exchange of UK issued CNI for one in Croatian language

Local registrars in Croatia usually require for the CNI and other documents to be submitted in Croatian language or with an official translation into Croatian. You can apply for exchanging of the UK issued Certificate of no Impediment into one in Croatian language at the Embassy. This is a fee payable service, please see under Fees.

Make an appointment at the Embassy in Zagreb.

Fees

The current fees, payable by each applicant are:

• receiving the Notice of Intended Civil Partnership £50
• issuing the Certificate of no Impediment £50
• exchange of UK issued CNI for one in Croatian £50

If both applicants are British citizens, they each need to pay each fee, as theirs are separate applications and the documents issued refer to one British national.

How to make payment

The payment of the above fees can be made in one of the following ways:

a) by credit card (Visa, MasterCard or UK Maestro) at the time of the appointment

b) by credit card (Visa, MasterCard or UK Maestro) using the FCDO Consular Payment Form - please see the explanation below

c) in Croatian Kunas cash at the time of the appointment - please enquire about and bring the exact amount

If you wish you can use one FCDO Consular Payment Form to pay for both applicants, but then please state names of each person clearly on the form under ‘Applicants Details’ as well as all the services you are paying for. Please also note we need to receive the payment form directly from you.

4. After your Civil Partnership Ceremony

Your civil partnership will be recognised in the UK if:

• you followed the correct process according to the law in Croatia
• it would be allowed under UK law

You can deposit your Civil partnership document in the UK if you wish to, and also apply for converting of the Civil Partnership into marriage. Please see more information here.

If you need extra copies of your civil partnership certificate you can apply for them at the register office where you registered your Civil Partnership.

For any additional information regarding requirements under the Croatian Law please contact the Register Office direct.

If you are registering your Civil Partnership in Zagreb you can contact the registrar in:

“Sredisnji odsjek za sklapanje braka” - Opcina Crnomerac
Trg Fransuske republike 15, Zagreb

Tel. +385 1 610 1726.

If you are registering your Civil Partnership outside of Zagreb, please contact them directly to see if they perform the service as not all of them do.

A list of all Register Offices (Maticni ured) in Croatia can be found at https://uprava.gov.hr/naseljena-mjesta-i-maticna-podrucja-2168/2168 (listed by the counties and then towns, available only in Croatian).

Our advice is to contact us directly at croatia.consular@fcdo.gov.uk so that we can arrange an appointment and answer any further questions.