Croatia: Knowledge Base profile
Updated 12 September 2025
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About: Croatia
This document contains useful information about Croatia which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.
Contacts
If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.
If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.
Publication
Below is information on when this version of the document was published:
- version 4.0
- published for Home Office staff on 28 April 2024
Changes from last version of this document
This document has been updated:
- with formatting changes
- to explain what a Multilingual Standard Form is and that HM Passport Office cannot accept them
Croatia: names
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Croatia.
Names in Croatia usually consist of a forename and surname.
Change of name
Name changes are allowed in Croatia. Names can be changed for reasons other than marriage, divorce or adoption.
Following a change of name the Croatia passport must be changed before the holder can apply to have other documentation changed.
Croatia allows a change of name when a person changes their gender.
Croatia: legitimacy and parental responsibility
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Croatia.
Legitimacy
Croatia does not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. This means that all births are considered legitimate whether a child’s parents are married or not.
Parental responsibility
Both parents have parental responsibility whether they are married or not. Parental responsibility continues to apply following divorce or annulment of marriage.
Croatia: adoption
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Croatia.
Adoption is legal in Croatia.
Croatia: surrogacy
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Croatia.
Surrogacy is illegal in Croatia.
Croatia: gender recognition
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Croatia.
Transgender citizens are recognised in Croatia.
Croatia: documents
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents from Croatia.
A Croatian local registry office will issue:
- birth certificates
- marriage certificates
- death certificates
They are also responsible for issuing copies of certificates. Official documents should not be laminated.
HM Passport Office cannot accept Multilingual Standard Forms (MSFs) issued by EU member states. An MSF is a translation aid to help another EU member state to understand a public document in a different language.
Birth certificates
Births must be registered within 1 month of birth and can be registered by either parent. The biological father must be named on the birth certificate unless the father is unknown.
Marriage certificates
Marriage certificates will always show which surname the bride and groom have decided to take.
Death certificates
All deaths must be registered within 1 month.