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 The front cover of a contemporary Croatianbiometric passport. | |
 The data page of a contemporary Croatianbiometric passport | |
| Type | Passport |
| Issued by |  Croatia |
| First issued | 26 June 1991 (first version) 29 June 2009[1] (biometric passport) 3 August 2015[2] (current version; first EU version) |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility | Croatian citizenship |
| Expiration | 10 or 5 years after acquisition |
| Cost |
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Croatian passport (Croatian:Hrvatska putovnica) is issued to citizens of theRepublic of Croatia for the purpose of international travel. The passport has the purpose of serving as proof of Croatian citizenship and identity. Responsibility for their issuance lies with theMinistry of the Interior; and for citizens abroad, passports are issued by the local embassy or consulate. Croatian passports are valid for ten or five years, and are not renewable. Every Croatian citizen is also acitizen of the European Union. The passport, along with thenational identity card allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of theEuropean Economic Area andSwitzerland.
Croatia started issuingbiometric passports on 1 July 2009.
Croatian passports are dark blue, with theCroatian coat of arms emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The wordsEuropska Unija andRepublika Hrvatska are inscribed above the coat of arms, with the wordPutovnica and the internationalbiometric passport symbol(
) below. The passport contains 34 pages.
The third generation Croatian passport has been changed in design due to the recent accession into the European Union. From 3 August 2015, the new Croatian passport retained its dark blue cover and is the odd one out among the27 European Union member states' passports[4] and the wordsEuropska Unija (European Union inCroatian) have been printed on it as per EU regulations. Additionally, the new cover is only in Croatian; the English and French have been removed.[5]
The data page/information page is printed inCroatian, English and French.
From 2009, each biometric passport has a data page and a residence page. A data page has a visual zone and amachine-readable zone. The visual zone has a digitised photograph of the passport holder, data about the passport, and data about the passport holder:
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Croatian Passports were first issued by theKingdom of Croatia-Slavonia-Dalmatia underAustria-Hungary. They were written in Croatian and French and had the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia-Dalmatia on the cover.(Reference: Antun Radić, "Hrvatski pašuši (putnice)" Dom, 15 January 1903, page 11)
The first modern Croatian passports were issued from 26 June 1991, after Croatia declared its independence fromYugoslavia. The oldYugoslav passports were valid until 25 June 1992. Since then, three types of Croatian passports have been issued, allmachine-readable and with blue covers.
The first series was issued from 1991, until the end of 1999. It was distinguished by a thick paper cover and by a photo which had been laminated inside the document. This passport was printed by a local police station in the town of residence, or by the local embassy or consulate if living abroad.[citation needed] This series was in circulation until 31 December 2009, when the last ten-year passport issued expired.
At the end of 1999, theCroatian Government introduced the new passport. New security features similar to those onbanknotes have been added with increasing frequency since January 2000.Microprinting,holographic images, UV-visible imaging,watermarks and other details have been implemented, particularly on the photo page. As well, the photo is now digitally printed directly on the paper (in both standard and UV-reactive ink). The new passports were issued in the same way as the old ones, with a difference in printing process. All passports are printed inZagreb, with the issuing wait time up to 30 days. They have been issued since 1 January 2000.
From 30 June 2009, the government started issuing newbiometric passports in Zagreb. Other local police stations started issuing biometric passports on 18 January 2010. Theembassies or consulates will issue biometric passport from 30 June 2010. Non-biometric passports will remain valid until its stated date of expiry.
Croatia was the third country in Europe that started issuing second-generation biometric passports. The chip contains two fingerprints and a digital image of the passport holder.
Visa requirements forCroatian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens ofCroatia. As of 2025, Croatian citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 183 countries and territories, ranking the Croatian passport 9th in the world according to the Henley Passport Index,[7] as well as ranking 5th (including visa-free travel to China from November 2024[8]) according toThe Passport Index (Arton).[9]
Croatia finished negotiating their accession to theEuropean Economic Area in November 2013. Since then, theCroatian identity card has been a validtravel document within all ofEurope (exceptBelarus,Russia,Ukraine andUnited Kingdom) as well asFrench overseas territories,Georgia andTunisia.[10]
Validity in these countries (except Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Cyprus and Serbia) is based on the membership of theEuropean Union and the implementation of the "European Agreement on Regulations governing the Movement of Persons between Member States of theCouncil of Europe".[11]
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