Croatia comes with legal challenges. Some procedures are too complicated to do on your own. Even simpler procedures can easily derail. Maybe a cousin recommended a lawyer they know, but then you don’t hear from them for months. You can do all the right things and still run into issues.
Sometimes, it is best to leave it to a professional. To serve our audience to the fullest, we have carefully and considerately built a network of vetted Croatian attorneys across the country who practice law with honor, honesty, skill and dedication.
When you use any of our lawyers, you also get a dedicated Expat in Croatia caseworker who will be there with you along the way to make sure you’re getting everything you need. We are proud to be the first to offer this type of service in Croatia.
Learn how we built this network here.
The culture of legal work in Croatia may be different than what you’re used to.
Keeping in touch – especially when there are no updates – is not standard practice. Lawyers and Croatian clients can go weeks, months, even years without speaking – and this is considered normal from both sides.
This can prove problematic when dealing with foreigners who are not sure who they can trust and constantly need to know what is going on.
Not so in the EIC network! Every lawyer we work with sets clear expectations, provides transparency, outlines explanations and follows up periodically – even if there isn’t yet movement on a procedure. The standard is very high and is constantly being improved and adjusted according to evolving needs.
From the beginning, you’ll have a dedicated point-of-contact on the EIC side who will personally introduce you to the lawyer best suited to handle your case. You’ll be provided a PDF biography that includes their photo, bar profile, contact information and specialties.
After the introduction, the lawyer will schedule a conversation over the phone, video chat or in person so you can get to know them and they can learn more about your case.
Based on that conversation, the lawyer will explain how they can help and the associated cost, at which point you can decide how you’d like to proceed.
Once you’re ready to go, you’ll be provided a dual-language contract from our sister company that outlines the terms of the work to be done, so that all expectations are crystal clear.
Expat in Croatia is with you always.
Your personal EIC contact will be there for you through the process. They will follow up with you periodically to see how everything is going. While issues are rare in our network, sometimes they do happen and are usually due to cultural differences. If you ever have any problems, your EIC contact will do all they can to resolve it for you.
You’re never abandoned. We stay with you along the way.
Our network currently consists of 16 independent law practices. They work as a team to serve everyone.
Every jurisdiction, specialty and case are different. Our lawyers are in contact with each other daily sharing their experiences, challenges and knowledge. This means a client of a lawyer in Dubrovnik can benefit from the knowledge and experience of a lawyer in Pula or Zagreb – and vice versa.
This is truly one of the most unique aspects and biggest strengths of our network. You are not just represented by one lawyer, but by an entire legal team with varying backgrounds. They function as colleagues, not competitors.
A wide variety of specialities are covered within our network including:
All of our lawyers have multiple specialities – so, your lawyer for Croatian citizenship can also help you with purchasing a property or opening a company.
Examples of the most common procedures:
Read the last 20 reviews from our lawyer network below, and view all of our reviews here. Ready to get started with a lawyer? Jump to the contact form here.
Melita H.
Croatia
Introduced to a Professional
I wish to thank you for law firm in Zadar you provided to us. Lovre provided us with comprehensive knowledge and experience in acquiring of documentation for my husband’s “boraviste”. Thank you and Lovre for support and assistance.
Vlasta N.
Canada
Consulting, Introduced to a Professional
Thank you so much to these wonderful ladies for the fantastic service. I needed help with some Croatian business issues, terms & processes. They connected me with an appropriate professional – another lovely lady who I immediately connected with and felt she really understood my issue, & she was able to answer all my queries in English – bonus! I would highly recommend these fabulous, friendly ladies and service to anyone who needs some assistance. Again, many thanks.
Brett B.
United States
Introduced to a Professional, Professional Assistance
On short notice I accepted a work trip to Europe and decided to stop in Zagreb prior to my job in Paris. Having obtained citizenship approval the purpose of this trip was to file birth records and my marriage record as well as obtaining domovnicas for my family and to apply for my passport. Filip coordinated everything on very short notice, including vetting our documents and coordinating a new translation due to a copy and pasting error within 3 hours. Ines met me and obtained the domovnicas for my family on my behalf. The registrar wished to have another document to complete registering my marriage and my wife and my birth certificates but Filip has told me exactly what to get. Finally Filip accompanied me to the MUP to file for my first passport. He guided me through the process and, unbelievably, I had my first Croatian Passport in my hands three hours later (not exaggerating)! These are the second group of professionals Expat in Croatia has referred me to, and again my expectations were exceeded. Thank you so much Filip and Ines for your attention to detail, guidance, timeliness, and professionalism all on short notice. The remainder of my family will be using your services once they receive their decisions as well. Thank you!
Tom C.
United States
Introduced to a Professional
Expat in Croatia linked me up to Filip in Zagreb, who helped me from beginning to end of my applications for Croatian citizenship by descent. (My wife also applied by marriage.) Filip gave very helpful guidance on the process speaking broadly, as well as concrete revisions to our application documents for filing, review of my family history documents, and arrangement of translation and apostilling. All that, quickly and efficiently. Filip was generally available for questions on the go, including as we left our citizenship interview. I am also a lawyer, so speaking personally, it was a good experience to see such professionalism from another lawyer in a jurisdiction where I would be completely on my own otherwise.
Natalie N.
United States
Consulting, Introduced to a Professional
My husband and I met consulted with Expat in Croatia in order to learn about obtaining Croatian citizenship. We met with Sara Dyson initially and she was able to answer all of our general questions with regard to citizenship. She also put us in contact with our attorney, Ines, in order to begin the application process. I was very pleased with Sara’s expertise on the matter. Our attorney, Ines, was very thorough and professional. She clearly explained the process step by step and answered all of our questions and concerns throughout the entire process. Our appointment with the Chicago consulate went very smoothly and it was all thanks to Ines’ hard work! We couldn’t be more pleased with the experience and I would recommend Expat in Croatia and their professionals to anyone looking into Croatian citizenship.
Brice R.
United States
Consulting, Introduced to a Professional
I really did not know where to start but Expat Croatia (Sara) introduced me to Antonela (Immigration lawyer) and she is the best. The citizenship process can be a bit daunting but having someone in Croatia to help is so necessary. I also feel that Antonela and Mia provide a service that is great value for what they charge. My advice to anyone who is applying for citizenship is to be diligent and patient. We were able to find all the necessary paperwork and I did secure Croatian citizenship for myself, my wife and our three children. (My grandmother was born in Croatia). The citizenship process took just over 2 years. We are now working on getting our Croatian passports which of course while a straightforward process, does take several months.
Paola P.
United States
Free Guidance, Introduced to a Professional
We reached out to Expat in Croatia for assistance in finding a lawyer to help us with our application for citizenship by descent, and their recommendation of Antonela S. was a perfect match! We were dealing with gathering documents from three different countries and submitting our applications in a fourth, so we needed all the expertise (and hand-holding) we could get. Antonela and her staff, particularly Mia, were very responsive considering all of our correspondence was via email and across several time zones. We recently submitted our applications and the consular officer who reviewed our documents remarked that everything was well-organized and complete. Aside from our satisfaction with EIC’s professional recommendation, we have found this site to be a wonderful resource for so many aspects of Croatian life and culture!
Rebecca G.
New Zealand
Introduced to a Professional
I needed support with an application for Croatian citizenship by descent and found Expat in Croatia through their comprehensive article on the subject. They answered my questions and introduced me to Ivan R. Let me be clear that Ivan exceeded all my expectations on knowledge, conscientiousness, patience, and support during this process. From the very first meeting it was clear that he is very familiar and thorough with these applications. Unexpectedly, finding evidence documents for my application was much more complicated than either of us had anticipated, but Ivan was there every step of the way until we finally pieced the puzzle together. I submitted my application yesterday and they said it was perfect. I am immensely grateful for Ivan’s help and I highly recommend Ivan and Expat in Croatia to others hoping to navigate this process with minimal delays. Thank you.
Tara H.
New Zealand
Consulting, Introduced to a Professional
My journey with Expat in Croatia started with a consulting session with Sara, From here I decided to work with a vetted lawyer to help me with my Temporary Residence application and dealing with the infamous Croatian bureaucracy. I was paired with the lovely Andrea and her team, who were amazing. It was awesome to know everything was taken care of, and that everything was explained to me clearly and carefully. I was given updates of my application status, accompanied when having to get things done such as ID photos, dealing with MUP etc., and all the forms filled out for me. This experience was definitely worth the money as it saved me a lot of stress; I enjoyed it so much I’m using another Expat in Croatia lawyer to help me with my Citizenship application!
Jelena P.
Australia
Introduced to a Professional
Amazing service. Very friendly and helpful. I needed some advice on residency options. Their vetted partners were prompt, kind and easy to communicate with.
Jenn K.
United States
Consulting, Introduced to a Professional
EIC has a Wonderful team of professionals to help guide us through our process of obtaining Croatian citizenship by descent. We had initial consultation with Sara, and then one of the attorneys, Andrea. Although we are gathering our documents on our own, we will be hiring them to oversee the process and help us with requirements we are unable to complete on our own during and after our applications are submitted . We would highly recommend Expat in Croatia !
Ninka S.
United States
Consulting, Introduced to a Professional
I had first consultation with Carol Anne (CAM). She did a great job, very informative and willing to help . I would recommend Expat to my friends. Steve was very responsive to my emails and he connected me to Filip who we hired to help my son and his girlfriend. So far great experience but I know it is a process. We needed help with temp residence for my son’s girlfriend who was looking for looking to stay longer the 90 day . My son has USA /Croatian Citizenship.
Megan B.
United States
Consulting, Introduced to a Professional
My sister and I are working on our Croatian citizenship via our heritage and cannot be more thankful for Expat in Croatia. Lorena was able to connect us with the immigration attorney who helped guide us through the process. I highly recommend connecting with this website as they offer a variety of helpful services.
Nick C.
United States
Introduced to a Professional
There was a 6 month wait at the consulate to get an appointment to submit my application, in addition to the time it takes to actually process the application, so this can be a lengthy process. With that in mind, I feel confident my application is without error – thanks to Expat In Croatia and their legal network. They really took the uncertainty out of the process, and demonstrated the highest level of professionalism from start to finish, which included locating a 19th century birth certificate. In addition to this, their website is probably the most comprehensive resource on the internet. Expat In Croatia will make a genuine effort to help you, and they know what they’re doing.
Tania M.
Croatia
Introduced to a Professional
We needed help with temporary residency, yes we got the help needed and we now have temporary residency. There was some struggles but Ivan was professional and helpful and took us through the process of what was needed. The information and letter from the Office of Croats abroad was helpful to our case and Ana at Korcula police station had not seen one before and said it would help others of her clients if they had this.
Monique A.
United States
Introduced to a Professional
Lorena guided us to the legal support of Andrea, who has been crucial in helping us with our application for Croatian Citizenship by Descent. Without Andrea’s help, we would be lost! Thank you Lorena for getting us to the right person for our family’s application process. We really appreciate it!
Anna G.
United States
Introduced to a Professional
My brothers and I reached out to Expat in Croatia, knowing nothing about the process or if we were even eligible to apply for citizenship. We worked with Steve, who determined that were eligible and connected us with Ines, our Croatian attorney. Ines was incredibly helpful throughout the process, answering all of our questions and helping to guide all 7 of us to get the paperwork needed to submit. The process took some time, but that mostly was on the end of the United States documentation needed, as we had to jump through a lot of hoops with various states to get the paperwork needed (especially in the State of NY, where we had to effectively sue to release our ancestral records). Once we had everything assembled (a Herculean effort as we dealt with records from 6 different states, including NY, which was tough!), we made our appointment with the consulate in Chicago and the consulate employee was also very helpful. Our meeting lasted about an hour, as she went through all of our documents and made sure we had everything we needed. We had everything we needed and even some additional documentation that was recommended and drafted by Ines. The Consulate even mentioned that it was a VERY good idea to work with an attorney for this, as it will help the process go even smoother. I cannot say enough good things about Expat in Croatia and Ines. Without them, we never would have been able to get this done! And now we wait for a few years for our approvals 🙂
Anna O.
United States
Consulting, Introduced to a Professional
I am very grateful for Sara and the EIC team! I stumbled across Sara & EIC a few years ago and have acquired so much useful and interesting information through them. Sara and team are so friendly, professional and passionate with everything Croatia! I had a consulting session with Sara a few weeks ago, and it was very helpful. I’m so excited to hear where the team and services are heading. They offer so many invaluable services. I am also trying to achieve dual citizenship through lineage (both grandparents born in Croatia) and worked with one of their vetted professional lawyers, Ines, through the process. Ines is also wonderful. It’s so reassuring to know that if I am able to get to Croatia, there are people to help support me and show me the ropes. Thank you Sara & Team!
Nick A.
United States
Introduced to a Professional
My family needed help applying for Croatian citizenship. We were put in contact with Krešo, and he was very helpful, providing us with the information we needed to successfully submit our application. I would highly recommend working with Krešo for any similar needs!
Vandy S.
United States
Introduced to a Professional
We worked with Ines. Before contacting her, we had collected all the supporting documents ourselves – birth certificates, family tree, evidence of emigration, etc. – and had these ready when we had our initial consultation. At the consultation, Ines laid out the citizenship application process for us in detail. She answered all of our questions then, and also throughout the process. Ines was an indispensable help to us, especially since we were applying in Montenegro as temporary residents of that country. She handled the translations of all our documents, helped us with our applications and CVs, kept everything in order and on track, and communicated with several officials, both Croatian and Montenegrin on our behalf when English wasn’t their first language. Having Ines in our corner made the process run smoothly. We were glad that we had her expertise behind us.