It’s about time that the process for applying and obtaining Croatian citizenship is made simple. The days have arrived it appears when some dreaded red tape or fear of receiving wrong information from some grumpy staff at consular offices and we must thank for this the clever individuals from the Croatian diaspora who have invented this App.

The “CitizenHR” app has just a couple of weeks ago been released on Apple and Google Play stores. Simply search for the App and access it. It is making Croatian citizenship simple.

The app is designed to help you be clear about what path to citizenships are available to you to pursue. It lets you know what documents you need prior to visiting the consulate and lets users browse a list of experts including, translators, lawyers, and other experts to compare and get their citizenship documentation completed in a faster time and for a cheaper price.

Developed in partnership with the Croatian Diaspora by Sydney-based Founder and CEO of online social network Pleme, as well as President of the Australian leg of CroDiaspora, Nikolas Kraljevic and developer Mate Pavkovic from Zagreb, Croatia (Founder and President of CroDiaspora not for profit organisation https://crodiaspora.com ), the app is aimed at diaspora Croats or people of Croatian descent, as well as being a valuable resource for non-Croats or to help with visas for the growing community of global digital nomads.  With Pleme App we have built an online community and app for Croatians to network globally. The aim of this endeavour is to help local Croatians and the wider diaspora connect and communicate in a dedicated place and foster better connections,” states on the website Nikola Kraljevic https://pleme.app/

The following is the information about the CITIZENHR App from the web:

“WHAT IS CITIZENHR?

CitizenHR is an app specifically a Croatian Citizenship calculator that offers a way to make obtaining Croatian citizenship cheaper and easier to users for free.

FASTER CROATIAN CITIZENSHIP

CitizenHR is a Croatian Citizenship calculator app to help Croatian Diaspora and those with a special interest or affiliation to Croatia to be better prepared and educated for the Croatian Citizenship process which ultimately results in a faster citizenship process.

WHY CITIZENHR?

In 2021, we saw an increase in interest from the Croatian community and digital nomads and visitors to obtain citizenship and move to Croatia. We developed some smart algorithms to ease some of the commonly reported pain points and provide a free solution to the community with CitizenHR.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

CitizenHR works by entering your mail and answering 30 questions which powers our algorithm to determine what are the available paths to citizenship. From there we connect you with experts for translation or legal advice and show you the closest Embassy or Consulate to kickstart your application.

BENEFITS

The goals of CitizenHR are provide the following Benefits to users:

1. Boosting the network: Boosting the number of citizens and your potential network as a user of CitizenHR.

2. Smoother experience: Providing a smoother user experience for your citizenship application.

3. Suggesting Experts: Locate the right expert in a few clicks.

4. Drive down costs: Users can compare and contrast expert fee’s and get the best price on document translation or services prior to lodging their application.

LANGUAGES AVAILABLE

CitizenHR is available in Croatian, English, Spanish, German, Italian, French and Portuguese.

THE APP IS FREE

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/citizenhr/id1635720655

https://pleme.app/”

As more and more people embrace the smart and versatile mobile phone age, the number of consumers f different services and products online continues to multiply each day to billions. Mobile is becoming not only the new digital hub, but also the bridge to the physical world. That’s why mobile will affect more than just digital operations — it will transform business and communities. And Pleme App is active in helping create better communities.  The CitizenHR App is certainly a great way forward as it facilitates so well the initial and obligatory process in applying for and obtaining Croatian citizenship.

_{Above:Nikola Kraljevic (L) Mate Pavkovic (R) Photos: Pleme.App and CroDiaspora.com}

Croatian government would do well by mobilising more the advances in technology

Clearly most if not all Croatian government agencies/ministries are struggling to keep up with technology rollouts. Counter to the proactive approach taken by many businesses in the private sector to rapidly implement digital transformation initiatives, agencies/ministries such as Internal Affairs (for citizenship and visas) and taxation etc have evidently struggled to keep up with increased demand for more user-friendly electronic facilitation, despite the existence of the rather laborious e-citizen (e-Građanin) online portal. Unlike in some countries such as Australia, USA, Canada, UK etc mobile phone Apps are practically non-existent under the Croatian government service provision.  By failing to stay in lock step with modern tech environments, Croatian government agencies are providing a poor user experience to its citizens – particularly those who live in Western countries of the diaspora. The online consumer experience is nothing new — we’ve been using the internet to do practically everything for over 25 years. By overhauling security, implementing real-time observability, and using data to drive decision-making, government agencies would be prepared for future challenges, while delivering a stellar user experience. But maybe there is no real will for that in the Croatian governing politics. Perhaps the outdated manner of doing business with the public contains too many steps that are conducive to bribes and corruption for any notable will to modernise in step with technology to be put in place (?). Croatians living abroad, in the diaspora, especially those contemplating a return or investment, need access to online services and communication more than ever, yet Croatian government websites have continued to fail them despite forever shouting from the rooftops how very much they want Croats from the diaspora to return and invest. The tools and technology to increase and speed up these issues of interest are out there, and it’s time that they are deployed. If the government itself does not have the expertise required, then surely funds can be made available for external consultancies.

Along with debt accumulation and economic uncertainty, the lingering likelihood of another global economic crisis are provoking discontent among citizens. With corruption and nepotism running high people justly wonder whether the government is truly working for the public interest or only for just a few. Such disenchantment is eroding the foundations of democratic system and requires urgent action to strengthen the legitimacy of public institutions. There are signs that people’s trust in their government remains stubbornly lower than ever before.  By taking a people-centric approach to policy making and service delivery, the government can rebuild trust in the public administration, improve the effectiveness of public action and better respond to the global and domestic challenges the country faces. Furthermore, digital technologies are changing social and civic communities and how people participate in, and experience, civic and political life. These technologies, the growing availability and use of data, as well as services provided by the private sector that are considered as benchmarks, are transforming how public goods and services are produced and consumed at a global scale. This, in turn, affects people’s expectations about how governments should work and provide services. Increasingly, people want to interact with their governments in more efficient ways, including through digital platforms, and they expect the same quality of service regardless of the channel chosen to access the service. Information and communication technologies, when implemented appropriately, have helped simplify government processes, eliminate paper-based transactions, and established single points of access to the public administration. Expectations of multitudes that the Croatian government should be more in step with technology advances to provide access to and usage of public services are entirely justified. A better relationship with the private sector, especially the innovative one, would go a long way towards meeting the needs of Croats living in the diaspora intent on, desirous of return and investment.  Let’s hope it happens. Ina Vukic