The plight for demographic improvement has been a pressing issue for many countries during the last decade, in particular, and Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) were and are not spared from suffering an alarming reduction of its native people through emigration and reducing birth rate. The plight for political participation of Croats in the welfare of people within Bosnia and Herzegovina is deeper than in many other countries simply because Croats form one of the three constitutional peoples of the country, and their numbers are alarmingly decreasing making the participation in the country’s life increasingly ineffective and prone to circumvention. Indeed, this fact has often been labelled as the culprit for increased bias and discrimination against Croats in national affairs and life. To add to the problem of relatively inadequate political participation of Croats in the life of Bosnia and Herzegovina when compared to the other two constitutional peoples – Muslims and Serbs – many Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina roots are not even citizens of the country.  

Recently I was sent a flyer (click here for pdf version) regarding the importance of obtaining BiH citizenship, the printing of which was financially supported by the Municipality of Tomislavgrad. Given that the organisation I am the Vice-President of, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Diaspora and Homeland (HAZUDD) supports this action for citizenship drive, I am also translating the flyer in public interest here and I hope it will help some people in their personal decisions about citizenships. Ina Vukic  

—

“It is important to be a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, otherwise you are a foreigner in your own country!

Majority of Croats originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina do not have its citizenship, and thus neither the associated rights. It is not enough to have a Croatian passport or identity card.

If you are returning to Bosnia and Herzegovina for retirement or solving inheritance issues, by acquiring Bosnia and Herzegovina citizenship you are helping yourself and your Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This project is initiated by associations of Croats from the diaspora and has nothing to do with political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia. The goal is to make Croats all over the world aware of their rights in the land of their ancestors!

Why is it important to be a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina?

1. You solve the issue of property inheritance,

2. You acquire the right to vote in BiH,

3. You purchase real estate more easily,

4. The process of opening a business or company becomes easier for you,

5. You are entitled to various state subsidies.

Ways to acquire BiH citizenship:

• By origin/descent,
• Being born on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
• Adoption,
• By naturalisation,
• By international agreement.

Here we will present the most common way of acquiring citizenship

• by origin/descent:

 a. if both parents were citizens of BiH at the time of the child’s birth, regardless of the place of his/her birth,

  b. if one parent was a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time of the child’s birth, and the child was born on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

 c.  if one parent was a citizen of BiH at the time of the child’s birth, and the child was born abroad – if the child would otherwise be stateless,

 d. if the child was born abroad, and at the time of the child’s birth one of the parents was a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, provided that by the time the child reaches the age of 23, he/she submits an application for the registration of the fact of citizenship to the competent authority for registry books in Bosnia and Herzegovina or to the diplomatic-consular offices,

  e, if one parent was a citizen of BiH at the time of the child’s birth, the other parent was a citizen of one of the republics of the former SFRY/ former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, and the child was born abroad.

Persons who acquire citizenship by descent are considered citizens of BiH from the date of their birth, not from the time of registration in the competent registers. BiH legislation also recognizes entity citizenships, and they automatically become BiH citizenships.

In the process of exercising the right to BiH citizenship, as well as when obtaining personal documents where certain ambiguities may arise, it is advised to contact the registry offices of the municipalities where the parents/parent were either born or

used to have a registered residential address. On the official websites of the municipalities, one can find the necessary forms for registration in the registers and registers of citizens. {Click on option “Forms/Requests”, then “Service for social activities and general administration”.)

Printing supported by funds from the Municipality of Tomislavgrad.

The action is supported by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Diaspora and Homeland (HAZUDD).

—