ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - As of Thursday, Croatian authorities will be issuing digital EU COVID-19 certificates as proof of recovery based on a rapid antigen test, said the AKD company, a government-owned manufacturing company for the production of high-security printed products (ID cards, passports, etc.).

Testing must be performed by an authorized laboratory and the test must be from the EU list of reliable rapid antigen tests. A certificate can be requested and obtained on the 11th day from the first positive test, and its validity is 180 days from the day of testing.

For earlier test results it is possible to retroactively claim a certificate of recovery if the positive result of a rapid antigen test is no older than 1 October 2021.

AKD recalled that the European Commission on 22 February made a decision enabling member states to issue digital COVID certificates of recovery based on rapid antigen tests. Until now certificates proving recovery from COVID-19 were issued only on the basis of a PCR test.

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ZAGREB, 23 Nov 2021 - Justice and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica said on Tuesday that fines for those flouting the mandate to show their COVID-19 certificates in public law bodies would range between 30,000 and 50,000 kuna ( €4,000-6,700).  

We have envisaged pecuniary penalties for the responsible persons who fail to respect the relevant law. Fines are between HRK 30,000 and HRK 50,000, and we believe that they will prompt those institutions' heads and persons in charge to respect the decisions made by the national COVID-19 crisis management team, said the minister.

The draft amendments to the relevant legislation will be on the agenda of the government's meeting on Wednesday.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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ZAGREB, 4 Oct 2021 - The Croatian province of the Society of Jesus said on Monday it did not authorize father Zdravko Knežević to participate in this morning's protest outside a Zagreb hospital against mandatory COVID certificates for health workers.

Knežević was among some 50 protesters who booed Health Minister Vili Beroš upon his arrival there to mark the start of the certificate mandate in the health sector. The media reported that Knežević shouted "treason, the gallows, you are Judases" to Beroš.

In a press release, the Croatian province of the Society of Jesus distanced itself from Knežević's participation in the protest, even though he said he was there as a private person.

The province also distanced itself from his statements at the protest, saying that some of them, as carried by the media, were totally inappropriate. "Because of that, I apologize to everyone who was hurt by them," father Dalibor Renić said in the press release.

"I believe health workers and their leadership deserve our trust and support in their attempts to give citizens the best healthcare in this pandemic crisis," he added.

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ZAGREB, 4 Oct 2019 - Unvaccinated employees of the KBC Split hospital and members of the public on Monday staged a protest outside the hospital in that coastal city, shouting insults at members of the hospital management.

As of today, employees in the healthcare and welfare systems, visitors, and persons accompanying patients have to have digital COVID-19 certificates. All health workers coming to work have to present their COVID-19 certificate showing that they have either been vaccinated or have recovered from the coronavirus infection while others have to undergo testing two times a week.

The protesters outside the KBC Split hospital shouted insults at members of the hospital management, and some started pulling at them. They also shouted insults at reporters in an attempt to prevent them from taking statements from the hospital management.

The protesters said that they were not against vaccination but against being forced to get vaccinated.

One of the emergency medical service employees said the new rules were a form of pressure and that everyone should have the right to choose while one doctor blamed COVID-19 fatalities on the media which, she said, "kept feeding the public such information, and that hospitalized patients were dying of fear, not of coronavirus."

Split-Dalmatia County Assembly deputy head Mate Šimundić was also among the protesters.

Hospital head Julije Meštrović toured the locations on the hospital premises where employees were being tested for COVID-19, noting that everything was well organized and that there was no queuing.

Asked to comment on the protest, he said that protesters had the right to express their opinion and that most of them were not hospital staff but members of the public.

No protests in Rijeka 

The first day of the new epidemiological regime for healthcare and welfare system workers in Rijeka was without problems or protests, with the testing of unvaccinated staff having started over the weekend.

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October 1st, 2021 - According to the recommendation of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), a new rule has been implemented on the EU Digital COVID Certificates system in Croatia as of today, extending the duration of vaccination certificates to 365 days.

HrTurizam.hr reports that the new duration of certificates applies to all new certificates, as well as to those previously issued. Citizens who have already obtained their certificates will not have to request re-issuance because the duration of their existing ones will be automatically extended. Citizens can check the duration of their certificates by storing the certificate in the digital wallet of the CovidGO mobile application, and in the case of travel to other countries, it is certainly necessary to check the local rules in force.

With the new duration, the previously implemented rules of the issue concerning vaccines that have central approval in the EU are still in force. Certificates of vaccination can thus be obtained by persons who have been vaccinated with both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, persons who have been vaccinated with two doses of different vaccines received in two doses, for example, a person has received the first dose of AstraZeneca, the second Pfizer and which have been vaccinated with a single dose vaccine.

Confirmation may also be requested from persons who have been vaccinated with a single dose of vaccine received in two doses that have a positive PCR test 180 days from the date of receipt of the vaccine. They can request a certificate from the day of vaccination and it will also be valid for 365 days.

In accordance with the accepted revision of the document by the e-Health Network of the European Commission from September 29, 2021, it is possible to issue EU digital COVID certificates for vaccines that do not have central approval in the EU.

From 30 September 2021, certificates may also be issued for vaccines below in the table, in accordance with the following rules:

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ZAGREB, 18 June 2021 - New epidemiologicial measures will enter into force in Croatia on 1 July, under which events involving people with digital EU certificates will not be subject to restrictions on the number of people gathered, the head of the national coronavirus crisis management team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, announced at a press conference on Friday.

People who have been vaccinated, who have recovered or who have a negative test for COVID-19 will be allowed to participate in events without having to comply with special epidemiological measures or with the scope of restrictions reduced, Božinović said.

The new measures mostly concern gatherings of persons possessing EU digital COVID certificates. Events involving such people will not be subject to restrictions on the number of people attending or the duration of the event.

Božinović said that in other cases where people's COVID status will not be checked, the restriction of 100 persons per event and the duration of events until midnight remain in force.

Cafes with outdoor terraces will be allowed to serve only seated customers, to deter crowding and uncontrolled gatherings.

EU digital COVID certificates will not be required at events involving up to 30 persons, but participants will have to observe epidemiological measures. On the other hand, participants in events attended by more than 30 people, such as wedding parties, will have to have COVID certificates.

Božinović said that only people with EU digital COVID certificates would be allowed to attend sporting events.

Follow  the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

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June the 6th, 2021 - The newly launched and much talked about Croatian digital covid certificates are already causing issues among many, even with the desire not to discriminate being put first. For some reason, those who have recovered from the infection are struggling to have their certificates approved.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as of Wednesday, Croatian digital covid certificates have been being issued here in Croatia. However, in the first two days of them being ''live'' alone, it was shown that this system of confirmation with which vaccinated people or those who have already recovered from COVID-19 can freely cross the border without additional tests has multiple shortcomings.

More precisely, a grey zone has opened up which includes a huge number of people who contracted and have since recovered from the disease, but are not registered anywhere in the system. Their requests for Croatian digital covid certificates were all rejected.

"This is discrimination, I don't know how else to describe it. We've found ourselves in the grey zone, not through our own fault, but because of the official recommendation of epidemiologists and GPs,'' stated an indignant Zadar native for Slobodna Dalmacija who immediately asked for a Croatian digital covid certificate through the e-Citizens (e-Gradjani) system so that she could travel. However, the answer she received was clear - no.

"If I want to travel now, and that's the main reason why I want this certificate, I can't do it without paying yet again, this time I need to fork out eight hundred kuna because PCR testing at the Zadar County Public Health Institute costs that much. It's the most expensive in the country. And not once, but twice, when entering and then when leaving Croatia. If that's not discrimination, then I don’t know what is. Especially in light of these announcements that we're going to co-finance antigen tests for foreign tourists to come to us for holidays. That is simply not fair,'' she explained.

In Zadar County, more than fourteen thousand people have officially contracted the coronavirus. However, the main Zadar epidemiologist, Dr. Alan Medic, has repeatedly warned that the actual number of people who have become infected and since recovered with no record of that anyway is at least two to three times higher. This doesn't only apply to Zadar, but to the whole of Croatia. It is these people who are the grey zone today because they aren't registered anywhere, nor can they get Croatian digital covid certificates.

Why indivituals who have recovered from COVID-19 cannot get Croatian digital covid certificates and how we might resolve this issue was answered by Dr. Alan Medic, the head of epidemiology at the Zadar Institute of Public Health.

"The rules for obtaining Croatian digital covid certificates were adopted by the Ministry of Health and the Croatian Institute of Public Health, and you should forward this inquiry to them. What we can say is that at the time when we had the largest number of coronavirus patients in all of Croatia, it was the practice to test only one family member, and the rest, if they developed symptoms, were to contact their GP who then listed them as probably positive, but without any evidence. I believe that all people who have recovered from COVID-19, who have a sufficient number of antibodies or who have been registered with their doctor as probably positive should have the same rights as the proven positive ones,'' said Medic.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of testing centres and vaccination points across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

June 1, 2021 - EU digital COVID certificates in Croatia are LIVE! Here's a look at what you need to do to get one. 

As of today, the EU digital covid certificates in Croatia are live, or what you may know better as the Covid passport. The Croatian government set up a national certification system on Monday, which began operating on Tuesday,  report Jutarnji List. 

"The Croatian national system for issuing the EU digital COVID certificate is ready for operation on June 1 and the integration procedure with the European gateway has been carried out, which ensured their cross-border interoperability," they announced in a statement yesterday.

A website has also been launched where citizens can get all the necessary information. But the process of issuing a Covid certificate is actually quite simple; you can request it through the e-Citizens system (eGrađani) or at HZZO branches. Regardless of the version, the certificate will contain a QR code with basic information and a digital stamp to ensure the authenticity of the certificate.

How to access the certification system?

You can access the system for issuing EU digital COVID certificates via the website www.eudigitalnacovidpotvrda.hr via the link REQUEST A CERTIFICATE at the top of the website (see header photo). You can also access the system directly via the e-Citizens (eGrađani) page by selecting the HEALTH area from the service catalog. In this area, select the EU Digital COVID Certificate e-Service and follow the application steps.

What documents do you need to download the certificate from the e-Citizens (eGrađani) portal?

Apart from level 2 credentials - significant security levels or level 3 credentials - high-security credentials, it is not necessary to provide additional data and documentation to access the e-Citizens (eGrađani) portal. The system retrieves user data from the databases of the Ministry of Health and the confirmation is generated by clicking on the option "Request confirmation".

You can save the confirmation that you download via the portal to your computer, print it out, or send it by e-mail to your e-mail address.

How to apply through e-Citizens (eGrađani)?

In case you decide to get the certificate through the eCitizens system, you must first submit a request by entering your OIB and e-mail address to which the COVID certificate will be delivered in PDF format.

After that, a request will be created for you, and in the e-Citizens system, you can check what its status is, i.e., whether it is still being processed or is ready.

Once you meet the criteria for issuing a certificate, the info will arrive at your e-mail address. 

Can the certificate be used via mobile phone?

You can save the certificate in the form of a PDF file and present it to the person responsible for reading the QR code and other important data. The EU digital COVID certificate contains a QR code with a digital signature for protection against forgery, which is based on the ICAO PKI specifications. When checking the certificate, the QR code is scanned and the digital signature is checked.

How will this help you freely move?

In addition to facilitating the movement of citizens when crossing the border crossings of the Republic of Croatia and border crossings of EU member states with which bilateral agreements will be concluded, this certificate can be used for other purposes in accordance with decisions that could be made in the foreseeable future.

The Government notes that the certificate will be used in accordance with data protection regulations and exclusively for downloading and processing the data contained in the certificate.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.