August 4, 2021 - The launch of the new ID the other day spurred me to check the government website for the steps I needed to take to become an E-citizen. So, how easy is it to look for information on the web in Croatia? 

I think we can all agree that the Croatian language is not the easiest language to learn. Fortunately, the local bar owners and shopkeepers can often help you along when ordering a meal or a drink by easily switching to English when they find that you are struggling even with the most basic of words. So I was hoping that the government (local and national) would offer an English language option on their website. 

Hooray, I thought, when I clicked on the Government website and found the ‘English’ option. I clicked on the news page and all was clear as it was on several other pages that ‘front’ the site. Knowing the Croatian love of documents and stamped documents I thought it would be useful to look at that page of the site. I may need to check some information that the government wants me to be aware of. The National plan looked like something worthy of reading, so I clicked on the link which said the document is available in English. In anticipation of becoming better informed, I clicked on the link, but sadly no, the document (as with others I clicked on) is only available in Croatian. Many just carry a reference number that does not explain what the actual document is, so I remain in the dark as to the plans and forms for our country. To be fair to the government, the website does at least give availability to the user the option of another language (in this case English) on its pages, so that is good news.

As for becoming an E-Citizen, well as someone from the UK who has residency before the end of last year, I am not sure of the process I need to follow, so have sent a message to double-check. I’m pleased to say the relevant page is in English so that is also good news. Well done the Croatian Government, now you don’t read that very often!

So, is the local government site also available in English?  Sadly as far as I can tell it is not.  

I looked at my local site for Grad Kastela. The website does not offer an English (or other language) option to those who may wish to visit the site for local information. 

Ok, maybe I don’t want to know what the latest planning rules are but if I was a visitor or tourist I may want to know what events are on in Kastela so I can go along and enjoy the singing or dancing, or as a resident of the area (where Croatian is not their first language), I may want to know what is happening with the local amenities or access a document. I can already hear some folk saying ‘learn Croatian then’ and of course they are right, but a little help along the way would be nice, especially in some of the more popular languages (English German perhaps) spoken by visitors or those new to the area which might help them along the path to understanding Croatia.     

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