January 26, 2022 - TCN intern Jacob Rukavina explores why Croatia should change its passport colour from blue to red. 

In August, I left my home in Vancouver to begin two years of graduate studies in Sweden. While the program itself was enticing, it was not the primary reason I moved to the land of IKEA and pickled herring. For those who may be unfamiliar, university studies in Sweden are free. Any citizen of the EU/EEA is entitled to fully state-funded education. Luckily for me, I had just received my first Croatian passport a few months earlier after a long and complicated application process. So, passport in hand, I packed my bags and got ready for a new life in Scandinavia. 

The day I arrived at Arlanda International (Sweden's largest airport), I was brimming with excitement. After almost two years of lockdowns, quarantines, and travel bans, words cannot describe how ready I was to be out in the world again. Except now, as a proud EU national, I was free to move around Europe at my leisure. Growing up, I was always jealous of the privileges that most EU citizens still take for granted. Faster security checks, shorter queues, and the right setup shop on a whim in some of the world's most famous cities, an EU passport carries more privilege than most other travel documents. So, as I’m sure you can imagine, after years of paperwork and red tape, I felt like I was finally living out my dreams. And for a short 16-hour flight, I was. Unfortunately, reality cleared the stars from my eyes before I even made it to baggage claim. 

After collecting my things and making my way to passport control, I was surprised to see the confusion on the officer's face as I approached her booth. "This line is for EU/EEA citizens." She explained. Equally confused, I held up my travel document so she could see the words "Europska Unija" written in silver foil letters across the cover. She quickly realized her mistake. "Ah yes, Croatian passports are blue." And after a quick glance at the picture page, she waved me through with no further hassle. It was a far cry from the glamourous entrance I had pictured in my mind, but hey, I'd made it into Sweden. No harm, no foul. 

This experience got me thinking. Despite nearly a decade of EU membership and countless opportunities to join the burgundy family, why is the Croatian passport still blue? I had never really thought about it before. Surely, it would be easier for Croatians to be quickly recognized at border crossing like our Finnish or Luxembourgish counterparts.

So, I did some research. As it turns out, this choice was intentional. As reported in a previous article, in 2015, the government chose not to change the passport colour for fear that it would be associated with the old Yugoslav travel document, opting to include only the ‘European Union’ banner on the cover. Ok, case closed, right? The history is too complicated, and Croatian passports shall forever remain lone specks of blue in a sea of red. 

Well, in my opinion, I hope not, and here’s why.

Despite the symbolic ties between communism and the colour red, all other formerly communist EU members have changed their passport booklets to fit within the Union’s standard design. Even Slovenia, a country that also suffered under Titoist Yugoslavia opted to keep with the colour scheme. Moreover, the dictators of old do not hold a monopoly over an entire palate. As one of Croatia’s national colours, red is immensely emblematic of Croatian national pride and heritage. Anyone who pays attention during the World Cup or the Euro knows just how proud Croatians are to wear red, especially when it comes in the form of the šahovnica, the infamous checkerboard that adorns every jersey in the country.

In the thirty years since independence, Croatia has undergone a significant transformation. The government has successfully rebranded the country, earning this Adriatic paradise a position amongst Europe's most desirable destinations. Even more recently, Croatia has made considerable leaps in foreign policy. In the past several months, Croatian citizens have gained total freedom of movement in Switzerland and access to the United States visa waiver program. No simple feat on either front. With eurozone and Schengen membership expected by the beginning of 2023, Croatia has completely redefined its position on the world stage. Updating the passport would serve as an appropriate way to mark a complete transition into Europe’s innermost circle.

This is not to say we should ignore history. Any new design proposals should not hark back any semblance to the documents issued by the previous regime. Instead, new booklets should incorporate features that reflect Croatia's natural beauty, culture, and rich history. A passport should embody the people who carry it. Perhaps the government could follow in Norway's footsteps, opening a design competition for locals to submit ideas and concept art. Many modern passports include artistry between the pages as an improved security measure, making fakes harder to duplicate. Plitvice, Šahovnica, Pula Arena, there is no shortage of culturally significant locations and figures to draw upon for inspiration. The creative possibilities are limitless, leaving plenty of room to ensure that any new design represents the strong and independent nation that Croatians have worked so hard for.

Switching the passport to red may seem insignificant and unnecessary to some. But in the wake of increasing political instability, this simple demonstration of pro-European leadership would be an important show of support. Despite the recent shift of many governments towards more Eurosceptic parties, Croatia has stood out as a balanced and steadfast advocate for the EU. Aligning the passport is naturally the next step as Croatia enter's Europe's inner core. There is no better expression of national pride than showing solidarity with your closest allies.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

Could Croatia soften its laws on the acquisition of citizenship for foreign investors bringing money, jobs and other benefits with them to Croatia? It's a sensitive topic for many, but more and more people in business circles are beginning to believe that this could be one answer to Croatia's increasingly bleak demographic picture.

As Boris Oresic/Novac writes on the 17th of March, 2019, the value of a passport is measured by the number of countries to which its owner can travel without the need for a visa. On the World Passport Index, the Republic of Croatia holds a high ranking of sixteen because the owners of its travel documents enjoy visa-free travel to 169 countries across the world.

According to the latest research by the Swiss agency Henley & Partners, which helps individuals who want to acquire the nationality of a country, the most powerful passports are Japan and Singapore, which allows visa-free access to 189 countries, with Germany coming second with just one number less. Following that come Finland, France, Italy, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Denmark.

From year to year, more and more countries abolish visas for Croatian passport holders, making the blue passport with the Croatian coat of arms more and more sought after in general. However, unlike some European countries, the Croatian state has not yet decided on what is considered by many to be a controversial move - selling its citizenship to those who want to pay good money for it and don't pose a risk to national security.

Portugal, Austria, Malta, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria are some of the EU countries which, under varying conditions, do offer such opportunities to foreigners. By selling their passports or permanent residence permits, these countries manage to earn significant income from East Asia, Russia and the Middle East who aren't lacking money and who want EU documents which automatically enable them to move freely and operate in 28 member states, some of which fall into the most powerful countries of the world.

The European Commission doesn't take such a bright view at such practices, and at the end of January it warned EU member states that third-country investors seeking such so-called ''golden passports'' and ''golden visas'' increase the security risk throughout the EU. This criticism is mostly related to Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria, which have the most liberal laws on the matter. For example, Malta charges 650,000 euros for its passport, and the applicant must have possessed 350,000 euros worth of real estate on its territory for five years. Cyprus offers its citizenship to those who invest 2 million euros and have real estate worth more than 500,000 euros. As one of its arguments for deterring the practice of selling citizenship, the European Commission cites the potential problems of Russian capital of suspect origin.

The former government of SDP's Zoran Milanović discussed the idea of major investors being allowed to acquire citizenship back in 2015, but such notions appear to have been quickly given up on and there is no indication, at least at the moment, that these regulations could change significantly. In business circles however, there are plenty of people who think that it's high time that Croatia softens its rigid attitude, because by selling a certain number of passports, it would not have lost anything and could in turn gain many benefits. With the country's demographic image becoming more and more bleak, many believe a softened stance wouldn't hurt.

Globus's interlocutor, who is otherwise very well-versed in this topic, argues that when looking for security and business opportunities, the Croatian passport is most likely to be sought after by businessmen from Asia and Russia.

''The Agency conducts an investigation to make sure the applicant isn't a criminal, that he isn't in political asylum, that he doesn't abuse taxation... Then it's handed over to the country whose official services also do their part before deciding whether or not to comply with the request,'' says Globus's source, adding that this year alone, Croatia has raised its quota for the employment of foreign workers from non-EU countries to as high a figure as 65,000.

''How can we know that there are no criminals among these people? It's hard to believe that some rich man would come to Croatia with the intent of blowing it up with explosives. It's not known that anyone with a Maltese passport is linked to some terrorist attack. Security risks don't exist,'' explains a Croatian entrepreneur who is well acquainted with some very wealthy business people and others who would like to spread their wings, their work and their money into Croatia if they were to gain citizenship.

The number of people who can be granted citizenship can be limited by each country or by set quotas. Globus's source believes that a quota of the first thousand passports offered for sale would be completed within a year to a year and a half. This would mean that 300 million euros would be pumped directly into the state budget, which roughly covers the entire value of Pelješac bridge. Advocates of such ideas believe that several thousand wealthy foreigners would acquire all of the rights and obligations of all other Croatian citizens, and would not undermine the demographic picture of Croatia, which is already as grim as grim can be. Most of them, however, would probably not spend much time here in Croatia, and they would certainly not vote in national elections.

The Ministry of the Interior (MUP) is responsible for all issues related to the acquisition of Croatian citizenship, yet most member states do have rather vague legislation, however difficult it might be to come across, that points to discretionary procedures for naturalisation. In such proceedings, a state may freely grant nationality to a foreigner based on its national interests, that is typically related to outstanding achievements such as those in the field of culture, science or sport, but it can also be equated with economic interest.

There is a legal possibility for a foreign entrepreneur or an investor to acquire Croatian citizenship in a more privileged manner if the competent ministry feels that it is in the interest of the state to grant it. The Ministry of the Interior notes that the process of amendment to the Law on Croatian Citizenship is indeed in progress, but it does not foresee an amendment to Article 12 in order to facilitate the acquisition of citizenship for foreigners who want Croatian nationality purely for investing in Croatia.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and politics pages for more information on doing business and the political and investment climate in Croatia.

Click here for the original article by Boris Oresic for Novac/Jutarnji

Hold a Croatian passport? See where you fall on the newest list.

When it comes to entrance into non EU countries without a visa, Croatia is at the bottom of the list.