August the 5th, 2021 - There are some big changes coming to Croatian national ID cards, with new biometric tech and the ability to do much more using just them and not other documents on the horizon. Croatian driving licenses will also eventually be integrated into these new ID cards according to State Secretary Zarko Katic, making life even easier, hopefully.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) Zarko Katic spoke live about the new ID cards and just what they'll be able to offer their holders for N1 Studio.

On the first day of their announcement, over 7,200 applications for new second-generation ID cards were submitted, almost twice as many as are normally submitted to MUP for approval on a daily basis.

''There's a thirty day wait for the new ID cards, when done and paid for in an accelerated procedure, the wait is ten days, and if the application is done in an urgent procedure, then the wait is three days. In Zagreb in that final case, the cards are done and provided on the same day. In that case, personal ID cards are a bit more expensive,'' explained Zarko Katic.

As of 11:30 yesterday morning, 8,500 requests for a new ID card had been received by MUP.

Just how Croatian driving licenses will be integrated into this new card is prescribed by an EU directive, and until the directive is changed, a driver's license cannot be integrated into an identity card, Zarko Katic added.

The application process is entirely protected, and identity theft isn't possible, he pointed out and added: ''ID cards and passports are protected by the highest measures. The possibility of counterfeiting is not only not minimal, I would say it's impossible.''

Who needs to get a new ID card?

Zarko Karic reminded once again that citizens aren't obliged to change their ID card if their current one hasn't expired yet. Nor do they need to get one if their current one isn't damaged or of the holder hasn't changed their personal data.

"Only those who need a new one now should come and get one,'' he said.

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