Persons of Croatian descent from the city of São Paulo and its surrounding areas, who met the requirements for obtaining Croatian citizenship, came to the headquarters of the Croatia Sacra Paulistana association to collect their passports.
Sandra Garafulić was beaming with joy when her 29-year-old son, Juan Pablo, on Sunday took his Croatian passport. With bright smiles, they enjoyed the moment in the courtyard in front of the association.
"I am very happy," Juan Pablo told Hina. "Honestly, my family and I have been waiting for this for a while, so I'm glad it finally happened," he added.
His great-grandfather was 17 years old when he fled from the island of Brač to Chile to escape the First World War. From there, he moved to neighbouring Bolivia, where he also brought his brothers from Croatia. His granddaughter, Sandra, lives in Brazil and had already obtained Croatian citizenship earlier.
Now it was Sandra's son's turn, and he says he is looking forward to travelling to Croatia at the end of the year.
"I want to get to know my family's origins as soon as possible," Juan Pablo notes.
In 2022, Croatia amended its citizenship law to make it easier for members of its Diaspora to obtain citizenship. This decision was made in response to the declining population and the shortage of labour.
The Croatian Embassy in the capital, Brasília, has since been "under significant pressure"concerning requests for Croatia's citizenship. It receives 1,000 applications for Croatian citizenship annually, but Croatian diplomats say they "do not have any backlog."
Last year, representatives of the embassy visited São Paulo three times so that new Croatian citizens there wouldn't have to travel to the capital to collect their passports.
Roots
Last year, 276 residents of Brazil were granted Croatian citizenship, according to the Central State Office for Croats Outside Croatia.
In total, 3,897 residents from nine South American countries became Croatian citizens in 2024.
"One of the key goals of the government is the return of our expats to the homeland," says Frane Tokić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Demography and Emigration.
Croatia has a population of 3.8 million people, while around 3.5 million Croats and their descendants live abroad.
Tokić, who is participating in the 8th Meeting of the Croatian Diaspora in São Paulo, is confident that Croatia offers good opportunities for returnees.
Benefits
Holders of Croatian passports can travel, work, and live freely across the European Union.
There are over 120,000 foreign workers in Croatia, and the Croatian government is striving to attract more, particularly in construction and tourism.
"We would like these to be people who have some connection to Croatia," says State Secretary Ivan Vidiš from the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family, and Social Policy.
Returnees can receive a non-repayable grant of €20,000 if they become self-employed. The maximum amount of financial support can reach €27,000.
Juan Pablo says that this is not on his mind at the moment as he first wants to get to know Croatia, and therefore he plans to visit Split with his mother in September.
"We would love to buy a house there," says his mother, Sandra. "My grandfather was always devoted to the family, and we have relatives there."