The process of obtaining a Personal Identification Number (OIB) for foreign citizens

Procedure for obtaining a Personal Identification Number (OIB) for foreign citizens

If you are a foreign citizen acquiring ownership of real estate in the Republic of Croatia, you may have already encountered the information that you need to obtain an OIB, i.e. a Personal Identification Number, to register ownership rights in the land registry. If you are wondering what an OIB actually is and how to get it, follow the guide we have prepared for you below. Sometimes bureaucratic requirements of this type can be daunting for buyers, so it is important to know that the Regent team is at your disposal to obtain an OIB. We will ensure a simple flow of this process, reduce stress and help you obtain a personal identification number in a few simple steps or complete the entire process for you.

What is OIB actually?

The personal identification number is a permanent identification mark of every person that public authorities use in official records in their daily work and when exchanging data.

The abbreviation OIB is used for the personal identification number. The OIB consists of 11 digits, ten of which are determined by random selection and one digit which is a check number according to the international standard ISO 7064 »Module 11,10«.

According to the Law on Personal Identification Number, the OIB is a unique, non-indicating, unchangeable and non-repeatable number. Once determined and assigned, the OIB can no longer be assigned, even if there is no longer a person to whom it was assigned (upon the death of a natural person, after the bankruptcy of a legal person).

Citizens of the Republic of Croatia receive it at birth, legal entities upon establishment, and foreign persons when there is a reason for them to be monitored in the territory of the Republic of Croatia (entry in official records and acquisition of the status of a taxpayer).

When must a foreign citizen obtain an OIB?

A foreign person is considered to be a natural person who does not have Croatian citizenship and a legal person who has its headquarters outside the territory of the Republic of Croatia. An OIB for foreigners is determined and assigned to a foreign natural and legal person when a reason for monitoring arises. A reason for monitoring a foreign person is considered to have arisen:

1. If a foreign person is entered in official records for the purpose of approving residence to foreigners at the Ministry of the Interior. Then you go to the Ministry of Interior to register your residence and determine and assign an OIB.
2. If a foreign person is entered in an official register of persons and property in Croatia, and if the foreign person has become a taxpayer according to a special regulation.

A foreign natural or legal person then comes to the competent office of the Tax Administration to determine and assign an OIB.

The reason under item 2 applies to foreign real estate buyers because a foreign buyer becomes a Croatian taxpayer by acquiring real estate. Additionally, since it is a registration of ownership of real estate in the land registry department (land registry), which is an official record, a foreign citizen must obtain an OIB.

For this purpose, a foreign person submits a request for the determination and assignment of an OIB to the locally competent office of the Tax Administration. So, it is about the office of the Tax Administration competent according to the location of the newly acquired real estate. You can find out which office your property belongs to at this link.

Only after the assignment of a personal identification number is it possible to register the ownership of real estate in the land registry.

What does the process of obtaining an OIB for foreigners look like?

Once you determine which Tax Administration office you belong to, you can start the process of resolving the documentation that is submitted to that office.

There is a difference in the necessary documentation for obtaining an OIB for a foreign natural or legal person.

FOREIGN NATURAL PERSON

A foreign natural person needs to prepare two things:

1. Request for determining and assigning an OIB

• The request in Croatian is located on this link.
• The request in English is located on this link.
• The request in German is located on this link.

1. Passport

• The original is given for inspection to the official, and a copy is attached to the Request.
• Exceptionally, if a foreign natural person does not possess a passport, they must attach the following to the Request:
• European identity card (citizens of the European Union) or
• Identification document from the country of citizenship along with proof of the corresponding citizenship

FOREIGN LEGAL PERSONA foreign legal person also submits two things:

1. Request for determining and assigning an OIB

• The form is the same as for a foreign natural person.

​2. Act of establishment

A decision or excerpt from the competent register is required, which must be in Croatian or translated into Croatian by an authorized court interpreter.

When the Request is submitted by a ATTORNEY on behalf of a foreign person (natural or legal), in addition to the previously mentioned documentation (copies of documents), a power of attorney must also be submitted.

The POWER OF ATTORNEY must be issued for the procedure of determining and assigning an OIB and must be drawn up in Croatian or translated into Croatian since it is in official use in the Republic of Croatia. The power of attorney is retained in the competent office of the Tax Administration. If the power of attorney is issued to a natural/legal person, it must be certified. If the power of attorney is issued to a notary public, lawyer, public law body or bank, certification of the power of attorney is not required.

Is it possible to get an OIB online?

Yes, but there is a possibility that you will be invited to personally pick up the OIB Certificate.

The possibility of obtaining an OIB online was introduced exceptionally and for the purpose of preventive measures to protect against the coronavirus, so it can probably be abolished, but at the time of writing this article it is still functioning.

The online request is submitted via the Internet form on the Tax Administration page.

In the form, it is necessary to select the topic and subtopic Request for determining and assigning an OIB and fill out the inquiry form.

The mentioned Request and valid documents in the form of document scans must be attached to the inquiry.

Based on the contact information from the inquiry, an official of the Tax Administration will call the foreign person with an indication of the time when they can pick up the OIB Certificate in the Tax Administration office, upon presentation of the submitted documents in this inquiry. Exceptionally, an official of the Tax Administration will send the OIB information to the contact email and the OIB Certificate will be sent later.

The Tax Administration will conduct the procedure of determining and assigning OIB to foreign persons as a priority within a period of 8 days.

Too much information?

Entrust the purchase of real estate to the expert team of Regent, and obtaining your OIB can become our task that we perform for you in the shortest possible time.