RUŽA NIKOLIĆ

Statelessness/Travel document for stateless person/Croatian citizenship

Date of birth: 3 February 1984 in Nova Gradiška, Croatia

Date of death: 12 August 2024 in Sisak

Brief case summary:

• The client was born in Nova Gradiška, Republic of Croatia (RoC). At the moment of birth, she was only registered in birth registry books. Due to circumstances, that her mother and father, in the moment of birth were not registered in citizenship registry books, Ruža became stateless.
• Statelessness has affected her life. Living in Sisak, she did not have her basic rights, such as education, employment, social welfare, housing, healthcare, as well as freedom of movement and political participation. Her whole life, local authorities were familiar with her status, but they acted as if she did not exist.
• Furthermore, in 2006, by a court decision she was deprived of her right to parental care of five minor children, who were adopted.
• In 2007, the client first approached CRP for legal aid.
• After years of administrative procedures and disputes, on 7 January 2014, Ruža Nikolić received a positive decision on permanent residence in RoC, according to the Article 79 para 1 on the Act on Movement and Stay of Foreigners in RoC (Official Gazette 53/91, 22/92, 26/93 and 29/94). For an explanation, CRP submitted a request for permanent residence based on the Article 94 para 1(4) on the Act of foreigners (Official Gazette 74/13) due to continuity of residence and birth in RoC. The Ministry of the interior (MoI) decided that her presence and residence on the date of 8 October 1991 represented an obligation of MoI to give her permanent residence status. After permanent residence decision, Ruža Nikolić was given her first document in her life, foreigner’s ID.
• From 2014, Ruža Nikolić gave birth to three daughters, who live with mother and father, common law husband of Ruža Nikolić, in the house owned and given for rent by the City of Sisak. They were beneficiaries of social welfare in the amount of HRK 1,900,00 and child allowance HRK1.400,00, in total approximately EUR 440,00.
• Request for stateless travel document, CRP submitted on 5 September 2018, after two months of attempts to submit it, as the Police department in Sisak was rejecting to receive the request. In this procedure, Ruža Nikolić also waited for security checks, which have been categorized as positive for the beneficiary, i.e. she was approved to be given a passport. By the way, it is a different check findings than in her citizenship case. In January 2019, she received stateless travel document (1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons passport), which was valid until 2023, and which gave her freedom of movement for the first time in her life.
• In January 2019, the client needed to apply and receive a new ID residence permit, as she was at that time registered as stateless person.
• On 25 January 2016, CRP submitted request for Croatian citizenship. On 30 June 2017, she received a negative decision with an explanation that there was State security barrier for positive decision. CRP appealed, but it was rejected. CRP filed an administrative lawsuit. The Administrative Court held three hearings. CRP was emphasizing that the client did not have any criminal record that she was born in Croatia, living her whole life here, that in the case of issuance of a Convention passport, Security Intelligence Agency gave a positive opinion, etc. The Court finally made a positive decision, accepting the lawsuit and sending the case back to the first instance body, which was ordered to bring a new decision in 60 days. The MoI made their new decision only end November, as the client was on 28 November 2019 invited to come to the Police Department, which the client did on 3 December, when she was given payment details to pay the administrative fee for admittance into Croatian citizenship.
• On 6 February 2020, the Ministry of the Interior issued a decision on admittance into Croatian citizenship.
• On 27 February 2020, CRP attorney picked up a certificate on Croatian citizenship.
• Later in May 2020, the client got a Croatian ID card.
• In the meantime, the client got sick.
• CRP assisted the client with applications into health care and social welfare, as well as other rights.
• The client underwent some medical treatments.
• The client’s children were taken away from the client and partner and put into a Children’s Home in Slavonia, far from Sisak, where the client only rarely was able to go and visit the children, three daughters.
• The client was more and more sick and weaker, so she died in August 2024 at the age of 40.
• CRP assisted the client from 2007 to 2024, going through many long-lasting administrative procedures, as well as court ones for years. Some cases were going through procedures for years and years, going back and forth many times. Higher court, as well as administrative bodies were sending cases back to the first instances, they were bringing again the same negative decisions and the cases would go to higher levels again and would be sometimes rejected, sometimes accepted and sent back to first instances and so on.
• The above explained resulted in the client not living normally, with no identity and no possibility of having a home and documents, including medical care.
• CRP never gave up on the client, for 17 years, so her last years she spent ok, having medical care and social welfare compensation, but obviously, unfortunately, it was too late for her.