How to Beat Croatian Bureaucracy: Proven Method

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Croatian bureaucracy is legendary, but can it be beaten?
There are various ways to approach it, including the right mindset, as I explained in my recent series, 20 Ways Croatia Changed Me in 20 Years - www.total-croatia-news.com/li...
But there is also one proven method - also available to locals - which can make Croatian bureaucracy a lot easier.
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Want to learn more about the realities of living in this flawed but majestic country? Our new book, Croatia, a Survival Guide for Foreigners is now available on Amazon. www.amazon.com/Croatia-Surviv...
Video produced by Igor Vuk of Wolf Media.
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[@lottaek1202]

I only had to deal with the bureaucracy when I was leaving the country and I found that being very kind and humble makes a big difference. You answer aggressive comments with smile and kindness and after maybe two or three exchanges they suddenly transform and almost seem ashamed for being rude to you. Works in general with most rude people everywhere.

[@PaulBradbury]

Humour and a positive attitude always helps in these situations

[@Account-br9kc]

roflmao as a Croatian I don't think that's going to help you

[@zdenkopodrug2175]

When a business man meets an "uhljeb"😅

[@PaulBradbury]

haha

[@MrBlacksford]

Wow! I will use that leverage and refer to you good sir as "my friend" 😉

[@PaulBradbury]

No need to mention me or anyone else. The locals who i know just said a blogger friend.

[@Burilo86]

We will eventually get there, slowly but surely. There is a digital platform nowdays "e-Građani" that covers a lot of paperwork and it is expanding each day. Stamps are almost obsolite today - we are even joking: "where is your stamp" for any paperwork in any situation. BTW I like your channel, have a great time here in Croatia.

[@PaulBradbury]

Yes, some things are improving for sure, and I love what the guys in Sveta Nedelja are doing with digitalisation, for example. Will get there, just a few more years (or decades...)

[@zoranmajstorovic2569]

I've usually had a good experience with our bureaucracy. I can't think of particular event with a public official that could be characterized as a really bad one. The key is to be ready for anything, be polite, humble, take your time, be patient and persistent, go with the flow, not against the current.

[@PaulBradbury]

This is probably the best advice and approach, and it certainly helps and works in many cases. I think a lot of people have such a phobia about dealing with bureaucracy that their body language and approach reflects that, which only makes things work. From the moment I decided to apply a positive mindset to dealing with bureaucracy, things got easier - www.total-croatia-news.com/lifestyle/64242-bureaucracy-and-mindset

[@urbanaerialexplorer1885]

That works in Australia too - once you mention you have a KZbin channel and doing some research for your next vlog, you get their attention and their mind-set totally changes to a positive encounter and much better exchange of information.

[@PaulBradbury]

Public shaming. Sad but effective

[@markomarjanovic3091]

Thanks for advice 👍💪

[@PaulBradbury]

Try it and let us know how you got on

[@urbanaerialexplorer1885]

Absolutely correct - don't change the culture and mind-set, but work and grow with it and understand what works by engaging and seeking out their experience and history of business

[@etelmedvidovic9967]

Sad but true

[@RobertsClassicShave]

That's so true!

[@PaulBradbury]

It really is

[@weram6228]

Ultratočno! 📲💪

[@PaulBradbury]

What a cool word!

[@ashhempsall9803]

Gonna try this in Greece. 😋

[@PaulBradbury]

Let us know how you get on. Love the idea of this going international.

[@ashhempsall9803]

@@PaulBradbury I will try. Subscribed🤘

[@AnkaMara7940]

Haha so it's the same over there in Greece? Well it's Balkan!

[@AnkaMara7940]

Ha ha...exactly as it is..thank you very much for your advice, I haven't managed to beat Croatian beaurocracy yet, I have very nervous stomach when I need to go to the offices, one needs to take lexaurin to keep calm

[@PaulBradbury]

Drzi se - you can do it!

[@jasminkazmire1356]

So true

[@zagrepcanin82]

i had to take some things at tax office(porezna uprava) and I also needed few stamps and workers were not in the office. so I went looking for them since it was not my first time there,i was like a customer almost every day....i have found them drinking coffee and smoking. when I showed them medical instrument i had to deliver to hospital and i lied it is urgent that man is having surgery one of them immediately get down and stamped me everything. i was working in delivery company back then so i learned my own way how to fight it. that trick also worked when police pulled me over...lol

[@PaulBradbury]

One of the things I love about Croats here is how inventive and creative they are in getting around the absurdities of the system.

[@anacapalija]

I'm a Croat from Zagreb and this is so true.

[@PaulBradbury]

haha good to hear

[@DavidBoca]

A lot of stuff has really improved over time and it's still improving. I went to register the car and the process was super simple, I was surprised.

[@munze]

When it's pauza time, it's pauza time, period :)

[@PaulBradbury]

Marenda. I work I used to hate in Dalmatia when it came to visiting official buildings.

[@AnkaMara7940]

Yeah, marenda is a sacred thing in Dalmatia

[@diavolacciosatanasso]

Probably more related to general human nature than Croatia specifically, I'd say.

[@goranvuletic8873]

Actually he did not want to be left alone, he wanted to be given money. Sadly, this is how it works in the Balkans, in many public institutions. Corruption everywhere.

[@PaulBradbury]

Quite probably. The thing is that I have never paid or directly asked for a bribe during my time here. I suppose being a foreigner in their eyes makes a difference, but I also think it is harder for foreigners, as many older officials don't speak English and would rather the foreigner disappeared than dealing with them.

[@antonstrilcic]

Hi Paul, I moved to otok krk 3 years ago to retire and started to watch your stuff on you tube . Your posts are quite informative and I had similar results with the system and wish I saw your posts last year. Looking forward to your next post. Anton strilcic

[@PaulBradbury]

Retiring on Krk seems a very nice plan - enjoy and thanks for watching

[@C64_and_Amiga_Memories]

This is the experience in the entire Balkans. Some area's even worse. People just dont give a damn really.

[@DivljaVoda]

That woman you were talking about. I saw many of them. But the one i am going to remember until i die. I heard old stories about them, but i haven't seen them with my eyes. So i was waiting in Zagreb to get a confirmation that i have a drivings licence, so i can translate it and make a new on in Germany (my old one was stolen) so i saw a woman (like you described) exiting the room (Heinzelova policija) with a cigarette in her mouth. I was baffled, i was like...aren't those extinct?! Apparently not. :)

[@PaulBradbury]

Haha, they live on

[@ana-pi6ut]

When my mother passed my sister and I hired a lawyer to transfer title of land from my mother's name to our name and to pronounce my mother dead, We thought it would take a year, and the next year my sister and I went back to the lawyer that we hired and paid and asked about the progress; the lawyer said that she was not able to do anything. . Then the following year we went to see her again and she refused to open the door and never returned out phone calls. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can do? We paid her and lost 3 years. Thank you

[@PaulBradbury]

Email [e-mail] Subject Bureaucracy, and I can put you in touch with a service which can help you.

[@rnbv3418]

Hire a slovenian lawyer to deal with the lawyer you paid.

[@krunomrki]

He was playing Angry Birds ... LOL I live in northern Croatia, in Zagorje region, and I have to say that my experience with clerks in institutions here was positive. In the 99% they were professional and efficient. Maybe here in the north people are more serious about their jobs.

[@PaulBradbury]

Yes agree. My experience of bureaucracy is better in the north

[@blazzunko]

yes, it's true from my experience as well, "the further south the sadder" haha

[@mariozaccaria1078]

They are afraid to finish in the newspapers also

[@PaulBradbury]

Same principle

[@i1bike]

Best way to deal with croatian birocracy is to start opening doors with leg kick. It always worked for me and for people that i know

[@PaulBradbury]

Haha, will try that next time

[@i1bike]

@@PaulBradbury If it doesnt work at first, follow it with some agressive shouting. Some of them are harder nut to crack haha

[@TheFuentes5551]

Most useful video I saw for forigners in Croatia

[@PaulBradbury]

Aw thank you. Lots more coming if you want to subscribe

[@TheFuentes5551]

@@PaulBradbury i did 10 min ago. :)

[@KnezBranimir879]

Nevertheless, I prefer our absurdities, our mentality and our informal attitude much more than the "by the book" approach of some countries like Germany. Because here, if you make a mistake, there is also a possibility that some of the people from the services will look the other way (either out of compassion or out of their own interest, to avoide the inconvenience of the additional workload)...

[@PaulBradbury]

Completely agree with you. Having lived in Munich for a year back in the 1980s, Hiroshima in 2002, and Croatia today, I choose the absurdity every time.

[@lottaek1202]

I have to disagree with you. Compared to Croatia, German bureaucracy is like a breath of fresh air for me. No one is trying to screw you over, no one is telling you partial information on purpose and it is very transparent where you need to go and what you need for any given issue. And the fact that you have to book an appointment and not wait in the line and especially not have to wait in the rooms where walls and furniture are falling apart (MUP Petrinjska!) is a blessing. Makes you feel like a human with dignity.

[@KnezBranimir879]

@@lottaek1202 I am guessing you are German, right?

[@lottaek1202]

@@KnezBranimir879 nope, Croatian born and raised and moved to Germany 5 yrs ago.

[@dexio8601]

@@PaulBradbury I thought when it came to the last stamp that you would have offered the guy money to get the stamp....🙂

[@Annathroy]

I was thinking we had it bad, but if put in perspective I can realise it's pretty much our own fault.

[@PaulBradbury]

Well i think it is true to say that a little positive mindset never hurt anyone

[@Annathroy]

@@PaulBradbury optimism has left the chat many many years ago 😂

[@woodman2855]

lol this reminds me when I used to work in customer service here in Croatia and my coworkers would just SEETHE at the customers for making them do any work. In our culture the customer is always wring it seems.

[@PaulBradbury]

But then on occasion you meet someone really helpful and it really does brighten up your day when it happens.

[@bojandomic4287]

"Avoid Žuja" Finally someone said it! :D It is very popular, especially down on the cost but there are much, much better brands that that. I'm almost tempted to say "any" brand is better than Žuja! :D

[@PaulBradbury]

Haha, well in my opinion, any brand is better.

[@mariovidmar7]

Since you travel ,go and search for local micro brewery you will find at least one in bigger towns especially in Osijek, Zagreb, Dubrovnik (not big town I know) etc

[@joeskrbina4910]

Croatia is a fantastic country to visit, but only as a tourist. I'm like many Croatians left my homeland 27 years ago. Greetings from Manchester, England.

[@PaulBradbury]

It is changing slowly. As a Manchester boy, i prefer it here

[@ivanagrbesa8592]

I have moved back after living 9 yrs abroad and it is still horrible. There are improvments like eGradjani system, START etc but at the end I was all the time asked to come in person (to the court, to HZZO office, to the bank -Erste). I guess uhljebi are bored.... 😢

[@PaulBradbury]

Slowly but surely, but yes it can be slow

[@powresitta]

As some1 who went trough british immigration birocracy, it's same nightmare. Cleriks in both countries r clueless. In croatia u can give them some bribe to push things forward. In Uk u have to be certain class and skin colour for things go smooth.

[@zeljkosafar7682]

I had the same problem in Austria. They don't give a damn shit about the customers. I cursed once (Drei Company-ISP and mobile provider) and the man from customer service said to me: "you to" 🙂

[@PaulBradbury]

haha

[@Matt-qr9uk]

As a U.S. citizen, would I be granted residency due to having a child that is a Polish citizen?

[@kani9284]

You mean because the child has EU citizenship, or?

[@kristiandivander9754]

For many Croats, dealing with politics is like shaking hands with a leprosy patient. This is a problem. Yes, Croatia is not like Austria or Sweden, but Croatia is also not like Russia or Turkey. You won’t be poisoned or assassinated only because you are a member of a different political party.

[@saonestranedinare644]

The computer says no! Everyone from those shores recognises the experience.... Yes, not reacting in an anngry way always helps. It's just too hot and 'fjaka' kicks in . But when the shit hits the fan, Croats are (largely) good people and will help anyone in need.

[@PaulBradbury]

Haha true story

[@mbelovari]

Angry birds je ozbiljna igra,ne prekida se to radi bilo cega...😅🤣🤣....well We are Croatian....kao Hrvat gledam video jedan po jedan,ucim o svojoj zemlji i ono najbitnije smijem se svakodnevnim stvarima koje mora se priznat i sam radim(angry birds doduse druga igrica al razumijemo se)....

[@PaulBradbury]

Haha lots more coming if you want to subscribe

[@andrewnorris1]

That’s a great tactic, shame the official to actually doing the job they are being paid for. Sadly, this won’t work with MUP and trying to get a ‘stalni boravak’. One person gave me false information (ie lied) way back when which meant I had to begin the application process from scratch, meaning leave the country to get a stamp in my passport and go back to the beginning. I’m sure she did it on purpose! (To se zove ‘rep komunizma’)

[@PaulBradbury]

MUP is a different universe, although I have always been fortunate with good service

[@andrewnorris1]

@@PaulBradbury Lucky you. I had one person who enjoyed exercising their ‘authority’ and really f-ed up my application. But, hey-ho, that’s all passed!

[@bagavondo2477]

bear in mind that you are foreigner, and english one...lets say that your kind of leverage is mostly out of reach for locals...good show, btw!

[@PaulBradbury]

Yes but then watch to the end - examples of how locals do it successfully too

[@bagavondo2477]

@@PaulBradbury i did watch to the end and thank you for examples

[@herceg6772]

It’s crazy to praise croatia!

[@speakcro]

Oh... Croatian bureaucracy...

[@PaulBradbury]

You know you love it

[@teddydavis2339]

That actually sounds stressful. What a turn-off.

[@ImNotPotus]

You have just entered the VEZ zone. Imam Vez = No Problem. Vez is a "pull" i.e. a reliable connection. The classic New Jersey "I know a Guy!" Vez is central to the culture as it greases the wheels sufficiently enough to keep things running for the most part. But is not ubiquitous in availability in order to maintain the satisfactory resolutions tempo. Prompt resolutions is not immediately expected by everybody. You have certainly heard someone say "If I only had a pull here." Your collection of pulls should only be shared with others who also properly curate their collection of pulls. This keeps it away from all the "Karens" of the community. Reciprocity is important. Never give a Vez to a serial complainer. You will burn that pull and word will get around that you are sloppy. The second experience was a Queens Gambit. You created the appearance of a threat that fast maneuvering by your opponent can overcome. I am not sure a local can always expect the same results.

[@PaulBradbury]

Actually, as I said in teh video, I know several locals who tried it with 100% success rate

[@4avatars]

Croatian bureaucracy is terrible, it still has its roots in communism thanks to the current government. We hope that a new generation will come and change things for the better

[@DanijelTurina973]

It's never going to improve, because all the incompetent people in the administration have been hiring their incompetent relatives and the only way for it all to improve is for the state money to dry up completely for long enough that they all need to find actual work in order to survive, but since the Croatian bureaucracy has been attached to the Bruxeless teat, this has become less likely than ever, I'm afraid.

[@PaulBradbury]

There is certainly an element of truth to that, but I think a more positive mindset might help. We started a series on TCN celebrating and highlighting the magic of Croatian bureaucracy, called Croatian Bureaucracy, a Love Story. If anyone wants to contribute a good story, get in touch - www.total-croatia-news.com/tag/croatian-bureaucracy-love-story

[@rnbv3418]

The beraucracy in Yugoslavia was terrible because Croatia was a major factor in Yugoslavia and not the other way around. And it was not as terrible as it is in Croatia nowadays.

[@josipag2185]

@@rnbv3418 Probably.

[@barfo281]

@Zele - Because Croatians seem to have become bigger communists than the Serbians. War for independence for nothing.