New Options on e-Citizens: Island Card Now Also for Legal Entity Vehicles and Minor Children
The "Island Card" electronic service on the e-Citizens portal has received an upgrade that could significantly reduce the number of trips to post offices and administrative steps for islanders: parents and guardians can now submit applications for minor children, and authorized representatives can submit applications for vehicles of legal entities.The Agency for Coastal Line Maritime Traffic announced on December 11, 2025, that the existing e-service has been expanded with new functionalities. According to the announcement, an application for the issuance of an island card can also be submitted for a minor child by a parent or the child's legal guardian electronically through the option of changing the subject in the application. Another novelty relates to the business sector: it is now possible to submit applications for the issuance of an island card and vignette for a vehicle owned or used by a legal entity, performed by an authorized representative.
The change is important because the island card in Croatia represents a key tool for exercising the right to privileged transport on public maritime transport lines. For island families, it is a matter of daily mobility, and for island employers and institutions, it is often a matter of logistics and business costs. In both cases, every shortening of the administrative procedure is directly visible on the ground, from planning school and medical trips to organizing seasonal reinforcements and supplies.
What is an island card and who is it for
An island card is a document by which the user proves the right to privileged transport in public maritime traffic. According to official information published on government pages, the right applies to the privileged transport of persons and vehicles, and the application can also be submitted electronically through the e-Citizens portal in the "Transport and Vehicles" category. The service is also available through the official website of the Agency, and the user tracks the status of the submitted application via messages in the user mailbox on e-Citizens.
The normative framework further clarifies who the users of the privileged transport system are. In the ordinance governing the conditions and manner of exercising the right to privileged transport on lines in public maritime transport, users include, in addition to natural persons residing on an island, legal entities and owners of crafts with a registered seat on the island, as well as children. Precisely because of such a user structure, the current upgrade of the e-service logically fits into the existing rules: groups that already have the right now reach it more easily, with fewer physical visits and fewer document supplements.
It is important to understand that digitalization does not change the rights themselves, but the way they are achieved. In the daily lives of islanders, the difference is significant: on the mainland, an administrative step often means a short wait, while on an island it can mean an extra trip, coordination with the sailing schedule, and loss of working hours. That is why even relatively "small" functionalities, such as changing the subject in the application or submitting an application for a business vehicle, turn into tangible time savings.
Application for a child: parent or guardian as the applicant
The most visible novelty for families is the possibility for a parent or legal guardian to electronically submit an application for a minor child. According to the Agency's explanation, the procedure is carried out through the option of changing the subject within the e-service, which allows the application to be formally submitted on behalf of the child, while the identity and authority of the applicant are linked to the user profile of the parent or guardian. This avoids a series of situations where, due to procedural details, one previously had to go through physical submission or additional steps in data verification.
The practical effect is twofold. On the one hand, for parents, the number of steps is reduced when obtaining documents needed for travel, especially during periods of school obligations or frequent trips to the mainland for health check-ups. On the other hand, the system receives a more organized processing flow: data is entered in a standardized way, and the applicant's authority is more clearly defined. In island communities, where the journey to the nearest administrative point often means an additional cost, such a change can be the difference between a quick solution and a multi-day delay.
The upgrade also has a broader social meaning. Children are a group for whom rights are often exercised indirectly, through parents, and this is exactly where administrative "bottlenecks" occur: who submits the application, how is authority proven, where is the document picked up, and what happens if one attachment is missing. When such situations are moved to a digital flow with clear steps, the number of unnecessary trips and the pressure on physical channels are reduced, which indirectly helps other users as well.
Vehicles of legal entities: a digital path for business entities
The second upgrade relates to the vehicles of legal entities, which is a key topic for the island economy. Utility companies, tourist companies, fishing and farming plants, construction sites, transporters, but also schools, health centers, and other institutions that depend on vehicles in their daily work operate on the islands. In such activities, the vehicle is not only a means of transport but also a tool, so exercising the right to privileged transport can affect the price of the service, reaction speed, and work planning, especially in the season when traffic and volume of work increase.
The Agency stated that an application can be submitted for a vehicle owned or used by a legal entity, by an authorized representative. This detail is important because, in practice, vehicles are often used based on contracts or other legal bases, and not always in exclusive ownership. Digital submission of applications in such cases reduces the need for additional trips and facilitates proving the vehicle's status through a standardized procedure.
In parallel, the current ordinance among users also lists owners of crafts with a seat on the island, which is relevant for the local economy where small crafts are often the backbone of services and supply. Although the Agency's announcement from December 2025 directly speaks of legal entities, the broader sense of digitalization goes towards all users who have the right, regardless of the legal form of business, being able to exercise that right with fewer administrative barriers. Precisely in island communities, where seasonality and urgent interventions can dictate the pace of work, administrative predictability becomes an important part of business security.
What does not change: post office as an alternative and delivery flow
Digitalization of the procedure does not mean the abolition of physical channels. According to official government information, applications are still accepted at post offices from the prescribed list. This possibility remains important for users who do not use e-identity or do not have the technical conditions for electronic submission, as well as for situations where it is easier for the user to go to the post office than to go through the registration and digital filling process.
With an electronic application, users receive notifications about the status of the case through the user mailbox on e-Citizens. Government pages also state the approximate delivery time: the island card, after the application is approved, is delivered to the post office that the user selects during electronic submission, within 20 days. This aims to achieve greater predictability, especially in periods when a larger number of applications are submitted, for example, in waves of document renewal or extension.
Costs, payment, and photo: details that decide the speed of the procedure
Official instructions state that for successful electronic processing, the user should make a payment to the state budget before filling out the application. As a guide, fee amounts for the issuance of an island card for a person and for an island card for a vehicle and vignette are published on government pages, with the note that the first issuance of a card for a person or vehicle is free for the user. In practice, this means that before submitting, the user should check whether the payment applies to their case and whether they are submitting an application for a person, vehicle, or a combination with a vignette.
Special attention is paid to the photo. If the user has submitted a photo to the Ministry of the Interior for the production of a personal document in the last five years, that photo can also be used on the island card. If the photo in the register is older than five years, the user is obliged, according to the instructions, to attach a new scanned photo of the prescribed dimensions. This is one of the most common reasons for supplements, so checking the photo and preparing attachments can be key to whether the application will be resolved without delays.
Practical preparation before sending the application
According to the published instructions and the way the portal works, electronic submission of an application is simplest when the user prepares the basic elements of the procedure in advance:
- credential for logging into the e-Citizens system
- data about the person or vehicle for which the card is requested, with verification that the user meets the conditions of the right
- proof of payment when it is a prerequisite for electronic processing, with the note on the free first issuance
- scanned photo if there is no valid photo from the last five years in the register of the competent authority
- selection of the post office where the card will be delivered after approval
For technical support and reporting problems, government pages list the contact phone 0800 0440 (workdays 08:00–16:00) and the e-mail address podrska@otocna-iskaznica.hr.
Broader context: digital transformation and island needs
The upgrade of the "Island Card" e-service fits into a broader trend of digital transformation of public services in Croatia. The e-Citizens portal is designed as a central place for electronic communication between citizens and the public administration, and the value of such an approach is especially seen in areas where physical distances and office availability are an objective obstacle. Islands are a natural candidate for such changes: administrative steps that on the mainland mean a short wait, on an island often mean an extra trip, coordination with the sailing schedule, and loss of working hours.
By introducing the possibility for parents and guardians to submit applications for children and for authorized representatives to submit applications for legal entity vehicles, the administrative burden is reduced for both users and institutions. For users, the number of repeated steps and the need for physical trips is reduced, while for institutions, data is standardized and processing is facilitated. At the same time, the responsibility remains on the users to check whether they meet the conditions of the right before submitting, and on the institutions to ensure the procedure is transparent, predictable, and supported by clear instructions.
What islanders can expect in 2026
As of today's date, January 30, 2026, the upgrade published in December 2025 is already part of the e-service, and its meaning is clear: the possibility that rights existing in regulations are exercised with less administrative burden. Such an approach is particularly important in situations where procedures are often resolved "on behalf of" family members or "on behalf of" a business entity, because this is where traditionally the biggest crowds and the most supplements occurred.
If digitalization continues to develop in a similar way, the island card could become an example of how, without changing the rights themselves, the path to the user can be accelerated and simplified. For islanders, however, it is crucial that along with new options they get a stable system, understandable instructions, and effective customer support, especially in periods of increased interest. In this sense, the expansion of the e-service for children and legal entity vehicles is not just a technical issue, but a test of how much a digital public service can follow the real needs of life and work on the islands.
Sources:- Agency for Coastal Line Maritime Traffic – notice of new functionalities of the "Island Card" e-service ( link )- Government of the RC / gov.hr – information about the island card (application method, deadlines, payments, photo, and support contacts) ( link )- Narodne novine – Ordinance on the conditions and manner of exercising the right to privileged transport on lines in public maritime transport (definitions of users and rights) ( link )
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