The six-month project of support to the national visa system, which was presented on Thursday, envisages teaching heads of consular offices in which the highest numbers of visas are issued, such as Moscow, Kiev, Istanbul, Pristina, Tehran, New Delhi and Cairo, about recognising forged documents.
Croatian Assistant Foreign and European Affairs Minister Andreja Metelko Zgombic said at the presentation that after Croatia joined the Schengen area, consular staff would issue uniform visas for entering every country in the area.
Finland has a lot of experience in issuing Schengen visas and has hired Romanian experts for the implementation.
Croatia has 73 embassies and consular offices around the world and they must be adjusted to Schengen standards, notably in third countries.
The alignment of Croatia's visa system with the European visa policy saw an increase in visa applications. Last year more than 18,000 were submitted, while from January through September this year there were about 105,000.
It is estimated that Croatian embassies will issue about 140,000-150,000 visas annually.