Author
National forms of protection
LITP does not provide national forms of protection. There is, however, the possibility of granting a temporary stay on humanitarian grounds to, among others, survivors of trafficking in human beings (see Guarantees for vulnerable groups of asylum applicants).
Return procedure
When taking a negative decision on an application for international protection it shall also be decided on a measure to ensure the return of the applicant pursuant to the provisions of the Law on Foreigners. When determining a return measure, priority shall be given to voluntary departure, unless the application has been rejected as manifestly unfounded because the applicant does not meet the conditions for asylum or subsidiary protection and circumstances exist for a decision to be made in an accelerated procedure, or a subsequent application has been dismissed as inadmissible.[1] In practice, this usually means that the decision sets a deadline for leaving the European Economic Area. In accordance with the Law on Foreigners, when determining the deadline for voluntary departure, personal circumstances are taken into account, and the deadline may not be shorter than 7 days or longer than 30 days.
In 2024, Croatia launched some new AMIF-funded initiatives to support the return of former applicants for international protection. These included a project to establish a more effective and equitable return system, to ensure access to legal assistance and representation during return procedures, as well as dedicated activities aimed at facilitating translation and interpretation throughout the return process.[2]
[1] Article 37 LITP.
[2] EUAA: National Asylum Developments 2025, page 22, available at: https://euaa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications/2025-06/2025_National_Asylum_Developments_EN.pdf.