Author
Making and registering the application
Although no time limit is specified in the LITP, a foreigner is in practice expected to seek international protection (i.e., express the intention to lodge an application) at border crossing points during the border control, and if already in the territory of the Republic of Croatia at a police administration or at a police station, within a reasonable time after entering the country. Intention can be expressed in Reception Centre for Foreigners or in in extraordinary circumstances in order to allow access to the procedure for granting international protection in the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection.
In 2023, in total 68,114 intentions to lodge applications for international protection were expressed, out of which 1,516 were expressed by unaccompanied children.[1] Out of the total number of intentions, the largest number of intentions was expressed at border police stations (35,992). The rest were expressed at police stations (31,426), the Reception Centre for Foreigners in Ježevo (106), Transit Reception Centre in Tovarnik( 61 ) and Trilj(19) airport and maritime police stations (464), police administrations (35), the Ministry of Interior (10) and in the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection (1).[2]
In practice, a person may express such an intention even after having been found irregularly crossing the State border or at a later stage, during further proceedings related to irregular border crossing. After the foreigner has been apprehended and transferred to a police administration or station, the police officer makes a report and hands the person over to officers in charge of irregular migration for further proceedings. These police officers will conduct an interview with the foreigner in the police station to determine the person’s identity, perform a security check and conduct an informative interview. If the foreigner expresses the intention to seek international protection at any stage of this procedure, the procedure should be suspended and the person will have the right to stay in Croatia until a final decision is taken on the application for international protection. However, many problems have been reported since 2017 in accessing the territory and the asylum procedure (see Access to the Territory).
Police officers, immediately following the expression of intention, shall take the applicant’s fingerprints and shall photograph the applicant, establish the applicant’s identity and the manner of arrival in Croatia, the travel route from the country of origin to Croatia, and personal circumstances of importance for assessing the reception and procedural guarantees.[3] If due to justified reasons, police officers are unable to perform those tasks, such tasks shall exceptionally be performed by the officials of the Service for the reception and accommodation of applicants for international protection in the Reception Center for Applicants for International Protection.[4]Border officers, the police station / police administration, the Reception Centre for Foreigners or the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection shall register the applicant in the records of the Ministry of Interior no later than three working days from the day the applicant expressed the intention to apply for international protection. If the intention was expressed before other body, the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection shall register the applicant in the records of the Ministry within six working days from the day when he or she expressed his or her intention.[5] The authority which undertook the registration shall issue a certificate of registration of the applicant in the records of the Ministry and if necessary determine the time period within which he or she must report to the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection[6] to lodge the application.[7]
The Border Directorate reported in 2018 that, according to Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) for the police in relation to the asylum procedure, police officers are not competent for assessing the reasons why international protection is sought.[8] In addition, in an official note which is sent to the competent organisational unit of the Ministry of Interior, the police transmits information on the circumstances of irregular migration as well as personal data referred to in Article 15 LITP which are essential for assessing if there is a need for special reception and procedural guarantees, e.g., for pregnant women, elderly, disabled persons, unaccompanied children.
After having expressed the intention to seek international protection, the applicant is given a registration certificate (potvrda o registraciji) which contains the following details: authority issuing the certificate; date of issuance; name; date, place and country of birth; nationality; sex; place, address and time the person is required to report to the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection to lodge the application; signature of the official; and stamp.[9]
The certificate proves that the person is registered in the information system of the Ministry of Interior as an applicant for international protection. The certificate shall be issued by the competent police administration or police station and the Reception Centre for Foreigners if they registered a person as an applicant in the information system. Exceptionally, the certificate may be issued by the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection if they conducted the registration.[10]
In addition, amendments to the LITP in 2023 introduced a new obligation for applicants, who have to undergo verification and identification of their identity and the country or region of origin, including language and dialect analysis with the possibility of using software technologies, with full respect for the principles of human dignity.[11] If it is not possible to determine the identity and country of origin, the applicant shall undergo an examination, which may include a search of objects and data carriers such as computers and other electronic and mobile devices that the applicant carries, for the purpose of establishing their identity and country of origin. That examination shall be carried out by a person of the same sex with full respect for the principles of human dignity and physical and psychological integrity. The examination shall be carried out with the written consent of the applicant with full respect for the protection of personal data, and in case of denial of consent, it shall be considered that the applicant is not cooperating with the Ministry of Interior.[12] However, at the moment, no information is available as to when this verification and identification of the identity and the country or region of origin – including language and dialect analysis or possible further examination – is realized i.e. whether it is realized in the phase of registration or lodging the application or later during the procedure. It then remains to be seen how this will be implemented in practice and how it will reflect on the procedure.
Lodging the application
After reporting to the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection, an applicant shall be enabled to formally lodge an application as soon as possible and no later than 15 days from the registration of his or her status in the records of the Ministry of Interior.[13] The authority conducting registration indicates in the registration certificate the time and place where the applicant has to report. In certain cases, involving vulnerable persons or for other humanitarian reasons, applicants will be accompanied by police officers to the Reception Centre for applicants for international protection.[14]
If, after having expressed the intention to apply for international protection, a foreigner does not report to the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection without a justified reason, the Ministry of Interior will ex officio discontinue the procedure;[15] according to LITP it shall be deemed that the applicant has withdrawn the application if he or she does not appear at the Reception Centre or avoids lodging an application and fails to justify this within two days of the time limit set for appearing at the Reception Centre, or for lodging an application.[16]
The procedure for international protection is initiated by lodging the application. The application for international protection must be submitted directly to the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection orally on record, and exceptionally in writing.[17]
In 2023, out of 68,114 expressed intentions for international protection, only 1783 applications for international protection were submitted (1685 new applications and 98 subsequent). The top 5 countries of origin were: Russian Federation (636 new and 14 subsequent applications), Afghanistan (189 new and 8 subsequent applications), Turkey (178 new and 14 subsequent applications), Syria (154 new and 8 subsequent applications) and Burundi (91 new and 15 subsequent applications).[18]
The Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection is the competent authority for conducting interviews for the purpose of receiving applications for international protection. The application is usually lodged at the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection, and only exceptionally outside the Reception Centre within an appropriate period, depending on personal circumstances of the applicant,[19] for example where he or she is detained in the Reception Centre for Foreigners (pre-removal detention centre), the Transit Reception Centre for Foreigners or in prison.
In practice this means that usually the application is submitted orally by the person seeking protection in front of the State officials of the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection. Officials will draft minutes of the interview. The civil servants of the Reception Centre conduct a short interview to collect the following information: personal data of the applicant, information on military service, family and other relations, information on the journey from country of origin (type of transportation and route) and the reasons (in short) why they fled their country of origin. Amendments of the LITP from 2023, introduced a possibility of logging the application in writing. According to the explanation during the public consultations on the Amendments to the LITP, this exception will apply to applicants for international protection with certain health problems (e.g., deaf and hearing impaired or mute person).[20]
All documents, including the minutes of the first interview or application in writing, are then sent to the Department for international protection procedure within the Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for conducting a further substantive interview and examining the application.
Civil servants in the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection provide applicants with information on the procedures, their rights and obligations, and issue the applicants’ identity card.
After the application has been lodged, the applicant receives an international protection applicant card (iskaznica tražitelja). The card shall be issued within three days from the lodging of the application and confirms the right of residence in the Republic of Croatia until the completion of the procedure. An applicant’s card does not constitute proof of identity.[21] The card is not issued if the person applies at the border.[22]
However, Croatia is still a transit country as it is estimated that the majority of applicants for international protection leave the country very soon after expressing their intention to apply for international protection.
The Government reported (for the first 10 months of 2023) that Croatia is still a transit country as 97% of persons who expressed their intention to apply for international protection or even submitted an application for international protection have left/are trying to leave Croatia using irregular paths and want to go to Western Europe. At the same time, 47% of persons who have expressed their intention to apply for international protection never report to the reception centers for applicants of international protection seekers in Zagreb or Kutina.[23]
[1] Ministry of Interior, Statistics 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3Xr1uYp.
[2] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior. 8 March 2024.
[3] Article 33(8) LITP.
[4] Article 33(9) LITP.
[5] Article 33(10) LITP.
[6] The Reception Centre is also the place where asylum seekers have to report themselves after expressing their intention to lodge an asylum claim and where interviews are conducted.
[7] Article 33 (11) LITP
[8] Information provided by the Border Directorate, 17 August 2018.
[9] Article 3(2) Ordinance on the forms and data collection in the procedure for international and temporary protection.
[10] Article 3(3)-(5) Ordinance on the forms and data collection in the procedure for international and temporary protection.
[11] Article 52(3) (3) LITP.
[12] Article 52(6) (8) LITP.
[13] Article 34(2) LITP.
[14] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 10 August 2018.
[15] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 13 February 2018.
[16] Article 39(2)(1) LITP.
[17] Article 34(1) LITP.
[18] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior. 8 March 2024.
[19] Article 34(3) LITP.
[20] Public consultation on the Proposal of the Law on amendments to the Law on international and temporary protection, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3Rwr22E.
[21] Article 62(1) LITP.
[22] Article 62(2) LITP.
[23] Government of the Republic of Croatia: Report on the situation of illegal migration in the territory of the Republic of Croatia for the period since Croatia’s entry into the Schengen area, available at: https://bit.ly/3z72PcY, 4.