Author
There is a difference in duration of residence permit issued to recognised refugees (“asylees”) and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. A residence permit shall be issued to an asylee for a period of five years,[1] and to foreigner under subsidiary protection for a period of 3 years.[2]
Both categories have the right to residence in the Republic of Croatia from the day of the delivery of the decision granting international protection, which is demonstrated by their residence permit. The right to residence in Croatia shall be established by the decision granting international protection.[3] The application for issuing a residence permit should be submitted to the competent police administration or police station, according to their place of permanent residence.[4] The application for the residence permit shall be lodged by an asylee and a foreigner under subsidiary protection who is older than 16, and in the case of an asylee and a foreigner under subsidiary protection under 16 years of age, it shall be lodged by a legal representative or a special guardian under the same conditions as those for Croatian nationals.[5]
The residence permit should be issued within 30 days from submission of the application.[6]
An asylee and a foreigner under subsidiary protection are obliged to inform the Ministry of Interior, if he/she moves out of the Republic of Croatia or resides abroad continuously for more than 90 days in a period of 180 days, within 15 days from the date of occurrence of the above-mentioned circumstances.[7] If a beneficiary of international protection does not inform the Ministry of Interior within the prescribed deadline, he/she will be fined between 130 and 260 euros.[8]
According to the Ministry of Interior, 411 residence permits were issued to asylees and 79 to foreigners under subsidiary protection in 2018.[9] No information is available for 2019 and 2020.
In 2021, 257 residence permits were issued to asylees and 24 residence permits to foreigners under subsidiary protection,[10] while in 2022, residence permits were issued to a total of 211 persons who has been granted with international protection status (183 asylees and 28 persons under subsidiary protection).[11]
According to the Ministry of Interior, 192 residence permits were issued to asylees and 16 to foreigners under subsidiary protection in 2023.[12]
[1] Article 75(2) LITP.
[2] Article 75(3) LITP.
[3] Article 65(1)-(2) LITP.
[4] Article 75(1) LITP; Article 10(1) Ordinance on the Forms and Data Collections in the Procedure for International and Temporary Protection.
[5] Article 75(4) LITP.
[6] Article 12(1) Ordinance on the Forms and Data Collections in the Procedure for International and Temporary Protection.
[7] Article 64(4)(5) LITP.
[8] Article 94a (3) LITP.
[9] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 28 January 2019.
[10] Croatian Law Centre: The Croatian Asylum System In 2021 – National Report, The report was prepared as part of the project “Access to the territory and the asylum system in Croatia – legal support and capacity building” with the financial support of UNHCR; available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3NgBDfc and in English at: https://bit.ly/3NBvVpC.
[11] Croatian Law Centre, The Croatian Asylum System in 2022 – National Report. The report was prepared as part of the project “Legal Assistance and Capacity Building for Access to Territory and Asylum in Croatia“, with financial support of the UNHCR Croatia: available in English at: https://bit.ly/434T7RL.
[12] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 8 March 2024.