Author
According to the Detention Centre Ordinance, after being placed in the centre, individuals are entitled to one free phone call with their country’s diplomatic mission or consular office, and to another private phone call lasting up to 5 minutes. An exception is provided for minors who have the right to talk to their guardians by phone without cost and limitation. Foreigners can make other calls through the public phone in the centre at their own expense.[1]
Detainees are allowed to receive visits at least twice a week.[2] The centre must be notified about the visit in writing at least two days earlier. A visit may be prohibited if it is established that the visitor is not announced or if they pose a threat to public order, public security and health or that they are prone to improper behaviour and violation of regulations. Visits to third-country nationals shall take place in a special room for visits. The visit may last for up to an hour, regardless of the number of visitors. On an exceptional basis, a visit may last longer if approved by the head of the centre or the person designated by the head of the centre. A police officer can terminate a visit, if during the visit security, order and peace in the centre are disturbed or if it is determined that the visitor has arrived in a different capacity than announced.
Detainees shall be provided with an opportunity to communicate with their attorney and the competent national or international institutions or organisations in the field of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, with which the Ministry of Interior has concluded a cooperation agreement. In order to effectively realise such communication, the attorney and representatives of such organisations shall be allowed access to the centre in accordance with the rules on visits,[3] meaning that visits must be announced two day in advance and may last up to maximum one hour. If the attorney is not authorised by a foreigner, they are considered a visitor. The Amendments to the Detention Ordinance from 2023 prescribed an exception to the rule that the visit must be announced to the Centre in writing at least two days in advance, i.e., attorney or legal representative in urgent and justified cases can access to the Centre following a prior telephone announcement at least two hours before arrival.
Access of lawyers to detention facilities
Attorneys at law who are on the list of providers of free legal aid reported to Croatian Law Centre that they did not encounter problems when accessing Reception Centres for Foreigners. However, according to the Ombudswoman’s report for 2025,[4] communication between persons deprived of their liberty and their attorneys remains difficult across all three centres. Although lawyers’ visits are generally approved on the same day and at the requested time, apart from in-person visits, contact is maintained via calls from a payphone. However, these are only accessible during limited time intervals (which often overlap with meal times and other mandatory activities). An additional barrier is the limited availability of phone cards and the low amount of calling credits on them, as well as the fact that the payphone is located in a common area, thereby failing to ensure the privacy of communication.
Access of NGOs and UNHCR to detention facilities
During 2025, the Croatian Red Cross (CRC) did not face issues to access transit reception centres and reception centres for foreigners. Throughout 2025, CRC continued with regular psychosocial support activities and efforts to restore family links in the reception and transit centers for migrants in Ježevo, Trilj, and Tovarnik. CRC’s employees from Tracing Service and Migrant Protection Service, who provide psychosocial support, visited the Reception Centre for Foreigners in Ježevo on a weekly basis(a total of 33 visits). The Transit Reception Centres in Trilj ( 2 visits) and Tovarnik ( 3 visits) were visited by CRC’s employees on average every two months depending on the number of migrants and their needs.[5]
In practice, other NGOs have been facing obstacles to access detention centres for the past several years.
UNHCR has access to the Centres but each of its visit should be announced in advance. However, according to the Ombudswoman’s report for 2025, during 2025 no visits were conducted by UNHCR.[6]
Throughout 2025, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was present at the Reception Centre for Foreigners in Ježevo and the Transit Reception Centers in Tovarnik and Trilj, as part of the project Monitoring of Forced Returns of Third-Country Nationals from Croatia. The frequency and duration of IOM’s presence were contingent upon the forced return notifications received from relevant authorities and the specific monitoring phases being conducted.[7]
[1] Article 18 Detention Centre Ordinance.
[2] Article 19 Detention Centre Ordinance.
[3] Article 25 (5)-(6) Detention Centre Ordinance, citing Article 19.
[4] Ombudswoman: Report of the Ombudswoman for 2024, page 279, available at: https://www.ombudsman.hr/hr/download/izvje-e-pu-ke-pravobraniteljice-za-2024-godinu/?wpdmdl=20339&refresh=67efca50785f31743768144/.
[5] Information provided by Croatian Red Cross, 13 February 2026.
[6] Ombudswoman: Annual Report for 2025, available at: https://www.ombudsman.hr/hr/download/izvjesce-pucke-pravobraniteljice-za-2025-godinu/?wpdmdl=23118&refresh=69cd1d3691f351775050038.
[7] Information provided by the International Organization for Migration, 25 February 2026.