Overview of the of the main changes since the previous report update

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Croatian Law Centre Visit Website

The report was previously updated in August 2025.

Context for 2025

• In April 2025, the Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia, together with the Ombudswoman for Children, the Ombudswoman for Gender Equality and the Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities, submitted a joint contribution for Croatia’s fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) before the UN Human Rights Council.[1] The contribution noted the absence of a comprehensive migration and integration policy and highlighted that applicants for international protection, beneficiaries of international protection and migrant workers remain exposed to prejudice and discrimination, while systematic integration measures such as language learning, housing and access to healthcare remain limited.
• The year 2025 was marked by developments in Croatia’s asylum and migration system, particularly by intensive preparations for the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum in the areas of legislation, but also in the area of institutional organisation (see ANNEX II – EU Pact for Migration and Asylum).
• In December, 2025, 27 Council of Europe member states, among which Croatia, delivered a Joint Statement to the Conference of Ministers of Justice, calling for stricter migration policies and changes to the interpretation of the Euroepan Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).^[2] It was noted that a proper balance must be achieved between the individual rights and interests of migrants and significant public interests of protecting freedom and security within societies, and that a greater clarity is sought regarding the interpretation of ‘inhuman or degrading treatment’ under Article 3 of the ECHR. The statement also seeked to prioritize national security by easing the expulsion of foreign criminals and tackling the instrumentalization of migration, with the goal of adopting a formal political declaration in May 2026.
• In December 2025, 19 EU ministers responsible for migration and foreign affairs, including the Croatian Minister of Interior, signed a joint letter and called for a new and more innovative approach to migration management, with a strong focus on cooperation with third countries along migration routes. They emphasized addressing the root causes of irregular migration, strengthening asylum and return systems, combating human smuggling and trafficking, and developing innovative solutions such as safe third country arrangements and return hubs. The ministers urged the European Commission to ensure adequate funding, adapt the legal framework where necessary, and reinforce the role of EU agencies and international organizations in implementing these measures.[3]
• Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2323 of 11 November 2025 pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 of the European Parliament and of the Council determined that Croatia was a Member State at risk of migratory pressure and as member state facing a significant migratory situation.[4]

Legislation

• In February 2025, the amendments to the Law on International and Temporary Protection entered into force.[5] The three-year restriction on the duration of temporary protection has been repealed. In March, the majority of the amended provisions of the Law on Foreigners entered into force.[6] The amendments introduced extensive changes to the procedure for issuing residence and work permits for third-country nationals.
• At the end of July, the Ordinance on Amendments to the Ordinance on the Treatment of Third-Country Nationals entered into force.[7]

International protection

 Asylum procedure

• Key statistics: The number of applicants for international protection decreased from 26,776 in 2024 to 14,928 in 2025 (11,269 male and 3,659 female, including 1,229 unaccompanied children).[8] Over half of the intentions to apply for asylum (8,205) were expressed at border crossing points; 212 intentions were expressed at reception centers for foreigners; while most were registered at police stations and police administrations within the Republic of Croatia.[9]
  The Ministry of the Interior (MoI) discontinued 52,813 procedures for granting international protection in 2025,  regardless of the year the applications for international protection were lodged, most commonly due to the applicants leaving the Reception Centres for Applicants for International Protection and Croatia.[10]
  There were a total of 1,364 incoming transfers to Croatia in 2025. Out of these, the largest number of people were transferred from the following ten countries: Germany (41.9%), France (13%), Switzerland (12.6%), Austria (10.9%), Netherlands (9%), Belgium (3.5 %), Slovenia (2.1%), Hungary (1.6%) Norway (1.3%) and Sweden (1.3%). A total of 28 outgoing transfers took place from Croatia to Germany (8), Switzerland (5), and Spain (4), France (2), Slovenia (2), Portugal (2), Austria (1), Bulgaria (1), Finland (1), Sweden (1), and Malta (1) (see Statistics).[11]
• Access to the territory and pushbacks: In her Annual Report for 2025, the Ombudswoman noted a decrease in the number of pushback complaints. However, certain NGOs continue to report on such practices, while the Ombudswoman’s Office has also received individual complaints directly from the affected persons (see Access to the procedure and registration).[12]
• Dublin procedure: Médecins du Monde (MdM), through their work with applicants for international protection, once again observed that many applicants for international protection returned under the Dublin III Regulation suffer from various physical and/or mental health issues (including oncology patients, individuals with chronic illnesses, people with disabilities, new-borns, children with serious congenital diseases and individuals who had started treatment in their previous country of residence). Transfers also often did not include medical records (which in some cases delayed the continuation of treatment and disrupted the continuity of care in Croatia). In many cases, symptoms related to mental health conditions of transferees were exacerbated or new mental health issues developed after the Dublin transfer into Croatia (see Dublin).[13]

Reception conditions

• Access to reception centres: Access for NGOs to the Reception Centres for Applicants for International Protection remained restricted throughout 2025. Only the Croatian Red Cross (CRC) and MdM were conducting activities based on their project agreements with the MoI. However, in mid-December 2025, following the commencement of a new AMIF project focused on providing legal counselling to applicants in procedures before the MoI, access was also granted to the Croatian Law Centre (see Information for asylum seekers and access to reception centres).
• Accommodation: According to the CRC, 9,842 applicants for international protection were accommodated during 2025: 3,171 were placed in the Reception Centre for applicants for international protection in Kutina and 6,671 in the Reception Centre for applicants for international protection in Zagreb. By country of origin, the highest numbers of accommodated applicants in reception centres were nationals of Syria, Türkiye, the Russian Federation, and Afghanistan. The majority were single men, although families and, to a lesser extent, single women were also accommodated in the centres (see Types of accommodation).[14]
• Croatia remains a transit country: The CRC[15] reported that despite a decrease in the number of newly arrived applicants for international protection compared to 2024, the majority of individuals stayed less than a day in the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection before moving on. This continues to indicate that Croatia remains primarily a transit country rather than a destination for applicants for international protection (see Types of accommodation).
• Conditions in reception facilities: According to the organization Are You Syrious, concerns related to the presence of cockroaches and bedbugs in the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection in Zagreb were reported during 2025.[16] The Ombudswoman, in her 2025 report, also reported on ongoing pest infestations (bedbugs and cockroaches) at the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection in Zagreb. Other reported grievances included poor water supply and inadequate food quality and quantity. Although the interventions by the Ombudswoman successfully resolved most issues, pest control efforts, including weekly treatments, remained ineffective. During the year, the Ombudswoman also received complaints from applicants regarding safety within the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection, specifically concerning the conduct of security personnel and police officers in relation to various circumstances (allegations of physical assault, sexual violence, and the excessive use of force during security checks) (see Conditions in reception facilities).[17]

Detention

• Access to the asylum procedure from detention: In her 2025 Annual Report, the Ombudswoman noted that detained migrants and their attorneys reported being denied access to the international protection system. This occurred, inter alia, in reception centers for foreigners, where forced return proceedings continued despite their expressed intention to seek international protection. In some instances, access to the asylum system was granted following the Ombudswoman’s inquiries, whereas in others, the proceedings concluded with forced removal (see Access to detention facilities).[18]

Content of international protection

• Accommodation costs: In May 2025, the new Ordinance on the participation of asylees, foreigners under subsidiary protection and foreigners under temporary protection in paying accommodation costs entered into force.[19] If, for these categories of beneficiaries, the regional office of the Croatian Institute for Social Work determines, during the period in which accommodation is being provided, that the person has assets or financial means with which they can cover the costs of accommodation, they are obliged to contribute to those accommodation costs (see Housing).
• Education: In October 2025, the Ordinance on Amendments to the Ordinance on the Conditions and Manner of Exercising the Right to a State Scholarship Based on Socio-Economic Status entered into force.[20] The Ordinance recognizes students who have been granted asylum and students under subsidiary protection as beneficiaries eligible for the state scholarship (see Employment and education).

Temporary protection

The information given hereafter constitutes a short summary of the annex on Temporary Protection to this report. For further information, see Annex on Temporary Protection.

• Following the Council’s Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/1836 of 25 June 2024 extending temporary protection as introduced by Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382,^[21] the Croatian Government adopted the Decision on the Extension of Temporary Protection in the Republic of Croatia for Displaced Persons from Ukraine on 27 February 2025, extending this status to 4 March 2026.^[22] However, the extension of temporary protection until 4 March 2026 was precluded by Article 79 of the Law on International and Temporary Protection, which limited its duration to three years. Following amendments of Law on International and Temporary Protection that entered into force in February 2025,[23] this three-year restriction has been repealed. In addition, in 2026, by decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, and in accordance with Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1460 of 15 July 2025 extending temporary protection, temporary protection was extended until 4 March 2027.[24]
• In conjunction with the extension of temporary protection, the Croatian Government also amended the Decision on Financing Housing Costs for Displaced Persons from Ukraine in Private Accommodation, so Croatia continued its model of financing housing costs for displaced persons from Ukraine residing in private accommodation as this amendment enabled the extension of lease contracts until 4 March 2026.[25]

Temporary protection procedure

• Key statistics: According to the MoI, 3,532 new applications for temporary protection were submitted in 2025: 1,288 by men (36.5%), 1,484 by women (42%) and 760 by children (21.5%). Regardless of the date of application, in 2025 , temporary protection was granted to 3,181 persons in 2025: 1,124 men (35.3%), 1,349 women (42.4%) and 708 children (22.3%).[26]

Content of temporary protection

• In March 2025, amendments to the Law on Foreigners came into force, and allowed the time spent as a temporary protection beneficiary to be counted, in certain cases, towards the period required for the granting of long-term residence, provided that the individual holds a valid temporary stay, asylum, or subsidiary protection at the time of application for a long-term residence.[27] However, in December 2025, a public consultation process was initiated regarding further amendments to the Law on Foreigners, in which the deletion of this provision was proposed. In particular, it was emphasised that the Legal Service of the Council of the EU had clarified that periods of residence under temporary protection cannot be counted towards the five years of residence required for long-term resident status. This applies even in cases where the individual subsequently regularizes a residence status that falls within the scope of the Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents. Therefore, the Croatian Government stated that, through these amendments to the Law on Foreigners, the provision stipulating that temporary protection counts toward the period required for the granting of long-term residence must be deleted.

[1]           Written contribution for the 4th Review of Croatia under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on the situation of human rights by the UN Human Rights Council Joint submission by the Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia in cooperation with the Ombudswoman for Children, Ombudswoman for Gender Equality and the Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities, available at: https://www.ombudsman.hr/hr/download/written-contribution-for-the-4th-review-of-croatia-under-the-universal-periodic-review-upr/?wpdmdl=22376&refresh=69b02c32002281773153330.

[2]           Joint Statement delivered to the Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe, 10 December 2025; available at: https://www.governo.it/sites/governo.it/files/JointStatement_20251210.pdf.

[3]           Joint follow-up letter from the undersigned ministers on the operationalisation of new and innovative solutions to counter and prevent irregular migration to Europe, available at: https://berthub.eu/tkconv/document.html?nummer=2025D52678.

[4]           Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2323 of 11 November 2025 pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 of the European Parliament and of the Council, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/2323/oj/eng.

[5]           Amendments to the Law on International and Temporary Protection, Official Gazette 17/2025, available at: https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2025_02_17_161.html

Law on Amendments to the Law on Foreigners, Official Gazette No. 40/2025, available at: https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2025_03_40_545.html

Ordinance on Amendments to the Ordinance on the Treatment of Third-Country Nationals Official Gazette 102/2025, available at: https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2025_07_102_1414.html

[8]           Ministry of Interior, Statistics 2025, available at https://mup.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/statistika/2026/1/Web%20statistika%2021.%20sijecnja%202026..xlsx

[9]           Ombudswoman: Annual Report for 2025, available at: https://www.ombudsman.hr/hr/download/izvjesce-pucke-pravobraniteljice-za-2025-godinu/?wpdmdl=23118&refresh=69cd1d3691f351775050038.

[10]          Ombudswoman: Annual Report for 2025, available at: https://www.ombudsman.hr/hr/download/izvjesce-pucke-pravobraniteljice-za-2025-godinu/?wpdmdl=23118&refresh=69cd1d3691f351775050038.

[11]          Ministry of Interior, Statistics 2025, available at: https://mup.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/statistika/2026/1/Web%20statistika%2021.%20sijecnja%202026..xlsx.

[12]          Ombudswoman: Annual Report for 2025, available at: https://www.ombudsman.hr/hr/download/izvjesce-pucke-pravobraniteljice-za-2025-godinu/?wpdmdl=23118&refresh=69cd1d3691f351775050038.

[13]          Information provided by Médecins du Monde, 17 February 2026

[14]          Croatian Red Cross: Annual Report of the Croatian Red Cross for 2025,available at: https://www.hck.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/Pristup%20informacijama/Dokumenti,%20zakonski%20i%20podzakonski%20akti/Izvje%C5%A1%C4%87e%20o%20radu%20HCK%20u%202025.pdf?vel=3338517

[15]          Information provided by Croatian Red Cross, 13 February 2026.

[16]          Information provided by Are You Syrious, 17 February 2026.

[17]          Ombudswoman: Annual Report for 2025, available at: https://www.ombudsman.hr/hr/download/izvjesce-pucke-pravobraniteljice-za-2025-godinu/?wpdmdl=23118&refresh=69cd1d3691f351775050038.

[18]          Ombudswoman: Annual Report for 2025, available at: https://www.ombudsman.hr/hr/download/izvjesce-pucke-pravobraniteljice-za-2025-godinu/?wpdmdl=23118&refresh=69cd1d3691f351775050038.

[19]          Ordinance on the participation of asylees, foreigners under subsidiary protection and foreigners under temporary protection in paying accommodation costs, Official Gazette 78/2025, available at: https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2025_05_78_1028.html.

[20]          Ordinance on Amendments to the Ordinance on the Conditions and Manner of Exercising the Right to a State Scholarship Based on Socio-Economic Status, Official Gazette 126/2025, available at: https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2025_10_126_1818.html.

^[21]          Council of the EU, Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/1836 of 25 June 2024 extending temporary protection as introduced by Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382, OJ L, 2024/1836, , 3 July 2024, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32024D1836.

^[22]          Croatian Government, Decision on the Extension of Temporary Protection in the Republic of Croatia for Displaced Persons from Ukraine, 27 February 2025, available at: https://hrvatskazaukrajinu.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/HR/odluke/Odluka%20o%20produljenju%20PZ%20do%202026.pdf.

[23]          Amendments to the Law on International and Temporary Protection, Official Gazette 17/2025, available at: https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2025_02_17_161.html.

[24]          Croatian Government, Proposal of the Decision on the Extension of Temporary Protection in the Republic of Croatia for Displaced Persons from Ukraine, available at: https://vlada.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/2016/Sjednice/2026/Veljaca/149_sjednica_VRH/149%20-%206a.docx?vel=84619

[25]          Decision on Amendments to the Decision on Financing Housing Costs for Displaced Persons from Ukraine in Private Accommodation, Official Gazette 37/22, 33/23, 40/24, 35/25, available at: https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2025_02_35_416.html.

[26]          Croatian Law Centre: The Croatian Asylum System in 2025- National Report; available at: https://www.hpc.hr/en/2026/06/17/2025-national-asylum-system-report/

[27]          Article 151 paragraph 5, Law on Foreigners.