Types of accommodation

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Croatian Law Centre Visit Website

In Croatia there are 2 Reception Centres for Applicants of International Protection:

In 2019 reconstruction of the Reception Centre in Zagreb was finalised. The Croatian Red Cross assessed that living conditions greatly improved thanks to renovation.[1] In 2022, the Reception Centre in Kutina was closed due to the renovation of the facility. The renovation was realised as part of the project “Renovation of the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection in Kutina” that was implemented from January 2020 to September 2022. The implementation of the project improved the conditions of accommodation and stay of applicants in the Reception Centre, as well as the working conditions of officials and other personnel.[2]

As a result of the project, the accommodation capacity of the Reception Centre in Kutina was increased of 40 places (from 100 to 140). Beside that project, within the framework of the AMIF fund, three more projects were implemented in the course of 2022, with the purpose of improving the reception and accommodation conditions for the applicants for international protection.[3]

As for the statistics on the occupancy in both centres, they are not available for the period from 2019 to 2022.

Both reception centres are managed directly by the Ministry of Interior. The centre in Kutina is aimed at the accommodation of vulnerable applicants, although throughout 2019 the centre accommodated mainly persons who came through resettlement. At the end of 2019, when all resettled persons were relocated in other cities and provided with paid apartments, it was decided that vulnerable applicants would again be accommodated in Kutina.

In January 2021, the Directorate for European Affairs, International Relations and European Union Funds of the Ministry of the Interior adopted a decision on the allocation of AMIF funds for the project “Procurement of equipment for needs of  MoI’s Service for reception and accommodation of applicants for international protection and Service for international protection- NOP2”. The purpose of the project is to equip reception centres in accordance with the best European practice to improve the quality of life of applicants as well as the working conditions for state officials.[4] In April 2021, the decision on the allocation of AMIF funds for the project “Increase of accommodation capacity of the Reception Centre for applicants for international protection in Zagreb” was adopted.[5]

[1] Information provided by Croatian Red Cross, 20 December 2019.

[2] Ministry of Interior, Successful completion of the project “Renovation of the Reception Center for  Applicants for International Protection in Kutina”, available at: https://bit.ly/3MEvOYC.

[3] 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.

[4]  Ministry of Interior, Decision on the allocation of AMIF funds for the project “ Procurement of equipment for needs of  MoI’s Service for reception and accommodation of applicants for international protection and Service for international protection- NOP2”,available in Croatian: https://bit.ly/3hIqzIi.

[5] Ministry of Interior, Decision on the allocation of AMIF funds for the project “Increase of accommodation capacity of the Reception Centre for applicants for international protection in Zagreb”, available in Croatian: https://bit.ly/3vL8AJm.