Croatia provides for three types of international protection:
- Refugee status/asylum
- Subsidiary protection
- Temporary protection
If it is determined that you cannot return to your country of origin because you are being persecuted in your country or you fear being persecuted for belonging to a particular race, religion, nationality or social group, or you hold political beliefs for which you have been persecuted, or for which you are afraid that you will be persecuted, you will be granted refugee status (in Croatian: azil).
If you do not meet conditions for refugee status but you cannot return to your country due to the threat of a death penalty or execution, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or when there is serious and individual danger for your life as a civilian due to widespread violence as part of armed conflict, you will be granted subsidiary protection (in Croatian: supsidijarna zaštita).
If you do not meet conditions for granting asylum or subsidiary protection, the Ministry of Interior/Asylum Official will issue you with a negative decision. You can appeal this decision by initiating an administrative dispute before the competent administrative court.
Temporary protection is approved in very specific situations (such as mass influx of refugees), when the Government of Croatia and the Council of the European Union decide so. On 8 March, in line with Article 78 of the International and Temporary Protection Act, the Croatian Government adopted a decision on the implementation of temporary protection in Croatia. As per the Decision, Croatia granted temporary protection to all Ukrainian nationals, stateless persons and persons granted protection in Ukraine, and all third-country nationals who were granted a permanent stay in Ukraine if they entered Croatia as of 24 February. In addition, citizens of Ukraine and their family members will be granted Temporary protection even if they entered Croatia before 24 February.
You can obtain more information from UNHCR’s partner, the Croatian Law Centre (CLC), which provides initial legal information on access to territory and asylum in Croatia through its 24/7 hotline (+385 91 23 555 22). You can find more detailed information on asylum on their web page www.hpc.hr. Legal advice is also available via phone number 01/ 4854 934 or at e-mail: [email protected]