|Published on: 29th July 2026|Categories: News|
The updated AIDA Country Report on Croatia provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2025. It is accompanied by an annex which provides an overview of temporary protection.
A number of key developments drawn from the overview of the main changes that have taken place since the publication of the update on 2024 are set out below.
(A) International protection
Asylum procedure
- Statistics: There were 14,928 applications for international protection in 2025. This represented a major decrease from the previous year (26,776). The Ministry of the Interior discontinued 52,813 procedures for granting international protection.
- Pushbacks: The Ombudswoman noted a decrease in the number of pushback complaints in 2025. However, NGOs continued to report such practices and the Ombudswoman’s office also received individual complaints directly from affected people.
- Dublin transfers: There were 1,364 incoming transfers and 28 outgoing transfers in 2025. One NGO observed that many applicants for international protection who were returned were suffering from various physical and/or mental health issues.
Reception conditions
- Statistics: 9,842 applicants for international protection were accommodated during 2025.
- Short stays: Most people spent less than a day in the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection before moving on. This indicated that Croatia remained a transit country rather than a destination for most people seeking international protection.
- Restricted access to reception centres: NGO access to the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection remained restricted throughout 2025. However, in mid-December 2025, following the commencement of a new EU-funded project focused on providing legal counselling to asylum applicants, the Croatian Law Centre was granted access.
- Poor reception conditions: The Ombudswoman reported ongoing pest infestations (bedbugs and cockroaches) at the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection. 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.
Detention of asylum applicants
- Restricted access to the asylum procedure: The Ombudswoman noted that people in detention and their lawyers reported being denied access to the international protection system.
Content of international protection
- Financial contributions: Since May 2025, beneficiaries of international protection who have the means to cover their state-funded accommodation costs have been required to make a financial contribution towards them.
- Education: A new ordinance has recognised students who have been granted asylum and students under subsidiary protection as being eligible for the state scholarship.
(B) Temporary protection
Temporary protection procedure
- Statistics: 3,532 new applications for temporary protection were submitted in 2025 and temporary protection was granted to 3,181 people.
Content of temporary protection
- Temporary protection no longer counts towards long-term residence requirements: In late 2025, the government mandated the deletion of previous amendments to the Law on Foreigners which had stipulated that temporary protection counted towards the period required for the granting of long-term residence.
The full report is available here and the annex on temporary protection is available here.
For more information about AIDA or to read other AIDA reports, please visit the AIDA website.
