Croatia is a member of the European Union. Ukrainians who arrive at the Croatian border must declare themselves as displaced persons in need of temporary protection.They must show their passport or an ID card to enter Croatia.

After you have stated that you need protection, police will take your fingerprints, and if you are older than 14, photograph you. The Ministry of the Interior will issue you with an official note confirming your status as an asylum seeker and will direct you to report to a reception centre for asylum seekers within a certain period of time, usually within 48 hours. This phase is usually called ‘expressing an intention to seek asylum’.

Chatbot to help Ukrainians around the world from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

The chatbot can simultaneously serve several users and provide advice on the most common questions, namely:

• rules of entry to a foreign country;
• registration of temporary protection;
• social security;
• return to Ukraine;
• consular services.

You can get help through the chatbot at the link .

In addition to the chatbot, citizens can also contact the call center at +38 (044) 224-57-20.

To enter Croatia, Ukrainian migrants must show their passport or ID card. The presence of a biometric passport is not a prerequisite for the entry of Ukrainian migrants.

Ukrainian ID. According to the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service (DPSU), the citizens of Ukraine who can leave Ukraine with an internal passport are currently only those evacuating from occupied territories or territories where hostilities are taking place, the list of which is approved in accordance with the Order of the Ministry on Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine of December 22, 2022 No. 309 . Citizens from other territories must have a biometric passport to travel abroad.

Children under the age of 16 traveling with their parents must have a birth certificate. Children have the right to cross the border with one parent (without the official permission of the other parent). If the child is traveling with acquaintances or relatives, she/he needs to have a travel permit from one of the parents, certified by a notary.

After you have stated that you need protection, police will take your fingerprints, and if you are older than 14, photograph you. The Ministry of the Interior will issue you with an official note confirming your status as an asylum seeker and will direct you to report to a reception centre for asylum seekers within a certain period of time, usually within 48 hours. This phase is usually called ‘expressing an intention to seek asylum’.

After being placed in the Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers, the asylum officials within the Ministry of the Interior will invite you for an interview to formally submit your asylum application, in the presence of an interpreter. During the interview, your application for asylum will be officially recorded. You must state your personal data, describe the route you took to arrive in Croatia, and explain your reasons for seeking protection.

Starting March 1, Ukrainians living in Croatia can travel free of charge on domestic Class II trains by presenting their HŽPP smart card.

Smart cards are issued on the basis of a Ukrainian passport/identity card. To apply for a card, you need to create a profile , which costs €3/22.60 HRK. It will be valid until the end of 2023.

With this card, citizens can get free train tickets at the ticket office or on the transport itself. The card must be presented to the cashier.

If you have any further questions, you can ask for clarification by calling 01 4724 026 or emailing informacije@hzpp.hr.

You can also travel by airplane, bus, car or train to different countries.

You can stay in Crotia without a visa for 90 days in any 180 days period. If you have received Temporary Protection status, you can stay in the country until March 4, 2024.

If you are below the age of 18 and have arrived in Croatia alone, immediately inform the authorities/police so that a guardian can be appointed to you. Your guardian will protect your rights during the asylum procedure. For more information on the asylum procedure if you are under the age of 18, please check here and here for more information.

After the authorities (with the presence and help from social service worker) perform border check and identification procedure, the minor will most likely be sent to an organized accommodation in one of the reception centres on the following locations:

• Sportska dvorana Jug 2, Ulica kralja Petra Svačića 67, Osijek i
• Gradska športska dvorana, OŠ dr. Jure Turića, Ulica Miroslava Kraljevića 19, Gospić.

Any person can stay in the reception centre for maximum duration of 48 hours while the competent authorities determine where the person will be placed for permanent stay.

Competent authorities will place minors in suitable collective accommodation with other minors. Additionally, any minor has the right of education, under same conditions as Croatian citizens. It is necessary to talk to the school nearest to the accommodation and the school will determine in which class the minor will be allocated. Minor will also have the right to additional classes of Croatian language in order to better assimilate in the school.

The EU migration calculator helps to calculate the number of days of stay in EU countries for those who do not apply for temporary protection.

There are no Covid-related requirements.

If you are hosted in a collective accommodation facility, you don’t have to visit MUP administrative office to apply for temporary protection. In this case, you must submit the request for temporary protection to the MUP/police staff who is in charge of those facilities.

Note: Registration to the Croatian Red Cross is not equal to applying for temporary protection. Temporary protection is the responsibility of MUP. Applications also cannot be submitted at the reception centers.

If you already have organized accommodation in Croatia provided by your family, relatives, or friends, you can apply for temporary protection in 2 ways:

1. By visiting the MUP station closest to your temporary address – You must enclose an application form in Ukrainian/Croatian or English/Croatian
2. Via online service Croatia4Ukraine – It is available in Ukrainian, English, and Croatian here .

After your application is approved by MUP, they will issue you an identity card of an alien under temporary protection called Iskaznica stranca pod privremenom zaštitom.

You can find more official information on temporary protection in Ukrainian here and Croatian here .

The following categories of persons can apply for temporary protection:

• All citizens of Ukraine and their families residing in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
• Stateless persons and third-country nationals who have enjoyed international or equivalent national protection in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and members of their families who held valid residence in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
• Third nationals who held valid permanent residence in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in accordance with Ukrainian regulations and who cannot return to their country or region of origin in safe and permanent conditions.
• Displaced Ukrainian nationals and members of their families who fled Ukraine just before February 24, 2022, due to the security situation and cannot return to Ukraine due to the armed conflict.
• Life partners and informal life partners of Ukrainian nationals or people who have enjoyed international or equivalent national protection in Ukraine have the right to temporary protection.

Yes, you can. You can apply for temporary protection online through the croatia4ukraine application. Explanations are in Ukrainian on the pages of state bodies. A mandatory condition is refusal/cancellation of temporary protection in another country.

Croatian temporary protection for Ukrainians who granted it will be automatically extended until March 4, 2024. It is not necessary to apply for the extension of temporary protection.

To certify the extension of the validity of the identity card of a foreigner under temporary protection, Ukrainians must visit MUP according to their residence. The extension will be recorded in the existing card. Before visiting MUP, find out how the reception for the ID card extension is organized in order to avoid the crowd.

If you apply for an extension after April 30, 2023, you will not lose your temporary protection status and will continue to have the rights and obligations arising from the status.

Visiting MUP is not needed for:

• Children under 16 – parents/special guardians can provide the child’s ID card for certification.
• People with special needs who cannot move – family members or a person from the institution where they are placed can verify their ID card based on a statement of the relationship, proof of the impossibility of the person’s arrival, or documentation on placement in a special institution.

MUP will organize the verification of identity cards for people accommodated in collective accommodation. They will be informed about the organization and extension dates within their collective accommodation.

The list of police departments , precincts on the territory of the Zagreb Police Department and information about the working hours for the extension of the temporary protection status for citizens of Ukraine.

While waiting for temporary protection, you will be placed in an adequate accommodation, and you will be provided food. If necessary, you can ask for medical attention.

Once you are granted temporary protection, you have the right to:

• Temporary stay.
• Identification card of foreigner under temporary protection.
• Access to accommodation or housing.
• Access to social welfare and subsistence.
• Access to education for minors.
• Access to employment.
• Access to information on temporary protection.
• Family reunification.
• Freedom of religion.

You will receive an identity card of an alien under temporary protection.

The identity card of an alien under temporary protection is considered a residence permit and confirms the status and rights of an alien under temporary protection in Croatia. It is issued in English and Croatian. You must always bring this card with you.

If the card is lost or stolen, you have to report this to MUP.

You can return to Ukraine at any time while being on temporary protection in Croatia. However, you must inform MUP according to your place of residence about the return to Ukraine.

Ukrainians are exempt from obtaining a visa for travel within the EU/EEA if they have Ukrainian biometric travel documents. However, the identity card of a foreigner under temporary protection is not a travel document. You can travel with this card only in Croatia.

When you are granted temporary protection in Crotia you can travel around the European Union for up to 90 days.

If you are granted temporary protection, you can apply for international protection – asylum or subsidiary protection. However, this is a complex procedure that takes much longer, and there is no guarantee that you will be granted. The procedure and result depend on the personal situation of each individual person.

How to get asylum and state protection in Croatia read here .

Asylum can only be granted if you have valid reasons for seeking it, for example:

• You are afraid to return to your country of origin because you are being persecuted in your country.
• You are afraid of being persecuted for belonging to a particular race, religion, nationality, or social group.
• You hold political beliefs for which you have been persecuted.
• You hold political beliefs for which you are afraid that you will be persecuted.
• You cannot return to your country due to the threat of a death penalty or execution, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
• You cannot return to your country of origin because there is serious and individual danger for your life as a civilian due to widespread violence as part of armed conflict.

Croatian residence for non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (third-country nationals)

Digital nomads

Remote workers can be granted temporary residence if they can prove they are working for companies that are not registered in Croatia. Third-country citizens can now apply for this permit.

Read: How to apply for the digital nomad residence permit in Croatia .

EU Blue Card

If you have received higher education or qualifications such as ISCED 1997 levels 5a or higher or an associate’s degree or higher, you can apply to be a part of the Blue Card network . Once you are verified, employers within the EU/EEA can hire you.

Once you have been hired or given a binding work offer for a highly qualified position within Croatia, you may apply for a temporary residence that will allow you to work.

Read: How to apply for a Blue Card in Croatia .

Ownership of real estate

If you purchase a residential property in Croatia as a non-EU/EEA national, you may be granted temporary residence. The catch is that you can be here for only 6 months at a time under this permit. At the end of each year term, you must leave for 90 days.

Read: How to get a residence permit based on the property .

Scientific research

If you wish to conduct research in Croatia, then you may be granted temporary residence. For exact requirements, contact MUP for specific guidelines.

Read: How to find administrative police stations in Croatia .

Secondary school education and university studies

Those enrolled in qualified programs at a university or secondary school in Croatia may be granted residence in Croatia during the period of time they are in school.

Please note that language programs at schools like Croaticum do not qualify for student residence. Instead, you must apply based on “other purposes”.

Read: How to study and gain student residence in Croatia .

The terms for consideration of an application for a residence permit may be different in each case.

Biometric passport isn’t required for entry into Croatia. Persons who fall under category of displaced persons will be granted entry whether they have a travel document or not.

According to the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service (DPSU), the citizens of Ukraine who can leave Ukraine with an internal passport are currently only those evacuating from occupied territories or territories where hostilities are taking place, the list of which is approved in accordance with the Order of the Ministry on Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine of December 22, 2022 No. 309 . Citizens from other territories must have a biometric passport to travel abroad.

In order to issue a foreign passport, you need to contact the Ukrainian Embassy .

A foreign passport is issued to a person who has reached the age of 16 on the basis of an application-questionnaire submitted by him personally. At the same time, the issuance of a foreign passport to a person who has been recognized by the court as having limited legal capacity or incapacity is carried out on the basis of an application-questionnaire of the guardian or other legal representative.

The following are attached to the application:

• previous passport to be exchanged (if the passport is not issued for the first time);
• internal passport in the form of a booklet (if available);
• or ID card (if available);
• a document confirming permanent residence or temporary stay abroad (if available);
• certificate of registration of the place of residence in Ukraine / certificate of registration of the place of residence of a temporarily displaced person (if available);
• a certificate of assignment of the registration number of the taxpayer's registration card (RNOKPP; if available).

In case of loss or theft of the previous passport, a document (report, certificate, etc.) issued by the competent authority of the state in which the passport was lost or stolen is attached to the application, confirming the fact of the owner's application regarding its loss or theft. Such a document is submitted without legalization and translation into Ukrainian.

In the case of issuing a passport in connection with a change in personal data (surname and/or first name), a document confirming such a change (marriage certificate, divorce certificate, court decision, etc.) is attached to the application. When issuing a foreign passport with a new surname and/or first name, the "domestic" passport (ID card) must be reissued.

In the event that the applicant has not previously been issued with an identity document, confirming Ukrainian citizenship and/or granting the right to leave Ukraine and enter Ukraine, a certificate of registration of the person as a citizen of Ukraine is provided (with the exception of cases when the person's parents at the time of his were citizens of Ukraine at birth).

You can register the birth of a child only at the consulate. There, the determination of his origin and the assignment of his surname, first name, and patronymic are carried out.

The application for registration must be submitted immediately, but no later than one month after the birth of the child, and in the case of a stillborn child - no later than three days.

The registration process takes place at the place of birth or at the place of residence of the child's parents or one of them (with a written application). At the same time, in case of illness, death of the parents or for other reasons it is impossible to register the birth - the application can be submitted by relatives or other persons authorized by the representative of the health care institution in which the child was born or is currently.

What is required for registration?

• a document from a medical institution about the birth of a child, passports certifying the identity of the parents;
• application (written or addressed orally) to enter information about the father.

Registration is free, and based on its results, parents are issued a birth certificate.

How to return to the homeland with a child born in the Croatia?

In order for Ukrainians to return home with a child born in the Croatia, they must have with them:

• a document certifying his identity;
• a child's birth certificate issued by a consular institution.

Is the status of a citizen of Ukraine preserved during the birth of a child in the Croatia?

A newborn Ukrainian in the Croatia retains the status of a citizen of Ukraine. Data on citizenship and nationality in the act record of birth and certificate are not filled in, which is why a corresponding entry is made in the column "For marks".

In addition, a person whose parents or one of his parents were citizens of Ukraine at the time of his birth is a citizen of Ukraine. The place of birth of the baby does not affect the possibility of him acquiring Ukrainian citizenship.

There are several steps involved in the process of body repatriation from abroad to Ukraine:

1. Notify the authorities.

The first step of body repatriation from abroad to Ukraine is to contact the local authorities in Croatia, so you can register the death. Ukrainian embassy should also be able to help you in the process of registering the death abroad.

2. Arrange the correct documents.

You’ll need to have all the right paperwork before you can repatriate your loved one home from abroad to Ukraine. If you are repatriating a body to Ukraine for burial or cremation, the documents you will need include:

• Death Certificate.
• Certificate or Affidavit from the local health authorities stating that the cause of death of the individual to be shipped to Ukraine was not a communicable disease or infections.
• A Document about the absence of any excessive objects inside the casket or urn with the ashes.
• The Certificate of Cremation issued be the Funeral home or Cremation office.

All the mentioned documents should be authenticated, legalized and translated into Ukrainian by the certified translator. The originals of abovementioned documents and notarized translations, must accompany the casket containing the deceased, or urn with ashes, to Ukraine.

The passport of the deceased person should be sent to the Embassy of Ukraine along with a notarized and authenticated copy of the Certificate of Death, and a translation from Crotian to Ukrainian. The Embassy is to make correspondent procedures with the passport and can forward it back if it is required to accompany the casket containing the deceased, or urn with ashes, to Ukraine.

The Embassy is to be informed of the date, time, and the place of delivery of the casket containing the deceased, or urn with ashes, to Ukraine. Only the next of kin relatives of the deceased, or persons correspondingly authorized by them, can receive the casket or urn.

3. Transport the deceased to Ukraine.

The casket containing the body, or urn with ashes, must be sealed by the Funeral Home. There are no strict requirements with respect to the urn with ashes; however, the body should be transported in a metal casket, made of zinc-plated steel or tinplate not more than 0,4 thick.

For the air cargo transportation, it is necessary to specify a cemetery in Ukraine as well as Ukrainian Funeral Home which will take care of the casket, or the urn with ashes, in Ukraine. Both are a subject of private choice by the relatives or friends of the deceased person. Source .

There are numerous shops that offer such services. Look for photo studio & copy centers as they can provide you with this.

You can translate your documents at any translation agency in your city. Search for «prijevod dokumenata» on Google.

You can buy a SIM card on your own in stores of popular mobile operators: Hrvatski Telekom, A1 Croatia, Telemach.