Croatia

You are entitled to temporary protection if you belong to one of the following categories:

• Citizens of Ukraine and family members* of a citizen of Ukraine who resided in Ukraine as of February 24, 2022;
• Stateless persons and third-country nationals who had international or equivalent national protection in Ukraine as of February 24, 2022; as well as their family members who had a residence permit in Ukraine as of February 24, 2022;
• Third-country nationals who had a permanent residence permit in Ukraine as of February 24, 2022 in accordance with Ukrainian law and who cannot return to their country or region of origin in safe and durable conditions;
• Displaced citizens of Ukraine and family members of a citizen of Ukraine who, immediately before February 24, 2022, left the territory of Ukraine due to danger and due to the armed conflict, cannot return to Ukraine.

*A family member is a marital or common-law partner, minor children, regardless of whether they were born in a marital or common-law union, or adopted children and other close relatives who, at the time of the occurrence of circumstances related to the displacement of persons from Ukraine, lived in a common household and at that time were fully or largely dependent on the care of these persons.

1. You can apply for temporary protection at the nearest police station or police station at your place of residence, where you will be issued a Certificate (identification card) of a foreigner granted temporary protection shortly after your application is approved.
2. You can also apply for temporary protection online via the croatia4ukraine application.
3. ⁠If you are staying in collective accommodation facilities for displaced persons, you do not need to go to the police station or police station. You can submit an Application for Temporary Protection at the relevant facility by contacting the duty officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the police station/police station employee.

A sample application for temporary protection can be found at the link.

Temporary Protection status will be cancelled if you inform Croatian authorities of your intended permanent return. You can reapply for temporary protection in the event that you leave Ukraine again, or if you inform the authorities that you no longer intend to return permanently.

If you do not inform the Croatian authorities about your return, temporary protection will not be cancelled and you do not have to return your temporary protection identification documents, also known as the ‘green card’ or ‘zeleni karton.’

Your temporary protection status, as indicated by your ‘green card’ or ‘zeleni karton,’ is valid until 4 March 2026, including in the event you return to Ukraine for a short visit. A short visit will not affect your temporary protection status, and you will be able to return to Croatia as long as temporary protection is in place. Upon your return, you will automatically continue to benefit from temporary protection for as long as your permit is valid.

You are nonetheless required to notify the police station that covers your place of residence about your return to Ukraine, the duration of your stay in Ukraine, and the reason for your departure. This notification can be made in person or via email. A complete list of police stations is available here.

You should inform the police station that issued your temporary protection green card. Please see the above question.

It’s possible to inform the police station by email.  A list of police stations is available here.

It’s possible to inform the police station by email.  A list of police stations is available here.

If you are living in a collective centre under the responsibility of the Civil Protection Directorate, you will lose your place in this accommodation. Please note that if you plan to leave Croatia for longer periods, but not to return permanently to Ukraine, you should also inform the Civil Protection Directorate, who may authorize your return to the same collective centre once you are back in Croatia. 

Temporary protection status will be cancelled if you have informed the Croatian authorities about your permanent return to Ukraine. However, you can still re-enter Croatia and re-apply for temporary protection. If you wish to apply for any other type of residency, such as a work visa, you must approach a police station in the place of your stay and submit the required documentation.

If you are not a citizen of Ukraine and you are staying in Croatia with a visa, you can return to Ukraine using your residence permit in Ukraine. If your permanent residence permit in Ukraine has expired, you should contact the Ukraine authorities in Croatia to verify whether you need to extend your residence permit. The contact details are as follows: 

The Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Croatia

croatia.mfa.gov.ua

Voćarska cesta, 52, 10000 Zagreb, Republika Hrvatska

Ukrainian citizens can enter Ukraine with one of the following documents:

1. Passport of a citizen of Ukraine for travel abroad (International passport)
2. Diplomatic passport of Ukraine
3. Service passport of Ukraine
4. Seaman’s identity card
5. Crew member’s certificate

The internal passport (ID card) is not included in this list. Therefore, it cannot be used to return to Ukraine. Instead, it is necessary to issue either an international passport or a certificate for returning to Ukraine. The conditions and deadlines for the production of these documents vary.

A certificate for returning to Ukraine grants the right to enter Ukraine. This document is issued by diplomatic missions or consular institutions of Ukraine abroad.

A certificate for returning to Ukraine is issued by a foreign diplomatic institution (embassy/consulate of Ukraine abroad) on the day of application. The production of this document is usually a paid service.

An international passport can currently be issued at the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Croatia. However, when ordering this service, it should be noted that the process of producing and issuing an international passport lasts from 3 to 6 months. The production of this document is a paid service.

If you or your relatives plan to return to Ukraine, but do not have a valid passport (the passport has expired, lost your passport or arrived in Croatia only with an internal passport or birth certificate), then you need to obtain a document from the consulate of Ukraine that will allow you to cross the border.

To do this, you need to contact the nearest consular office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and issue a certificate of return to Ukraine (the so-called “white passport”). The Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Croatia is located in Zagreb.  The list of documents that you need to apply in order to get the certificate of return to Ukraine can be found at the following link.

If you have received documents certifying your disability in Croatia, you will have to go through the process of confirming your disability in Ukraine to have them recognized in Ukraine. For more information you can click here.

Your health record can be obtained from any general practitioner, gynaecologist, dentist or paediatrician that you have visited. If you received assistance from specialist in a hospital, you will have been issued with a medical record called ‘povijest bolesti’ after every check-up. If you have lost this, you may ask the hospital for re-issuance of the record, but this may take a long time. If you registered on the ‘e-Građani’ portal, you can find some specialist medical reports under the ‘Health Portal’.

Ask for an official document acknowledging your child’s educational achievement that will facilitate recognition of the qualifications in Ukraine. More information on what information the document should include can be found on the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science’s webpage.

Children shall be subject to the same entry and exit control as adults, and as such, they will need an identity document valid for travelling. If they do not have one, they or their parent or guardian may contact the Ukrainian Embassy to obtain an identity document, with temporary validity, for the purpose of re-entering the country.

The Ukrainian Embassy is located in Zagreb, Voćarska cesta 52, and receives individuals from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 17:00. You can contact them by phone at: +385-1-461-62-00or by email at: [email protected].

If you decide to return to Ukraine permanently and you believe that you will no longer need a bank account in Croatia, you should close it before leaving and return the bank card. This typically needs to be done in person at your bank. Some banks may allow the closing of a bank account online, and we advise you to check this option before leaving. Your bank account may be closed for inactivity, depending on the bank. However, inactivity does not prevent the bank from charging your account with running costs, so you may become indebted if you do not close your account and if bank charges are not paid.  Banks are only obliged to inform an account holder of such a situation when a significant debt has been incurred.

Ukrainian citizens who have worked in Croatia and paid national insurance contributions are eligible for a pension only if they have worked for 15 years in Croatia and are 65 years of age. Croatia has not signed a social security agreement with Ukraine. Therefore, you may not be entitled to withdrawal of your pension contributions.

Croatia has signed a double taxation agreement with Ukraine. Therefore, income from employment is taxed in the country where it is earned. If you worked in Croatia and paid taxes, you may be eligible for a tax refund. For more information, see the website of the Croatian tax administration,  or RRiF plus website.

Please check FAQ ‘On return to Ukraine’ for services available in Ukraine.

In Croatia, every pet needs to have a pet passport, issued by a vet after microchipping and/or receiving mandatory vaccinations. The pet passport in Croatia is issued by the veterinary service, and registered with the Ministry of Agriculture. Depending on your mode of travel, you should check the requirements of any transit countries as well as those of Ukraine regarding entry with a pet.