Croatia’s Capital Opens ‘One-Stop Shop’ for Refugees, Asylum-Seekers

Mayor of Zagreb Tomislav Tomasevic and Anna Rich, the UN refugee agency UNHCR’s representative in Croatia, signed an agreement on Thursday to open the so-called One-Stop Shop for Refugees and Migrants, to be located close to the main police station in Zagreb.

The Centar za informiranje izbjeglica i migranata (Information Centre for Refugees and Migrants), as it is called in Croatian, will provide information about procedures that will help them integrate into society and access certain services.

The mayor said language was often a key problem for migrants and refugees, noting also that about two-thirds of the 20,000 or so foreign workers in the city do not speak Croatian.

“What is a key step for integration is knowledge of the Croatian language,” he said.

“The state will start organising Croatian language courses in greater numbers, but so will employers, because it should be the employers’ obligation to organise Croatian language courses for foreign workers,” he added.

The opening of the new centre in Zagreb is in line with a UNHCR policy of encouraging “one-stop shops” designed to supply multiple services that formerly were provided by separate centres and organisations.

The Zagreb centre will serve asylum-seekers as well as refugees, including thousands of Ukrainians who have sought asylum in Croatia since the escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Illegal migrants were not mentioned at the opening of the centre as likely beneficiaries; given the proximity of the main police station, it seems doubtful they will appear there.

Since 2023, Croatia has been part of the Schengen Area, the European Union’s common borderless regime, and enforces strict policies regarding illegal entry into the country.

Croatia has faced criticism in the European Parliament for violent push-backs of migrants by border police. While such incidents have not been reported in recent months, it still maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal migration. Undocumented migrants are either returned to the country from which they entered Croatia, or placed in detention centres, when deemed necessary.