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Permanent Stay for a Long-Standing Refugee in a Housing Programme

CroatiaLong-term residence

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

Official link

What exact status does accumulated residence lead to?

Permanent stay (stalni boravak), an indefinite residence status.

See recorded sources
  • chars 4066-4352
    Državljanin treće zemlje u Republici Hrvatskoj može boraviti na: 1. kratkotrajnom boravku (do 90 dana u bilo kojem razdoblju od 180 dana) 2. privremenom boravku (najduže do 48 mjeseci ovisno o svrsi boravka) 3. dugotrajnom boravku (neograničeno) 4. stalnom boravku (neograničeno)

What qualifying residence period is required and when does the period begin?

At least three years of uninterrupted temporary stay by the date of application, combined with at least ten years of refugee status proven by a certificate from the state authority responsible for housing care. The official source does not state when the three-year period starts.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The page does not say when the three-year period starts or whether the ten years of refugee status must be consecutive or in Croatia.
  • chars 6993-9851
    Permanent stay may be granted to a third-country national who: is a family member or a life partner of a Croatian citizen who, prior to the day of submission of his application, has had granted temporary stay for the purpose of family reunification or life partnership for an uninterrupted period of four years is a member of the Croatian people with foreign citizenship or who is stateless and proves his status with a certificate issued by the state administration authority for Croats abroad if it is established that he has returned with the intention of residing permanently in the Republic of Croatia, provided that he has had granted temporary stay for an uninterrupted period of three years prior to the day of submission of his application by the date of submission of his application, has had at least three years of uninterrupted temporary stay, and refugee status for at least 10 years, which is proven by a certificate issued by the state administration authority competent for housing care is a minor child who has had granted temporary stay for the purpose of family reunification for an uninterrupted period of three years prior to the day of submission of his application, and one of the parents has had granted permanent stay or long-term residence had permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia on 8 October 1991, and who is a beneficiary of a return, reconstruction or housing care programme, which is proven by a certificate issued by the state administration authority competent for housing care if it is established that he has returned with the intention of residing permanently in the Republic of Croatia, provided that he encloses proof of no criminal record issued by his home country or a country in which he resided for more than a year immediately prior to arriving in the Republic of Croatia, or to underage children who live in the Republic of Croatia: whose one parent had a permanent stay or long-term residence status at the moment of the child’s birth (with the consent of the other parent), whose one parent had a permanent stay or long-term residence status in the Republic of Croatia at the moment of the child’s birth, and the other parent is unknown, dead, pronounced dead, deprived of parental rights or fully or partially deprived of legal capacity with regard to parental care, third-country nationals who were born in the Republic of Croatia and have been living here since their birth, but who have not regulated their residence status for justified reasons that they could not have any impact on (which is proved by an extract from birth register, proof that they have attended preschool or school, proof of employment, proof of being beneficiaries of health care services or social rights and any other proof showing that the said person has been living in the Republic of Croatia).

Which types of residence count fully, partially or not at all where the official rules specify this?

The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm which types of residence count towards the qualifying period.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Neither the English permanent-stay page nor the Croatian index (section 6, item 3) or the FAQ (line ~467) says which purposes of temporary stay count for the three years, or how the ten years of refugee status are computed; the only qualifier is 'odobren privremeni boravak' (granted temporary stay) without restriction. Nothing to fill the box beyond what R2 already states.

What absence/continuity rules affect accumulation of the qualifying residence period?

For the permanent-stay category requiring three years of temporary stay and at least ten years in refugee status, continuity is preserved if absences from Croatia do not exceed eight months in total or four months in one absence during the qualifying period.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The cited Article 156(2) supplies the statutory absence ceiling; it does not define all administrative proof or treatment of an exceptional absence for this refugee category.
  • Article 156(1)(3), NN 40/2025
    3. neposredno prije podnošenja zahtjeva imao neprekidno tri godine odobren privremeni boravak, a u statusu izbjeglice bio je najmanje deset godina, što se dokazuje potvrdom tijela državne uprave nadležnog za stambeno zbrinjavanje
  • Article 156(2), NN 40/2025
    (2) Stalni boravak odobrit će se državljaninu treće zemlje iz stavka 1. točaka 1. do 5. ovoga članka koji nije izbivao iz Republike Hrvatske višekratno dulje od osam mjeseci ukupno ili jednokratno dulje od četiri mjeseca.

What other major conditions apply, how is the status obtained, and what renewal, document-validity, retention or loss rules matter?

The general conditions are a valid foreign travel document and no threat to public policy, national security or public health. Article157(5) provides an exception during permanent-stay approval when the document cannot be obtained from the foreign state's diplomatic or consular representation in Croatia and identity can be established unambiguously by another means. The application is made on Form 1a at the competent police administration or station for the registered place of residence; the Ministry of the Interior decides. The underlying status is indefinite; Article168(3) specifies five-year validity for the residence document, so document expiry is distinct from expiry of the underlying status. Under Article171, the document must be replaced when its data change, it becomes unusably damaged or worn, its photograph no longer matches the holder, or its validity expires. Apply for replacement at the police administration or station for the place of residence within eight days after the relevant event. The Ministry directs permanent and long-term residents to request that document within eight days after status approval, in person at the competent police office, with a 3 x 3.5 cm photograph and a valid foreign travel document. Published charges are EUR83.62 for the status decision and EUR31.85 for the biometric document in the regular procedure, or EUR59.73 in the accelerated procedure. The Croatian guidance exempts permanent and long-term residents from the separate EUR9.29 biometric administrative fee. Permanent stay is withdrawn for an entry/stay ban or SIS entry-refusal alert, moving out of Croatia or staying abroad continuously for more than one year, public-policy/national-security/public-health grounds, or the holder's request.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The cited material does not expressly reconcile the statutory travel-document exception for status approval with each documentary step for issuing or replacing a biometric card; no automatic exemption at every administrative step is inferred.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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