CroatiaCroatia: temporary protection for Ukrainians extended until 4 March 2027 — how to validate your card
Temporary protection in Croatia is in effect until 4 March 2027. To have the new date stamped in your card (ovjera), you must come in person to the police at your place of residence. The organisational period ran from 26 February to 30 May 2026, but those who did not make it by 30 May do not lose their status and can do the ovjera later; contact your police administration.
Key points
6 points- Temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine in Croatia has been extended until 4 March 2027 (previously — until 4 March 2026).
- The status is extended automatically — no separate application for the status itself is needed; the new date must be stamped in your existing foreigner's card under temporary protection (a new card is not issued).
- To obtain the ovjera (confirmation of the new term in the card), you must come in person to the police administration or station at your place of residence; the organisational period for visits ran from 26 February to 30 May 2026.
- Those who applied (or will apply) after 30 May 2026 do NOT lose their temporary protection status and retain all rights and obligations — the ovjera can be done later.
- If your residential address has changed, you must submit Obrazac 11 (a form) with proof of place of residence.
- For children under 16 and persons who cannot come on their own, the ovjera can be done by parents, a guardian, or family members with the relevant documents.
Croatia has extended temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine until 4 March 2027. This was done to implement a decision at the EU level: first, on 13 June 2025, the member states reached a political agreement, and the legally binding act — Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1460 — was adopted by the Council on 15 July 2025. By it, temporary protection has been extended from 4 March 2026 to 4 March 2027. The status itself in Croatia is extended automatically — no separate application is needed. One practical action remains: stamping the new date in your card.
What exactly has changed
Previously, temporary protection in Croatia was in effect until 4 March 2026. Now its validity has been extended by another year — until 4 March 2027. The new date is entered not in a new document but in your existing foreigner's card under temporary protection (iskaznica stranca pod privremenom zaštitom). In Croatian, this procedure is called ovjera — confirmation of the extension of the card's validity.
Who this concerns
This concerns all displaced persons from Ukraine who already have temporary protection status in Croatia and a foreigner's card under temporary protection. If you have a valid card, you need to go through the ovjera so that the document shows the current date — 4 March 2027.
How to validate the card
To have the new term stamped in the card, you must come in person to the police administration or police station at your place of residence.
- Organisational period for visits: ran from 26 February 2026 to 30 May 2026.
- What happens: the extension is entered in your existing card — a new one is not issued.
- If your address has changed: additionally submit the Obrazac 11 form along with proof of place of residence.
For children under 16 and persons who cannot come on their own, the ovjera can be done by parents, a guardian, or family members with the relevant documents. Before your visit, it is worth calling your police administration and clarifying the procedure and the current order of reception.
What if the ovjera has not yet been done
This is important: those who applied for the ovjera of the card after 30 May 2026 do NOT lose their temporary protection status. The person continues to retain all rights and obligations arising from the status. That is, 30 May is an organisational deadline for the even distribution of visits, not the date of loss of protection. If you have not yet had the new date stamped, contact your police administration at your place of residence and clarify the current procedure.
Why this matters for documents
A foreigner's card under temporary protection with the current date is the main document confirming your legal status in Croatia and access to work, medical care, education, and social protection. A card with an expired date may create difficulties during checks, employment, or applying to institutions, so the ovjera should be done as early as possible.
Where to turn
Official information about the status and procedure is published by the government portal Hrvatska za Ukrajinu. Check the exact address and opening hours of your police administration (policijska uprava / policijska postaja) at your place of residence on the website of the Ministry of the Interior of Croatia (MUP).
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07Questions
6 answers01Until what date has temporary protection for Ukrainians in Croatia been extended?
Until 4 March 2027. Previously, protection was in effect until 4 March 2026. The extension was adopted at the EU level by Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1460 of 15 July 2025 (the political agreement was reached on 13 June 2025).
02Do you need to submit a separate application to extend the status?
You do not need to submit a separate application for the status itself — the extension applies automatically. But you need to come in person to the police so that the new date (4 March 2027) is stamped in your card. This is called ovjera.
03During what period did you need to do the ovjera of the card?
The organisational period for visits ran from 26 February 2026 to 30 May 2026 — in person, at the police administration or station at your place of residence. If you did not make it during this period, you do not lose your status: contact your police administration and clarify the current ovjera procedure.
04What happens if I did not do the ovjera by 30 May 2026?
You will not lose your temporary protection status. All rights and obligations are retained. Do the ovjera later — contact the police administration at your place of residence and clarify the procedure.
05Will I be issued a new card?
No. The extension is entered in your existing foreigner's card under temporary protection — a new document is not issued.
06What should I do if I have changed my residential address?
You need to additionally submit the Obrazac 11 form along with proof of the new place of residence during your visit to the police.
08Official sources
- Hrvatska za Ukrajinu — Status privremene zaštite (урядовий портал Хорватії)
hrvatskazaukrajinu.gov.hr - MUP — Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova Republike Hrvatske
mup.gov.hr - Council of the EU — Member states agree to extend temporary protection for refugees from Ukraine (13.06.2025)
consilium.europa.eu
Author: Yevhen Kravchenko. Published . Checked against official sources on .
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