Do Ukrainian refugees in Croatia have all their expenses paid, receive free villas on the Adriatic coast, free pensions and health insurance, and receive a monthly allowance of 2000 euros per month? No, that's not true: Refugees from Ukraine under temporary protection in Croatia, can access free care through public health care institutions, have open access to the Croatian labor market, and have the right to co-finance housing for the maximum amount of 477 EUR per month.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on October 13, 2023, with captions translated into English from Croatian by Lead Stories staff that read:
Not only did they get apartments, but they got villas in Opatija and Ika for free. The state gives them 2,000 euros free of charge every month. They have pension and health insurance and all expenses paid.
And:
Our people are hungry and thirsty and more and more often on the streets, looking for food in garbage cans. And these Ukrainians have everything, and it's not a problem that those from WAR ZONES get it all, the problem is that those that get it drive cars worth 100-200 thousand euros and are not from WAR ZONES
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Oct 26 13:19:39 2023 UTC)
On March 7, 2022, the Croatian government approved measures to provide temporary protection in the Republic of Croatia for displaced persons from Ukraine. The temporary protection status in Croatia is valid until March 4, 2024 and if reasons persist, may be extended by a year.
According to the Law on the Health Care of Foreigners, those in Croatia under temporary protection status may have access to health care coverage in public and private health institutions to the same extent as Croatian citizens.
In terms of employment, citizens of Ukraine who have been granted temporary protection in Croatia have the same rights and obligations as Croatian citizens, meaning open access to the labor market. A pension insurance is mandatory and is paid by the employer, who calculates 15 percent of the gross amount from the salary and pays it to the State Treasury. When Ukrainian citizens are employed in Croatia, their employers covers the pension insurance for them.
In terms of accommodation and housing, refugees from Ukraine may receive a maximum amount of HRK 3,600 (477 Euros) per month for housing subsidy from the government, with single persons receiving HRK 1,550 (206 Euros) per month. The subsidy for families is calculated according to a formula that increases the amount by the number of dependents. Further information on the rights of Ukrainian refugees in Croatia is available here.
