Mrs. Natalija Kovacevic, Zagreb Police Department and Mrs. Sandra Kralj, Registry office Maksimir were guests at the public debate.

In their presentations, guests explained to gathered citizens the regulations of the Foreigners Act and the Law on State Registers giving concrete examples and practical problems faced by people who do not have a regulated residence in the Republic of Croatia.

As the biggest problem and obstacle in regulating residence, guests stressed the lack of valid travel documents of their home country, which entails inability to obtain residence permits in the Republic of Croatia. They also stressed the necessity of notifying the competent registry office about children born at home. If a child was born at home, and parents do not have regulated residence or do not possess identification documents, subsequent registration of a child in the register of births is very difficult and complicated. The guests advised that in such cases the Centre for Social Welfare has to be contacted for help.

The debate, which lasted for hour and a half, was attended by 20  Roma who were active in asking questions and seeking advice from the guests.

A public debate was organized by the ILC in collaboration with partners in the project - HILS from Osijek, Brod – Posavina County and the Network of Croatian Roma associations through the "Legal inclusion and sustainable integration of Roma in Croatia", which is financed by the European Union under the IPA 2012 and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with CSOs..