Soon after I moved to Istria I learned that I should report to the police all my foreign friends who come to stay in my house even for a single night. There is a special form devised for this purpose, but the police has recently established a dedicated website, too. Passport details are all that is needed. At first I thought this was a misunderstanding of the law, which applied only to hotels and boarding houses, but this was not the case. Zoran Antolović, a friendly policeman from Pazin who drops by Motovun every once in a while on his tour of duty, explained that there were many good reasons for this system, which has nothing to do with money. What if one of my friends gets ill? Or if their car breaks down? Or if my friends lose a wallet or passport? No-one I know in Motovun seems to be troubled by this law. And yet, I have never even mentioned it to any of my many foreign friends who have stayed in my house. Truth to tell, I have been embarrassed that they may think I now live in a happy police state.

Addendum (January 11, 2005)

In response to this piece, which I circulated as an electronic postcard, Leo Lazić wrote back that I should not be embarrassed at all. To show me why, he sent me the full wording of a Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice concerning Croatian entry requirements. The relevant bits are as follows: “Unless they are staying at a hotel or official tourist accommodation, all foreign nationals are required to register with the local police within twenty-four hours of arrival. (…) Failure to do so may result in a fine or possible removal from Croatia.” There is no explanation of all the good reasons behind this requirement, though. But the last bit of the advice is of special interest to my British friends: “British nationals who intend staying in Croatia for an extended period of time should register their presence with the Consular Section of the British Embassy in Zagreb.” However, there is not a word about the consequence of failing to do as required in this case. Anyhow, I feel I have now given sufficient warning to all my foreign friends.