Integration policies in Croatia, FYROM, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are barely halfway favourable for societal integration, scoring below the European average and alongside other ‘new’ immigration countries in MIPEX, such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic. Newcomers in these countries will face slightly more obstacles than opportunities to participate in society. These countries are at different stages of their EU accession, with Croatia as the newest Member State. Interestingly, the policies that could contribute the most to integration are EU law-driven – anti-discrimination legislation in the case of Serbia and FYROM, family reunion policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and long-term residence in Croatia. Despite these improvements, the conditions in law are undermined by authorities’ rather discretionary procedures in all four countries, a problem across Central and Eastern Europe. In addition to the negative impact of this uncertainty on integration, newcomers critically lack many basic citizenship, education and political opportunities that are becoming best practice across Europe.