This work is based on an exploratory research conducted in the period from February to August 2018 in the city of Kutina and the Zagreb settlements Dugave and Travno. The aim of the research was to learn how context determines formation and content of perceptions towards the migrant population, with emphasis on refugees. This paper deals with the influence of the social contact of the host population and refugee population, mostly located in the reception centers, and the consequences of different intensity and quality of contact on the perception of refugees and their integration. By implying that quality integration – represented as the degree of involvement in the society – also refers to the context of acceptance and the formation of attitudes. The respondents' testimonies indicate that the lack of direct, personal experiences encourages the formation of attitudes at an abstract level, using the prevailing public discourse mediated by the media image and the interpretations that are prone to stigmatization and generalizations of the refugee population. On the other hand, concrete contact and joint activities generated mostly positive experiences and encouraged more intensive (social) integration. Findings of this research suggest that exclusive immigration policies, sharp securitization discourse, lack of integration policies and underdeveloped practices of social interconnection result in the production of (ethnic) boundaries which emphasize a difference between local populations and refugees. It is manifested through social isolation and the gap between more concrete forms of interaction and social inclusion. This partly explains the poor social integration of refugees, which is reflected in the overall integration of new refugees and their desire to remain in Croatia, as well as the low probability that the situation will change for the future of wider refugee and migrant population.