- Montenegro will become part of the EU. Who can enter and stay in Montenegro without a visa.
- Residence and work permit. Work visa enables stay and employment in Montenegro. Taxation in Montenegro
- Residency and property. Property owners and yacht owners are entitled to obtain a residence permit in Montenegro.
- Residence and investment into Montenegro. Economic residency for the investors.
- Other ways to immigrate to Montenegro. Residency by marriage. Long-stay visa for students.
- Temporary residency may lead to permanent one and then to Montenegrin citizenship.
Montenegro is scheduled to join the EU in 2025. So far the country allows more freedom and flexibility for its residents in the sense of reporting requirements, e.g. Montenegro banks do not share clients’ information with EU tax authorities, and overall taxation, both for companies and private persons, is on 9% level – much less than in other EU countries. Entering the EU may affect this, however it will also open doors for affordable financing and increase the flow of tourists – the main source of income for Montenegro. As a tourist state Montenegro has visa-free entrance for holders of Schengen visa, for all EU, USA and many more countries. You can check your country visa regime at https://mvp.gov.me/rubrike/konzularni-poslovi/Vizni-rezim-ino/
Residence through a work permit. If you work for a company in Montenegro or are the company owner, temporary residence permit can be obtained through a work permit. Work permits are issued on the ground of employment. This means that you would need a company in Montenegro to be employed and to apply for your work permit. We will be happy to register a company for you and assist with the application for a work visa and then for a temporary residence permit. The residence permit is issued for 12-month period and can be renewed for the next period as long as your company is existing. We will provide all necessary support for your company including bookkeeping, and prolongation of residence permit and work visa, which, in the long run, may lead to successful immigration in Montenegro. If you can stay 183 days per year in Montenegro, you will become tax resident in Montenegro and enjoy low 9% taxation on your personal income. Montenegro has rather straightforward tax system with 9% income tax both for legal entities and private persons.
Residency by property. Buyers of property in Montenegro have received a bonus not long ago. Recent changes in the immigration legislation allow Montenegro property owners apply for temporary residence permit. The residence permit can be renewed every 12 months. By property we mean an apartment, a house, a business object, even a yacht registered in a Montenegrin marina. We will be happy to assist with applying and obtaining a residence permit for the Montenegro property owners and we will do all the paperwork to renew the residence permit after its expiration. Obtaining residency using your property is quite advantageous if compared to the residency through a work visa, because you will not have to pay for your company maintenance and accounting support and the procedure is also simpler.
Residency by investment and second passport in Montenegro. Beginning 2019 Montenegro economic citizenship program came into force. It is supposed to last till the end of 2021. Number of applicants is limited to 2000. Those who invest into the Government approved projects will obtain Montenegrin citizenship (without renouncing the original citizenship) and the related benefits: visa free travel to 125 countries (plus obtaining E-1 and E-2 US two years visas smoothly) and a perspective to become an EU citizen in 2025 when Montenegro enters the Union. All this without a requirement to maintain physical presence in Montenegro. The only thing required is to donate 100 000 euro to the Government and invest 250 000 (in the northern parts) or 450 000 euro (on the coast and in the capital) into the Government approved development projects. Please send us a message if you would wish to take part in the economic citizenship program in Montenegro. We will be happy to assist.
Check Montenegrin passport rank https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php
There are also other ways to obtain temporary or permanent residency in Montenegro.
Student visa. If you would like to enjoy low cost of education in Montenegro and you are a living in the EU, you can just come to Montenegro to study and apply for a long-term visa after you become a student. If you reside outside the EU, you would need to apply from home to receive an invitation from a Montenegro high school before visiting.
Marriage. It is possible to obtain Montenegro citizenship if you are married to a Montenegrin citizen for at least three years and live in Montenegro for five years without an interruption. You will be able to apply for a Montenegrin passport in this case.
As you can see the general scheme to obtain residency in Montenegro has three steps (with the exception of economic residency through investment, which grants immediate citizenship): getting a temporary residence permit, then after staying in Montenegro for 5 years, getting a permanent residence permit and, after staying for 10 more years, applying for Montenegrin citizenship. The applicant must understand the language and have knowledge of Montenegrin life and culture in order to pass the citizenship exam. Please feel free to get in touch if you need any assistance with obtaining Montenegrin residency.
Law on Montenegrin Citizenship (in Montenegrin)
https://www.mvp.gov.me/rubrike/konzularni-poslovi/Konzularne-funkcije/Drzavljanstvo/
Information for foreigners - temporary residence and work (in Montenegrin)
https://mif.gov.me/pretraga/184579/Informacije-za-strance.html