Permanent Residency in Montenegro

You can become authorized to live and work on a permanent basis in Montenegro in a number of ways, including:

a family-based permanent residency: sponsorship by a Montenegrin or legal permanent resident immediate family member
a work-based permanent residency (as the director of your own company)
a real-estate-based permanent residence permit: own at least 50% of a property in Montenegro

While each application process ultimately leads to the permanent residency ID, which is also known as the ‘Stalni Boravak’ in Montenegrin, the application procedures and associated costs vary, depending on your background and whether you are a citizen/permanent resident of an EU country.

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Important

Permanent Residency in Montenegro is not granted to regular employees – only to company directors and property owners

Non-EU Applicants (3rd country nationals)

Anyone who is not a citizen of the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland is considered a thrid-country national in Montenegrin and EU law. The information below will provide insight into the application procedures, requirements, timeframes, and associated costs for everyone interested in obtaining a permanent residence permit in Montenegro.

The Program’s Requirements

In order to apply for your permanent residency ID, you must have held a temporary residence permit in Montenegro for at least five years continuously and meet certain other requirements:

You have a valid passport or other ID from your country of origin
You must be able to sustain yourself financially through either passive income streams or income from employment and/or your own company, or a combination of different income sources
You have not spent more than 10 months out of Montenegro (or 6 months in a row) in the last five years while having temporary residency
Proof of Accommodation: Either a notarized rental agreement or original property title proving ownership of real estate in Montenegro
You must show basic knowledge of Montenegrin and take the 90-minute-long ‘A2 language exam’, which is made up of four parts developed to test your Montenegrin language skills: Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking – does not apply to persons under the age of 14 and above 65 years of age

Requirements for your dependent children

Your children under the age of 18 are also eligible for a permanent residence permit in Montenegro in the following three cases:

One parent is a Montenegrin citizen and holds legal residency in Montenegro
Both parents are permanent residents of Montenegro at the time of the child’s birth
One parent holds permant residency in Montenegro while the other is unknown or has died

The validity of the permanent residence permit for children under the age of 4 is two years (instead of 5 years for everyone else) and can be renewed upon expiry.

Permanent Residency Benefits & Responsibilities

Permanent residents of Montenegro almost enjoy the same rights and benefits as citizens, save a few special things like voting and holding public sector employment. They have a right to:

work and enjoy unemployment benefits
study and take vocational and professional training courses
access Montenegro’s public health insurance system and enjoy social security benefits
take advantage of available tax reliefs
unionize, which encompasses both the employee and the employeer

Your permanent residence permit can be revoked by the Montenegrin Government if you continually spend more than one year outside the country. You can then requalify for obtaining permanent residency after spending three years in Montenegro on a temporary residency visa. You are also entitled to appeal the decision.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

You can apply for permanent residency in Montenegro if you have had a temporary residence permit for more than 5 years.
This visa allows you to live in Montenegro permanently, as well as work, study, and receive social benefits in the same way as Montenegrin citizens
Processing Time: up to 6 months
You can also include your partner and dependent children aged 18 and under in your residency application
You will also be granted extra protection against expulsion
The residency is valid for five years and must be renwed upon 8 days of expiry (after 5 years)

EU Citizens

EU citizens and their (third country national) family members can also acquire a permanent residence permit in Montenegro if they have lived there legally for continuous period of at least 5 years, meaning that they must have spent no more than one year in total or up to 6 months in a row outside Montenegro and/or the European Union during the 5-year period preceeding the residency application. However, there are a few exceptions when permanent residency is granted sooner:

Permanent Residency is immediately granted to spoused of Montenegro citizens or ex Montenegro citizens who lost Montenegrin citizenship due to marriage
EU citizen is close to retirement age and has spent the previous three years in Montenegro as a temporary resident, out of which he was (self) employed for at least one year
EU citizen has spent at least 2 years in Montenegro on a temporary residency visa and suffers an incapacity to work after any sickness or disease
EU citizen suffers and suffers a permanent distability due to a workplace injury
EU citizen visits Montenegro once a week while still having his/her temporary residence permit and working abroad in a EU country
Third country nationals married to a EU citizen who had spent at least two years in Montenegro on a work-related visa and then died (the period is shorter for fatal work-related injuries
Permanent Residency is instantly granted to spouses and dependent children aged 18 and below of EU citizens holding a permanent residence permit in Montenegro

EU citizens enjoy faster processing times (3 months instead of 6 months for non-EU applicants), plus permanent residency IDs are granted for a period of 10 years (instead of 5 years). They and their third-country-national may run the risk of losing their permanent residency status after continuously being outside Montenegro for more than 2 years.

As part of Montenegro’s special immigration regulations for EU citizens, they further allow applicants to include the following family members in their residency application:

biological or adopted children under 22 years of age
your spouse or common-law partner’s dependent child
relatives if they are seriously ill or economically dependent on you

EU Blue Card Holders

Tailor-made to attract highly qualified university graduates to jobs in occupations where there is a lack of technically skilled staff from third countries, a holder of a EU Blue Card can also qualify for a permanent residence permit in Montenegro under the following conditions:

Has continuously spent at least five years in Montenegro without leaving Montenegro or the European Union for more than 18 months (or 12 months in a row) during this 5-year period
Alternatively: Has spent at least two years in Montenegro and, before that, another three years in a EU country