With its beautiful 294 km coastline and friendly and welcoming people, Montenegro is a new attraction point in the Adriatic for foreign investors. As a European Union candidate country, Montenegro offers two residency routes to foreign investors;

a. Temporary residency based on ownership of immovable property:

Foreign investors can freely invest in Montenegro real estate and acquire residency. There is no limitation in value or size of the property; however, for the residency purposes, the invested property should be an apartment, house, condo, hotel or restaurant. Cadastral extract, certificate of ownership on immovable property, is required to apply for residency.

Temporary residence permit issued based on the ownership of an immovable property does not authorize foreigner to work in Montenegro.Temporary residence shall be issued for period of one year and can be extended annually and may not lead to Permanent Residency.

b. Temporary residency for business owners: 

Foreign investor shall establish a company in Montenegro and may enjoy a temporary residence permit. The temporary residence permit for company owners includes also employment authorization, so there is no separate procedure for a work permit.

The employment shall be in the form of Executive Director position, otherwise, a confirmation from the Employment Bureau will be required. Employment Bureau confirmation may be a complicated and lengthy process. 

Temporary residence permit based on employment shall be issued for a period of 1 year and it can be extended up to 3 years.

The recommended for of Company in Montenegro for foreign investors is “Limited Liability Company (LLC)”. Procedure takes 7-10 days and required founding capital is only 1,00 Euro. Founders may be individuals or other legal entities (domestic or international).

The company must have a minimum of one employee (Executive Director) to operate and official registered address in Montenegro. In case the Executive Director is foreign national, than she or he must have a residency and and work permit as well.

Required documents for company establishment:

- Passport copy for individuals

- Certificate of incorporation, notice of articles for legal entities

Required documents for for residency and work permit:

- Police certificate 

- Original or certified copies of educational diplomas or credentials

There is legal obligation to pay salary to Executive Director, or any employees when they start to work for the company. Minimum salary by law is net EUR 195,00, meaning that taxes and insurances on salary are EUR 135,00.