Montenegro citizenship by investment: closed since 31 December 2022

No. The last day to file was 31 December 2022, and the Government's own reports describe the programme as having "lasted until 31 December 2022"^[4]. The Investment Agency of Montenegro, which ran the scheme, no longer accepts applications, and the three licensed agents (Henley & Partners Government Services, Arton Group and Apex Capital Partners) only handled files submitted before the deadline^[4].

Two legal layers matter here. The Law on Montenegrin Citizenship still contains Article 12, which allows an adult whose admission is "of special importance" for the state, scientific, economic, cultural, sports or other interest of Montenegro to be naturalised "exceptionally" without meeting the normal conditions^[1]. The investor programme was built on top of that clause through a separate Government Decision with a fixed price list and a cap of 2,000 approvals^[4]. The Decision has expired, but Article 12 has not been repealed, which is why the European Commission's December 2025 report still asks Montenegro to "ensure that the legal basis of the scheme is repealed"^[5].

In practice Article 12 is a discretionary, case-by-case power. The Ministry of Interior decides: for the state interest on a proposal from the President, the Speaker of Parliament or the Prime Minister, and for the other interests with an opinion from the administrative body responsible for the field concerned^[1]. It is not a product, it has no published price, and no lawful intermediary can sell it. Given the EU accession context described below, any offer of a "Montenegro passport for investment" in 2026 should be treated as a red flag.

The programme was formally called the Special Investment Programme of particular importance for the economic interest of Montenegro. An applicant had to deposit into escrow at least €450,000 for a development project in Podgorica or the coastal region, or at least €250,000 for a project in the northern or central region (excluding Podgorica)^[4]. Projects had to be on a Government-approved List of development projects. Almost all were hotels and branded residences: of the roughly €251.7 million paid into projects by 2026, 99.8% went to tourism and only €0.5 million to agriculture or processing^[8] (the Government's own figure at 31 January 2025 was €249.6 million^[4]). The agriculture rules explain why: a qualifying primary-farming project had to involve at least €2 million in total and employ at least ten people, and food-processing and wood-processing projects at least €3.5 million and €4 million with 20 jobs each^[6].

On top of the investment, each application paid a non-refundable €100,000 donation to a special account for the development of less-developed municipalities^[4]. Some agents describe a second €100,000 payment to the Innovation Fund of Montenegro^[13][21]. The Government confirms that €31.0 million reached the Innovation Fund by January 2025, which suggests the second payment applied to only part of the files (roughly 310), probably those filed after a later amendment; the exact rule could not be confirmed from the published decision text^[4].

Files went through the Investment Agency, an international due-diligence ("international eligibility") agent whose negative opinion led to refusal, and finally the Ministry of Interior, which issued the decision on admission^[4][20]. Funds moved from escrow only after an independent auditor confirmed each transfer^[4].

Montenegro chose to keep processing files filed before the deadline instead of cancelling them. The pace was slow: at 31 January 2025 the Government reported 860 approvals, 239 refusals (after a negative due-diligence report or failure to meet the criteria), 11 files with the Ministry of Interior and 3 with the auditor^[4]. By 30 April 2026 the count was 867 approved and 7 pending. About 25 refused applicants were challenging their refusals in the administrative courts, and roughly €8 million remained blocked in escrow during the litigation^[7]. Investors whose files were refused should take legal advice on escrow refunds and court remedies; the Government has not published a general refund rule.

Citizenship already granted remains valid. Under Article 24 of the Citizenship Law, however, an adult dual national loses Montenegrin citizenship by operation of law if the admission decision was based on false statements or deliberate concealment, if they are convicted of terrorism or crimes against humanity, or if their conduct "seriously harms the vital interests of Montenegro"^[1]. The European Commission has asked Montenegro to review citizenships granted to people under international restrictive measures and revoke them "where appropriate"^[5]. Holders with a clean file have little to fear, but investor citizens are under closer scrutiny than other Montenegrins.

Without the investor route, foreigners become Montenegrin through admission (naturalisation) under Article 8 of the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship. The applicant must^[1][2]:

• be at least 18 years old;
• have a release from their current citizenship (see the dual-citizenship section);
• have lived in Montenegro lawfully and without interruption for 10 years before applying;
• have secured accommodation and a permanent source of income in Montenegro sufficient for material and social security;
• have no final prison sentence of more than one year for an offence prosecuted ex officio, in Montenegro or abroad (unless its legal consequences have expired);
• speak Montenegrin well enough for basic communication;
• pose no security or defence risk; and
• have paid all tax and other legal obligations due.

Under the Government's criteria, "secured accommodation" means owning a flat or house (or a close family member owning it), or renting under a written lease certified by a court. A "permanent source of income" means indefinite employment, a Montenegrin pension, another lasting income, or statutory maintenance by another person^[3]. The 2008 criteria also said that an absence of more than 90 days interrupts continuous residence^[3]. Whether the 90-day rule still applies in the same form after the 2022 rewrite of the criteria has not been confirmed, so plan your travel around it unless a lawyer confirms otherwise.

Shorter special routes

Article 10 lets a Montenegrin emigrant and their descendants to the third degree in direct line apply after only two years of lawful residence. Under Article 11, a spouse of a Montenegrin citizen can apply after three years of marriage and five years of lawful residence, without the language test and without the release requirement^[1]. Recognised refugees and stateless people have adapted conditions (Articles 13–14). Article 12, the exceptional "special interest" clause, remains on the books but is discretionary and politically sensitive^[1][5].

This is the realistic path for an investor who wants a Montenegrin passport in 2026. It starts with residence and takes about a decade^{[1][11][18][22]}.

The investor programme was marketed with processing of around six months^[21]. Reality was slower: files filed in 2022 were still being decided in 2025 and 2026, and a handful remained open more than three years after the deadline^[4][7]. That backlog says little about future practice because no new investor files are accepted.

For ordinary naturalisation, the decisive factor is the 10-year residence period^[1]. Neither the law nor the Government publishes a target decision time for admission requests. Local press reported that in the year to April 2023 about 675 people were naturalised under the simplified criteria while more than 2,300 requests were pending, which points to long queues^[12]. A realistic plan for an investor starting in 2026 is: temporary residence from 2026, permanent residence around 2031, a citizenship application around 2036, and a decision some time after that.

Under the closed programme, one application could include the investor's spouse, children under 18 and financially dependent adult children, according to agent summaries, with family members paying separate administrative and due-diligence fees^[21]. That is why the 1,282 citizenship decisions issued in 2024 alone outnumber the 867 approved applications in total^[5][7].

Under ordinary naturalisation, a child acquires citizenship by admission together with a naturalised parent if both parents are admitted, or if one parent is admitted and the child lives lawfully with them in Montenegro. The other parent must consent unless stateless, and a child over 14 must also agree. The child must not hold another citizenship or must have been released from it^[1]. A foreign spouse does not become a citizen automatically: they follow the marriage route in Article 11 (three years of marriage and five years of residence)^[1].

Montenegro is one of the more restrictive countries in Europe on dual nationality. Ordinary naturalisation requires a release from your foreign citizenship^[1]. The only exceptions are stateless applicants, people whose own law makes them lose their old nationality automatically, and people refused a release because of unsettled military service who sign a renunciation statement^[1]. Dual citizenship can otherwise arise only from a ratified international treaty, on a reciprocal basis (Article 18)^[1]. A treaty with Serbia has been discussed for years, but we could not confirm any such treaty in force.

The rule also works in reverse. An adult Montenegrin who voluntarily acquires another citizenship loses Montenegrin citizenship by operation of law, unless a treaty provides otherwise (Article 24)^[1]. A naturalised Montenegrin who later buys a Caribbean passport should therefore expect to lose the Montenegrin one.

Investor citizens were the big exception. Because they were admitted under the "special interest" clause in Article 12, which sets aside the Article 8 conditions including release, they kept their original passports^[1][13]. That privilege disappeared with the programme. Anyone advertising a dual-nationality Montenegrin passport today is describing a route that no longer exists.

A foreigner can obtain a Montenegrin passport only after becoming a citizen. Residence permits never lead to a passport on their own. In the 2026 Henley Passport Index the Montenegrin passport ranks 41st, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 127 destinations, including short stays in the Schengen area^[13][14]. That is weaker than the leading Caribbean investment passports, but it carries something they do not: a credible prospect of EU membership.

By 14 July 2026 Montenegro had provisionally closed 18 of 33 negotiating chapters. The Government aims to finish negotiations by the end of 2026 and join the EU in 2028, and an EU working party is already drafting the accession treaty^[19][25]. If and when Montenegro joins, its citizens will become EU citizens. That is exactly why Brussels insisted the investor scheme close and why the remaining legal basis is under pressure^[5]. Treat the 2028 date as a target, not a guarantee: ratification by every member state is still ahead.

Montenegro taxes residents on worldwide income and non-residents on Montenegrin-source income. You are resident if you have your domicile or centre of personal and economic interests in Montenegro, or spend at least 183 days there in a tax year^[15][16]. Citizenship by itself does not create tax residence.

Personal income tax is low. Salaries are taxed at 0% up to €700 a month, 9% from €700.01 to €1,000 and 15% above that, with a municipal surtax of 13% of the tax (15% in Podgorica and Cetinje). Entrepreneurial income uses the same 0/9/15% structure on annual bands of €8,400 and €12,000, and most other personal income is taxed at 15%^[15]. VAT is 21%^[17]. Property transfer tax is progressive from 3% to 6% of market value and is payable within 15 days^[17]. Since 2026 the transfer-tax assessment also serves as the official proof that a property meets the €150,000 residence threshold^[18]. Annual property tax is set by municipalities at 0.25% to 1% of market value^[17]. We have not verified inheritance and gift tax rates for this page, so take advice before planning an estate around Montenegro.

The live investor route in Montenegro is temporary residence based on real estate. Amendments to the Law on Foreigners adopted by Parliament on 31 December 2025 and published in the Official Gazette (Sl. list CG 3/2026) on 9 January 2026^[23] introduced a minimum tax-assessed value of €150,000 for third-country nationals. The decisive evidence is the municipality's transfer-tax decision, not the price in the contract. Applicants must prove ownership and actual use of the property and have no unpaid property tax. The permit lasts one year, is renewable, and does not allow employment or business activity. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are exempt from the threshold, and permits granted on property before the change can be renewed under the old rules^[18].

The route is not settled. In May 2026 a foreign residents' foundation asked the Constitutional Court to review the €150,000 threshold, and the Government, defending it, said the property-residence basis could even be abolished because of abuse risks^[24]. Check the current rules before you buy.

Compared with the old passport programme, this route is cheap: €150,000 against €350,000–€650,000 or more. But it is a residence product with a ten-year road to a passport and, for most nationalities, renunciation of your current citizenship at the end^[1][18].

If what you want is a second passport within a few months, Montenegro cannot help. These live options cover the main goals that drew investors to Montenegro^[5]:

• Fast second passport, dual nationality kept: the Eastern Caribbean programmes, for example Grenada citizenship (from about $235,000, with E-2 treaty access to the US) or St Kitts and Nevis citizenship. Compare them in our Caribbean CBI comparison. Note that the EU now treats such schemes as a possible ground for suspending visa-free travel.
• Passport near Europe through real estate: Turkish citizenship by property investment (from $400,000 with a three-year hold) gives a passport in months, without Schengen access.
• EU residence with a longer path to citizenship: Greece's residence-by-investment programme (from €250,000) or Hungary's guest investor programme (from a €250,000 fund) give Schengen residence. Citizenship still requires years of real residence.
• Balkan base on a smaller budget: residence in Serbia through property or a company and Albanian residence have no fixed investment minimum.

For context on other European programmes that were shut down, see what happened to Malta's investor citizenship, the end of the Cyprus passport programme, Bulgaria's abolished scheme and Moldova's abolished programme, all collected in our overview of closed programmes. The guide to EU citizenship by investment and the budget ranking of passport programmes show what is still on offer worldwide.

Montenegro suits people who actually want to live on the Adriatic, are comfortable buying a property worth €150,000 or more, value low income taxes, and see a Montenegrin passport as a long-term bet on EU accession, not a quick travel document. It also suits people of Montenegrin descent (two-year route) and spouses of citizens (five-year route)^[1][18].

Look elsewhere if you need a second passport soon, need to keep your current nationality, or do not plan to live in Montenegro for most of the year. The ten-year residence rule, the renunciation requirement and the automatic loss of citizenship on acquiring another nationality make Montenegro a poor "plan B" passport^[1]. Investors who want a passport quickly and nationality-neutral should compare the programmes in our citizenship by investment hub.