Currently, immigration to Montenegro is the most popular immigration program in the post-Soviet region, as anyone who wishes to can immigrate to Montenegro. Unlike immigration programs in Western Europe, you won’t face complicated or difficult requirements. Obtaining a residence permit is simple and affordable.

Our company offers several options for obtaining a residence permit:

You can get a residence permit by registering a company in Montenegro. This is currently the most popular immigration option.
You can get a residence permit by purchasing real estate in the country.
You can get a residence permit by enrolling in a university.
You can get a residence permit through employment.

Please note that our office is located in Montenegro. By working with us, you are ordering a full immigration service package directly from local specialists — without overpaying middlemen. We are one of the oldest immigration firms in the Russian-speaking internet, working since 2005. We know all aspects of life and immigration in Montenegro very well. Contact us for a free consultation and see for yourself.

Let’s take a closer look at the different residence permit options mentioned above.

Business immigration to Montenegro

Montenegro doesn’t drain money from immigrants like EU countries do. Immigration to Montenegro is simple and affordable.

Business Immigration Programs are available in all European countries, but with different requirements. In other European countries, foreigners can obtain a residence permit if they register a company and invest a certain amount into the company, usually in the range of hundreds of thousands of euros.

Business immigration to Montenegro stands out from other countries due to the absence of requirements for the created business. You simply register a company and get a residence permit based on that. It does not matter how much you pay in taxes, how much you invest, or if you have an office. The minimum charter capital in the company you create can be as low as 1 euro.

Also, it is important that after receiving the residence permit, you will pay much less in taxes compared to other European countries. Relatively low costs for maintaining the company make it possible for not only big businessmen but also freelancers, small business owners, and people who do nothing in the country but live off income from their homeland to immigrate. Recently, Russians have also been coming to Montenegro in search of work.

Documents required for opening a company and obtaining a residence permit:

The future director needs a passport, a certificate of no criminal record, and education documents (a certificate or diploma).
For the spouse, a passport, certificate of no criminal record, birth certificate, and marriage certificate.
For minor children, birth certificates and passports. If the child is already 16 years old, a certificate of no criminal record is also required.
For adult children, parents, friends, and relatives, certificates of no criminal record, passports, and education documents (certificate or diploma) are needed. If the child is already 16, a certificate of no criminal record is required.

Additionally, after arrival, you will need to open a bank account with a deposit of 3,650 euros and obtain a statement. This amount is much lower than in other European countries. An employee of ours will accompany you to the bank and help open the account. After receiving the statement, you can withdraw the money. We can arrange a residence permit WITHOUT a bank account.

After arriving in the country, it is mandatory to register with the police and obtain a “white card.” Failure to obtain this document may lead to problems in the future. If you don’t know how to get the white card, please contact us for a consultation.

For enrolling children in school, if they have previously attended one, a personal file is needed.

Clarifications on the preparation of education documents for nostrification:
As you saw above, education documents are required for the director of the company to obtain a residence permit. It is important to note that the person who will be working in Montenegro (including the company directors) needs to have their education documents nostrified (recognized). This is a mandatory requirement for obtaining a residence permit. Any document you have, whether it’s a certificate or diploma, will suffice. We do NOT need a nostrification decision for submitting residence permit documents; it is enough to confirm that the nostrification application has been submitted to the ministry.

The ministry will issue a confirmation that is SUFFICIENT for submitting documents for the residence permit (you don’t need to wait for a nostrification decision). However, if you also want to receive a nostrification decision in the future, you will need to take additional steps. The ministry issues a nostrification decision only after receiving a response from the educational institution in your country. Russia and Ukraine are known for responding poorly to such requests, often never responding at all.

Therefore, if you finished school in Ukraine (ONLY FOR UKRAINIANS), we advise you to get an apostille on the education document. If you graduated in Russia (ONLY FOR RUSSIANS) and are submitting a certificate for nostrification, you should obtain a statement from the school administration confirming that the person did indeed attend and received the certificate with the specific number.

In this case, the ministry will not wait for a response to their request and will issue the nostrification decision immediately.

These actions (apostille for Ukrainians or obtaining a certificate from the school for Russians) are NOT mandatory, and you can still get a residence permit without them. But I strongly recommend you to follow these recommendations if possible. Although, of course, this is not always possible. For example, many schools in Russia have closed in the last 30 years, and it may be impossible to get the certificate. Also, you may have moved to another city, and it’s hard for you to obtain it. But if possible, do it. If not, feel free to ignore these recommendations. I hope I’ve explained everything clearly. If you have any questions regarding obtaining a residence permit, please contact us.

Stages of Obtaining a Residence Permit under the Business Immigration Program in Montenegro:

Stage 1. The first step is the most difficult: make the decision to immigrate to Montenegro. We recommend reading articles on our website, thinking about it, and discussing any questions with us over the phone. We have lived in Montenegro for many years, know the country very well, and can answer all your questions about opening a business, obtaining a residence permit, and living in the country.

Stage 2. If you’ve decided to move, it’s time to start registering the company. There are two options:

You can register the company before arriving in the country. For this, you will need to send two power of attorney forms and a notarized copy of your passport to our staff. Forms and detailed instructions can be requested from us via email or Skype. Your company will be registered by the time you arrive, and you will only need to get the residence permit.
You can come to our office in Herceg Novi, and we will prepare the founding documents, go with you to the notary to notarize them, and start the company registration process.

We recommend registering the company in advance, before arrival, as it will allow you to obtain the residence permit much faster.

Stage 3. Once the company is registered, you need to prepare documents for submitting a residence permit application. The residence permit will be processed within 30 days.

Stage 4. After the director receives the residence permit, documents should be submitted for the family members.

Residence Permit Based on Employment

This can involve both real and fictitious employment. People who are interested in a job are looking for one, and by the way, it’s not difficult to find. However, if you only need a residence permit, in such cases, people usually opt for fictitious employment. We can help you find a company that will hire you and arrange the residence permit.

In fact, fictitious employment has more downsides than advantages, and we strongly recommend obtaining a residence permit based on opening a company. It is more reliable, easier, and not more expensive. However, if you do not want to become the owner of your own business, we can arrange a residence permit on other grounds, including employment. Please contact us via Skype or other means, and we will provide detailed advice.

Currently, moving based on fictitious employment is not in demand, as it is not advantageous, and everyone understands this. However, people still come with the aim of finding a real job, and there are many vacancies. Before employment, you can order the recognition (nostrification) of your education document, which is required for obtaining a residence permit through work.

To obtain a residence permit as an employee, you will need a criminal record certificate and a nostrified education document. Additionally, you will need to open an account in a local bank with 3650 euros. To arrange a residence permit for family members, the same documents are required as for opening a company.

Residence Permit Based on Property Purchase

By purchasing an apartment, house, or commercial property in the country, you can obtain a residence permit. The law does not set any specific criteria for the value of the property, meaning you can obtain a residence permit based on purchasing any real estate. However, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons. Be sure to consult with us and decide how best to proceed with your residence permit. The thing is, when planning relocation, in some cases, it might be more beneficial to open a company, which we will explain below.

When obtaining a residence permit based on property ownership, compared to getting one based on company registration, there are both pros and cons. The benefits are clear: you don’t have to bear the costs of maintaining a business. Currently, these costs amount to 35 euros in taxes (such low taxes are only in Herceg Novi) and 50 euros per month for accounting services. Therefore, by obtaining a residence permit based on property purchase, you save 85 euros per month. However, there are drawbacks as well. With a residence permit based on company registration, you get free medical care! With a property-based residence permit, you won’t have this, as you are not paying taxes. Do you need free medical care? How often do you get sick?

Furthermore, if you have young children (ages 3 to 5), you will need to send them to kindergarten. If you have a residence permit based on owning a company, there’s no problem—your children can go to a state-funded kindergarten. But what if you have a residence permit based on property ownership? In this case, because you do not work in the country, you cannot claim a spot in a public kindergarten, but you can send your child to a private one. However, private kindergarten education is more expensive than maintaining a business.

As you can see, obtaining a residence permit based on property ownership does not always make sense. In some cases, it may be more beneficial to open a company.

Residence Permit Through Study

This method of legalization is described in detail in our section about studying abroad. Therefore, here we will only cover the main points.

Admission to the universities we offer is guaranteed. Knowledge of the Serbian language is not required for admission. The cost of education is relatively low, with the annual tuition fee around 1250 euros.

Our services include organizing the admission to the university and arranging the residence permit.

Residence Permit for Digital Nomads

A digital nomad is a foreigner who works for a foreign legal entity (company or entrepreneur) and performs work electronically (via the internet). However, it’s important to distinguish between “working” and “providing services.” They are not the same. You must be employed by the employer, meaning you should be on their payroll, receive a salary, etc.

The required documents are as follows:

Criminal record certificate.
Proof of registration of your employer, including the registration decision and confirmation of registration with the tax authorities.
A contract with your employer confirming that your salary is at least three times the minimum wage in Montenegro. You can easily check the minimum wage by contacting us using the contact information provided on this website.
Proof of funds in a bank account.
Other documents will be prepared with our assistance in Montenegro.

If you have a family, you can apply for a residence permit through family reunification. The document package is the same as for family reunification when one of the family members opened a business; the list of documents is provided above.

This type of residence permit is issued for two years and can be extended once. After that, you must leave the country for at least six months. Therefore, please note that this type of residence permit cannot transition to permanent residency (PR) or citizenship in the future. However, it is an interesting option for those who do not plan to live in the country for a long time. If your plan is to live in Europe for a couple of years and then return to your homeland, this is a perfectly viable option for legalization.

Aside from the inability to transition to PR and citizenship, there are a few other drawbacks:

To get the residence permit, you need to open a bank account and deposit a certain amount of money. The problem is that most banks will only open accounts for foreigners if they already have a residence permit. Without a residence permit, you can only open an account in certain banks on a paid basis, with fees ranging from 540 to 1100 euros. These are official bank tariffs. For obtaining a residence permit based on opening a company, a bank account is not required at the moment, so there is no such problem. However, for residence permits based on property, study, and for digital nomads, opening an account is only possible on a paid basis.
When immigrating as a digital nomad, there are non-standard requirements for the rental contract, which needs to be signed when submitting documents for the residence permit. Without going into details, I can say that property owners will not be able to avoid paying taxes. As a result, many will add 15% to the rental price to cover taxes.

Why You Should Immigrate to Montenegro

So, why should you choose Montenegro for immigration, especially when there are many other countries to consider? There are essentially two main reasons:

Living in Montenegro is much more comfortable than in Russia.
The options for immigration are limited right now, and in most developed countries, obtaining a residence permit (RP) is only available to wealthy Russians. In developed countries, you cannot simply get an RP by registering a company. You must contribute significantly to the country, invest a lot of money, create jobs, and pay high taxes. If you are able to meet these requirements, you could immigrate to almost any European country. However, for most Russians, the choice is between staying in their homeland or moving to Montenegro.

Advantages of Obtaining a Residence Permit:

The environment in Montenegro is the best in Europe.
The climate in Montenegro is also considered one of the best in Europe. Summers along the coast are moderately hot, and winters are mild. Daytime temperatures in winter range from 3°C to 20°C.
Crime in Montenegro is minimal. In Russian terms, it is virtually nonexistent.
There is no rudeness in Montenegro.
Immigration to Montenegro is accessible to everyone. The costs of obtaining a residence permit are much lower compared to other countries.
After obtaining the residence permit, you will pay significantly lower taxes than in other countries.
The current residence permit issuance rate is 100%.

What You Get with the “Business Immigration” Program:

The right to permanently reside in the country.
The ability to send your child to a free school and public kindergarten.
Free healthcare.