What is the nostrification of educational documents in Montenegro?
Nostrification means the recognition of educational documents obtained in another country. You can nostrify school certificates, university diplomas, and diplomas of secondary vocational education. In Montenegro, nostrifying documents is relatively simple, as we will see below. But first, a few words about why this is needed in the first place.
Why Nostrification is Needed in Montenegro
The reasons why people nostrify educational documents in Montenegro are the following:
- To enroll in universities in Montenegro. To apply for a bachelor’s program, you need to nostrify your school certificate; to apply for a master’s program, you need to nostrify your diploma.
- To work in Montenegro, if you have found an employer who requires a qualified specialist with a certain education.
- Sometimes nostrification is required to obtain a specific license — for example, a medical license.
- To apply for a residence permit in Montenegro.
Let’s look at this point in more detail. Under Montenegrin law, nostrification of educational documents has been required for many years. In practice, however, the Employment Bureau usually remembered this only at the end of the year and after a month would decide, “Never mind, we don’t need your nostrification.”
However, since April 2015, the situation changed: some functions previously handled by the Employment Bureau were transferred to the MUP. MUP immediately announced that from that moment on, nostrification is required for everyone planning to work in Montenegro. This means that nostrification must be done both by employees and company directors.
Nostrification is not required for those applying for residency under family reunification — for example, the director’s spouse and minor children.
Costs of Nostrification in Montenegro
So, now that we understand why nostrification is needed, let’s talk about how much it costs.
In addition to paying for our services, you will have the following expenses:
- Translation of educational documents.
- Power of attorney. This can be notarized in Montenegro or sent by mail from another country. If the power of attorney is notarized outside Montenegro, we will arrange for its translation into Montenegrin.
- Fee to the Ministry of Education — from 50 to 100 euros. The exact amount depends on the type of document being nostrified.
For example:- Nostrification of a higher education diploma costs 100 euros.
- Nostrification of a secondary or vocational education certificate costs 50 euros.
How to Order Nostrification of Your Educational Document
What do you need to do to complete the nostrification process?
You need to bring to our office or send by mail:
- A copy of your diploma or certificate (the one to be nostrified) with the transcript
- A copy of your passport
- A power of attorney
If you are in Montenegro, the power of attorney can be notarized by our notary. In general, aside from this simple document package and payment, nothing more is required from you. Also, your presence in Montenegro is not necessary.
Timeframe:
The Ministry issues a nostrification decision after it receives a confirmation in response to its request from your country. This process can be very fast or very slow, depending on the country.
- Some countries (e.g., Moldova and Turkey) reply quickly
- Others (e.g., Russia and Ukraine) take longer
If your goal is to work in Montenegro (as a company director or employee), you don’t need to wait for nostrification to be completed — when submitting documents, you will receive a confirmation letter, which is enough to apply for a residence permit (ВНЖ).
Additionally:
It is highly recommended, though not mandatory, to have a confirmation letter from your educational institution, stating:
- that a person with your name
- graduated in a specific year
- from a specific institution
- and received a diploma or certificate with a certain number
- with the seal and signature of the school director
This letter increases the chances of a positive nostrification result if your school does not reply to the request from the Montenegrin Ministry of Education.
