To be able to continuously reside on Montenegro you need to obtain a permanent residence permit.
Who can get a permit?
A foreigner who has legally stayed in Montenegro for five consecutive years before submitting an application for a temporary residence permit or approved additional protection in accordance with the legislation governing the granting of asylum.
As an exception, permanent residence may be granted to a foreigner who has been granted temporary residence in Montenegro for a period of less than five years continuously before submitting an application, if humanitarian reasons require it ,or it would be in the interest of Montenegro.
How to obtain a permanent residence permit for a child?
A permanent residence permit can be issued to a child under the condition that:
Both parents obtained permanent residence at the time of his/her birth
One of the parents at the time of his birth is a citizen of Montenegro and permanently resides in Montenegro or a foreigner who has a permanent place of residence, with the consent of the other parent
One of the parents has a permanent residence permit at the time of his birth, and the other parent is unknown or deceased.
What are the conditions for issuing a permanent residence permit?
A foreigner may be granted a permanent residence permit if they:
Have a valid foreign travel document
Have not been sentenced to imprisonment for more than six months for a criminal offense, or the legal consequences of the conviction have ceased
Have not been sentenced to imprisonment for more than six months in the country of origin for a criminal offense, or the legal consequences of the conviction have been suspended
Have the means to support themselves
Have health insurance
Have accommodation
There are no restrictions for reasons of national security, public order or public health.
Submission of an application for a permanent residence permit
An application for a permanent residence permit is submitted by a foreigner in person to the Ministry at his place of residence using the prescribed form.
At the time of submitting an application for a permanent residence permit, a foreigner must have a temporary residence permit.
What is the deadline for accepting a permit application?
An application for the issuance of a permanent residence permit is accepted within six months from the moment of submission of a complete application.
What is the validity period of a permanent residence permit?
A permanent residence permit is issued for five years.
A foreigner under the age of four is issued a permanent residence permit for two years. Within eight days after the expiration of the permit, you can apply for replacement of the permit for permanent residence.
What rights will you have with permanent residence?
A foreigner granted permanent residence in Montenegro has the right to:
Work
Education and professional training
Recognition of diplomas and certificates
Social, medical and pension insurance
Tax benefits
Access to the market of goods and services
Freedom of association, membership in organizations representing the interests of workers or employers.
A foreigner can fulfill their right in accordance with the laws regulating the manner of exercising these rights.
Montenegrin citizenship is issued for the following reasons:
Citizenship by origin
A child acquires Montenegrin citizenship by birth:
Whose both parents are citizens of Montenegro at the time of the child's birth
One of whose parents is a citizen of Montenegro at the time of the child's birth, and the child was born in Montenegro
One of whose parents is a citizen of Montenegro at the time of the child's birth, the other parent has no citizenship or is unknown, and the child was born on the territory of another state
One of whose parents at the time of the child's birth is a citizen of Montenegro, and the child was born on the territory of another state, if the child is to remain stateless
Born on the territory of another state, one of whose parents is a citizen of Montenegro at the time of the child's birth, if the application for entry into the Book of Births and the Register of Citizens of Montenegro is submitted before the child reaches the age of 18, if the child does not have the citizenship of another state
A person who has turned 18 years old, one of whose parents is a citizen of Montenegro, and the other is a citizen of another state, if the application for entry into the Register of Citizens of Montenegro is submitted before the child reaches 23 years of age
In case of full adoption, if one of the adopters is a citizen of Montenegro.
Citizenship by birth
Montenegrin citizenship by birth on the territory of Montenegro is acquired by a child born or found on the territory of Montenegro, if both parents are unknown or unknown by nationality or stateless, or if the child remains stateless.
Citizenship by naturalization
A person acquires Montenegrin citizenship through admission:
Who has been granted permanent residence in Montenegro in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Foreigners
Who has been married to a citizen of Montenegro for at least 3 years
Has a permanent residence in Montenegro
Whose citizenship would be of particular interest to Montenegro.
A Montenegrin emigrant and a member of their family in the third degree of kinship in the direct line can obtain Montenegrin citizenship by admission if they have legally and permanently resided in Montenegro for at least two years and meet the conditions of the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship: https://www.imidaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Montenegrin-Citizenship-Act.pdf.
A person who has been married to a Montenegrin citizen for at least three years and has lived in Montenegro legally and continuously for at least five years can obtain Montenegrin citizenship through naturalization and if the conditions specified in paragraphs 1 of Article 8: 1, 4, 5 and 7 of this Law has been fulfilled.
A child acquires Montenegrin citizenship through admission if:
Both parents acquired Montenegrin citizenship through admission
One of the parents acquired Montenegrin citizenship through admission and if he/she legally and permanently resides in Montenegro with the child
Legally and permanently resides in Montenegro with the adoptive parent, who is a Citizen of Montenegro, in case of incomplete adoption.
What are the conditions for obtaining citizenship?
You can get Montenegrin citizenship if:
You are over 18 years old
You are released from the citizenship of another state
You have lived continuously in Montenegro for 10 years before applying for citizenship
You have housing and a guaranteed source of income in Montenegro, which is sufficient for social and material security
You have a clean criminal record
You have basic knowledge of the Montenegrin language
You have settled all legal obligations such as taxes before applying.
Citizenship based on international treaties
Montenegrin citizenship can be obtained on the basis of ratified international treaties or agreements signed by Montenegro.
What is the procedure for obtaining citizenship in Montenegro?
In order to successfully apply, you will need to provide some personal documents for yourself and your family members:
Citizenship application form
A notarized copy of the passport (certified by an apostille is an international stamp, standard in design, which confirms the legality of a certain document)
Original birth certificate/extract
Original marriage certificate/extract
Medical insurance policy valid in Montenegro
Medical opinion with an assessment of the state of health for the presence of infectious diseases
A document confirming the origin of funds for your investments and fees.
After you apply, a government official will assess and determine whether you are a suitable candidate for Montenegrin citizenship.
Entry into Montenegro is possible at:
- a valid biometric or non-biometric passport, as well as a copy thereof;
- internal passport in the form of a book or id-card, as well as their copies;
- children under 18 years of age with a birth certificate.
! If you have any problems entering invalid or missing documents, you can use the option to ask the police for temporary protection or asylum right at the border. In this case, citizens of Ukraine must be admitted with available documents.
If you have an expired passport, you can renew it, under a new temporary order, at any Ukrainian Embassy or Consulate until you enter Montenegro.
COVID document
No vaccination or test confirmation is required to enter Montenegro, entry is free.
Entrance with animals
According to the Embassy, entry with animals is allowed with or without any available documents for the animal.
Rules of stay
1) apply for temporary protection in Montenegro.
All citizens of Ukraine and foreigners with temporary / permanent residence permits in Ukraine, as well as other separate categories are subject to temporary protection in Montenegro.
Temporary protection can be applied for regardless of the date of entry and the period of stay in Montenegro. You can apply if you have registered / not registered as a tourist, if you have already applied for a residence permit or shelter. No restrictions, everyone can apply.
The term of temporary protection is one year with the possibility of its extension.
Rights, guarantees and opportunities:
1) health care (free medicine in public institutions);
2) primary and secondary education (only school, kindergartens are not included);
3) work;
4) family reunification;
5) the right to apply for international protection (asylum, asylum).
!! Find out more about these rights and how to use them at the crisis relief headquarters in Bar - https://sites.google.com/view/barukrhelp/кризовий-штаб-у-м-бар?authuser=0
There are no restrictions, including the right to move freely around the country and change the place of residence / work. You can return to Ukraine at any time (temporary protection automatically terminates). You are also free to go abroad, but before the trip you must inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro about the reasons and duration of such a trip.
Procedure. It is necessary to apply to the regional offices of the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro with all available documents at the place of residence. All persons over 18 years of age apply individually, parents additionally apply for their children under 18 years of age. After the application is submitted, photographs and fingerprints are taken, and confirmation of the application for temporary protection is issued. Then there is a period of up to 30 days for inspections provided by law. After receiving a positive result of the inspection, persons are issued a certificate for one year of obtaining the status of a foreigner under temporary protection in Montenegro.
With confirmation of the application for temporary protection, as well as a certificate of temporary protection, you apply to the relevant institutions for the implementation of guaranteed rights (hospital, school, etc.).
!! All persons who do not have a passport must first apply to the Embassy for a temporary identity document.
2) apply for asylum in Montenegro.
To do this, at any time during your stay in Montenegro, you must personally apply in the city of Podgorica to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Directorate for Political Asylum (asylum) and submit an application, along with supporting documents. It can take up to two years for your application to be processed by law. Currently, you enjoy the protection of Montenegro and can stay in its territory without paying tourist tax or without a residence permit. All rights and opportunities will be explained to you when submitting documents. Political asylum provides the right to stay in Montenegro, freedom of movement, housing, employment, health care and family unity. After accepting the documents, you will be issued a certificate of confirmation, with which you can apply for the exercise of the relevant rights:
- for free treatment - to public hospitals in your cities;
- for employment - through the employment office in your city (zavod za zaposaljavanje). There is almost no chance of getting a job this way, due to the high percentage of unemployed Montenegrin citizens.
- for free housing - only if there are places in the center of the political shelter in Podgorica. Conditions of stay and accommodation in such a center remain very low.
- for social assistance - in the centers of social assistance in your city (center for social work). Payment is not guaranteed and is approximately 90 euros per month.
!! The political asylum does not impose any restrictions on returning to Ukraine or leaving the country. The only thing is that if you go abroad, you lose the right to political asylum and all the rights associated with it.
3) stay in Montenegro as a tourist.
You must register with your local tourist office and pay the tourist tax within 24 hours of entry. Tourist tax is 1 euro per day. You can stay in Montenegro without a visa for 90 days.
4) apply for a residence permit in Montenegro.
You can do this at any time during your visa-free stay. It is not possible to obtain a residence permit for humanitarian reasons. The most acceptable for you is "kinship" if your family lives here, or "employment" if you open a company or get a job. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro has assured that it will accept documents even in the absence of certain necessary originals or copies of documents.
Explanation to citizens of Ukraine who do not have valid (biometric) passports.
If you are entering / have already entered Montenegro with an old passport (non-biometric), with a domestic passport, or children with a birth certificate, pay attention to the following important circumstances.
1. When you leave Ukraine and enter the EU (Poland, Hungary, Romania, etc.) you are given the right to "preferential entry". You can stay or travel to your destination country in the EU without any problems. But when you go further south through Serbia to Montenegro, you leave the EU (neither Serbia nor Montenegro is a European Union country) and accordingly leave the "preferential entry conditions". It will be impossible or extremely difficult to re-enter the EU without valid (biometric) passports.
2. What to do in this situation?
If you are returning to Ukraine, currently the only possible option is to issue a certificate of return to Ukraine. As the number of document forms is limited, those who have already decided to return 100% know how and when to apply. This document will give you the right to return to Ukraine by the shortest route.
If you want to continue from Montenegro to the EU, you have two options. The first is to wait for the possibility of obtaining a foreign (biometric) passport at the Embassy. The second is to try to travel by car through Croatia and Slovenia to EU countries (travel by plane is impossible, without valid documents you will not be put on a flight). Importantly. To travel to EU countries in this way, you must send notarized invitations from your relatives, friends, employers, etc., confirming the country of destination, location, purpose of entry. If you are looking for the best temporary protection program in the EU, you may be denied entry by the Border Guard to prevent illegal migration. Therefore, this option is not impossible, but is at your own risk, and the Embassy does not guarantee the unimpeded passage of borders.
3. And finally, a popular question - if you apply for a temporary protection program in Montenegro, whether it can be done later in the EU. As of now, yes, it is possible. EU countries only plan to introduce a single system of temporary protection to prevent the submission of documents in two or more countries at the same time. But even after the introduction of such a system, it is unlikely that Montenegro, if not an EU country, will be integrated into it. The only thing is that some EU countries can introduce a time frame for applying for a temporary protection program, for example from the date of the start of the war in Ukraine and for a certain period of time.
Possibility of registration of the foreign passport
The embassy begins registration and production of foreign passports in two stages:
- from April 25, to citizens of Ukraine who temporarily or permanently reside in the territory of Montenegro, ie only to those who have a residence permit (boravak).
- from May 23 to citizens of Ukraine who have acquired the status of temporary protection in Montenegro and received the relevant confirmation.
!! The deadline for the production and delivery of passports to Montenegro is unknown and will be approximately 3 to 6 months.
Those citizens who want to return to Ukraine and do not have a valid biometric passport must do the following:
- who has a non-biometric passport - to issue a transit visa at the Romanian Embassy in Montenegro;
- who has an expired passport - to extend the validity of the Embassy;
- for children with a birth certificate - paste a photo in the passport of one of the parents at the Embassy;
- who does not have a passport - to issue a certificate of return to Ukraine at the Embassy.
From April 25, the consular reception at the Embassy takes place only by appointment in the online queue of the Embassy at the link https://online.mfa.gov.ua/
Admission of citizens without registration will be possible only if there are vacancies during the day.
!! If you register from Russian e-mail addresses or phone numbers, you will be logged out immediately.
Departure from Montenegro
Citizens of Ukraine who have already received temporary protection in Montenegro are free to travel abroad. You do not have to inform the police about your departure and there are no restrictions on the duration of your departure. If you return to Ukraine or move to another country, you must write a waiver. The application is submitted in free form in the Montenegrin language in Mupa of your city together with the confirmation of protection.
!! According to the law, if you have not yet received protection, but only in the process of obtaining it, you cannot leave Montenegro because you are being investigated. In case of urgent emergencies (for your consideration) you can notify the Directorate of Integration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Podgorica, email at [email protected]
Montenegro