Montenegro “Committed” to Revoking CIP Citizenships of Sanctioned Individuals

Montenegro appears ready to revoke citizenship from sanctioned CIP participants following the European Commission’s recommendation in its seventh Visa Suspension Mechanism Report.

Montenegro processed 423 applications under its now-terminated Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) in 2023, granting citizenship to 701 individuals. Russians and Chinese nationals comprised the largest groups, at 396 and 65 new citizens, respectively.

The Montenegrin government informed the Commission that it “is committed to initiating proceedings for the loss of Montenegrin citizenship by force of law” for any CIP citizen who appears on international sanctions lists.

The Commission’s recommendations for Montenegro emphasized CIP oversight. It emphasized that the country must “screen and process” remaining applications using “the highest possible security standards.”

It also stressed that Montenegro should ensure “citizenship granted via that scheme to persons subject to international restrictive measures are revoked.”

The CIP also granted citizenship to nationals from numerous visa-restricted countries, including South Africa, Turkey, Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Belarus, Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

Montenegro ended its CIP on December 31, 2022, but continues to process applications submitted before this deadline. The Commission “will continue monitoring any developments in this regard until all pending applications have been processed.”

Five applications for North Macedonian “special economic” citizenship

The report also highlighted North Macedonia’s citizenship law, which allows citizenship for individuals of “special economic interest” without residence requirements.

North Macedonia reviewed no such applications in 2023, though five requests await assessment. The Commission cautioned that this provision “should not lead to a systematic granting of citizenship in return for investment, as it may be used to bypass the EU short-stay visa procedure.”

The Commission has urged North Macedonia to conduct thorough background vetting of applicants under the special economic interest law and avoid systematic citizenship grants based on investment alone.