Montenegro has overhauled its immigration framework with amendments to the Law on Foreigners, effectively creating a structured property-linked residency route and imposing new fiscal obligations on foreign business owners.
Adopted by parliament on the final day of 2025 and in force since January 17, the reforms apply stricter, more predictable rules while expanding certain residence opportunities, particularly for property investors and skilled workers.
The centerpiece is a newly codified minimum threshold. Third-country nationals seeking temporary residence based on real estate ownership must now demonstrate that their property has a taxable value of at least €150,000, as determined by the Tax Authority’s transfer tax assessment.
The requirement formalizes what had previously been a loosely regulated pathway that allowed foreigners to qualify for residency through property purchases without a stipulated minimum, giving it the contours of a bona fide residence-by-investment program.
Policy Architecture
Under the new law, applicants must prove both ownership and actual use of the property, and all property tax obligations must be settled. Residence granted on this basis is temporary, valid for one year and renewable, and does not permit employment or business activity in Montenegro.
The new property threshold is below the government’s initial goal of a minimum of €200,000, as set in its November 2025 amendments to the nationality law. After parliamentary debate, the final threshold was set at €150,000, potentially broadening the pool of eligible investors.
Foreign nationals who obtained property-based residence before the law took effect are grandfathered in and may renew their permits without meeting the new valuation requirement.
The standard path to Montenegrin citizenship requires 10 years of continuous legal residence: five on a temporary permit, followed by five on a permanent permit. However, Montenegro doesn’t recognize dual nationality.
A New Tax Floor for Foreign Business Owners
Alongside the property rules, the amended law introduces a minimum annual tax obligation for certain foreign entrepreneurs.
Executive directors and registered entrepreneurs who personally own more than 51% of a Montenegrin company can now extend their integrated work and residence permits only if the company has paid at least €5,000 in taxes and social contributions in the preceding year.
Authorities say the measure aims to address a loophole that allows foreign nationals to establish companies with minimal economic activity to secure residence permits.
They also announced that they began cross-checking data on inactive and insolvent foreign-owned companies in the months leading up to the reform, and that the new threshold provides a clear statutory benchmark.
Citizens of EU member states, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland are exempt from the €5,000 tax floor, as are foreign nationals who hold permanent residence, own less than 51% of shares, or hold permits on other grounds such as family reunification.
The law also expands the definition of eligible family members to explicitly include same-sex partners.
The Shadow of Montenegro’s Citizenship Program
Montenegro’s new investor residence pathway comes after the closure of its now-defunct citizenship-by-investment program (CIP).
Launched in 2019, the CIP offered Montenegrin citizenship in exchange for a combination of government donations and property investments: €450,000 for coastal or capital development, or €250,000 for the country’s less-developed northern regions, plus a €200,000 donation split between the state budget and a regional development fund.
The program attracted approximately 1,100 applications by the end of 2022, totaling more than €400 million in direct investments and budgetary contributions.
But it quickly came under sustained pressure from the European Union, which has long viewed CBI schemes with suspicion, particularly in candidate countries. The program eventually closed at the end of 2022.
The EU Membership Dimension
Montenegro has been in EU accession talks since 2012 and is widely regarded as the frontrunner among Western Balkans candidates.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić recently stated that Montenegro expects to join the bloc by 2028, pushing back against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s proposal to admit all Western Balkan nations simultaneously.
As such, Montenegro’s new property route could offer a comparatively affordable entry point into what could soon be the EU’s newest member state.
But its long-term appeal may hinge on two open questions: whether Montenegro actually secures accession by 2028, and whether Brussels, which has already cracked down on similar schemes in Malta and Cyprus, would allow the program to survive within the bloc.
