Updated August 12, 2026

ME-DIR

Residency through business

Residency in Montenegrofor a director

The most affordable entry into a European status: your own company in Montenegro, a permit for a year with renewal and a path to permanent residence after five years.

Get a preliminary assessment Discuss the scenario

The conditions under the Montenegrin law on foreigners
Working since 2004
We register the company and run the renewals

A Montenegrin residence permit for a company director

from €10,000The budget for the launch

1 yearThe term of the permit

1-2 monthsTo the status

01 / About the program

How a director’s residency works

Montenegro issues a temporary residence permit to a foreigner who has registered a company and works in it as director. There is no investment threshold: what is needed is a working company, an employment contract in your own name and the payment of contributions. The status is issued for a year and renewed, and after five years of continuous residence permanent residence opens up.

There is no investment threshold

The share capital of the company is nominal; the main costs go on registration, accounting and the compulsory contributions for the director.

The company has to work

The permit rests on real activity: the contract with the director, the reporting, the payment of taxes and contributions. An empty firm will not get a renewal.

Residence is compulsory

Being out of the country for more than 30 days in a row without notice, or more than 90 days in a year, puts the status in question.

Montenegro is not in Schengen

The country is a candidate for the European Union but so far belongs neither to the EU nor to the Schengen area. The status gives no visa-free entry to Europe.

02 / What you get

What Montenegrin residency gives you

A low entry point

One of the most affordable European statuses in money: the costs run to thousands of euro, not hundreds of thousands.

A quick process

1-2 months from registering the company to the card — faster than most European programmes.

The right to work and do business

You officially run your own company, draw a salary and pay contributions into the local system.

A status for the family

A spouse and minor children are arranged through family reunification on the basis of your status.

The path to permanent residence

After five years of continuous residence permanent residence opens up, with naturalisation possible after that.

Moderate taxes

The corporate and income tax rates are lower than in most EU countries. We do the specific calculation with an accountant.

A preliminary assessment

Calculate the budget for your family

Set out who is moving with you. With the calculation you get the first-year budget and the annual upkeep, the timeline by stage and a plan of action.

Who is applying for the status?

Get the calculation

about a minuteno calls and no obligationsconfidential

The budget for the launch and the annual upkeep
The timeline for each stage of the process
A plan of action: where to start

A Montenegrin residence permit and company documents

03 / Why people apply

Why people arrange Montenegrin residency

Montenegro is taken as a quick and inexpensive European status with a prospect: the country is heading for the European Union, and the cost of entry is comparable with a family’s monthly budget.

Cheaper than any investment programme

There is no need to put in hundreds of thousands: keeping a working company going is enough.

A quick start

The company is registered in a few days and the status in a month or two. For urgent tasks this is a working option.

The sea and the climate

The Adriatic, mild winters and a short flight to most European capitals.

A ready-made expat environment

A large international community, schools and everyday services in English and Russian — moving with a family goes more smoothly.

The prospect of joining the EU

Montenegro is in accession talks. An early status may turn out to be a good investment of time.

A base for business in the Balkans

A company in Montenegro works as a platform for regional projects and settlements.

04 / Travel

What the status gives you for travel

Montenegro belongs neither to the European Union nor to the Schengen area — that is the main limit of the status.

Mode 01

Montenegro without limits

Residence and work in your own company for the whole time the permit is in force.

Mode 02

Schengen on a visa

The status gives no visa-free entry to the EU. The visa is obtained separately on general terms.

Mode 03

Presence in the country

A long absence puts the permit in question and resets the continuity for future permanent residence.

Mode 04

The rest of the world on your own passport

You travel to third countries on your passport of citizenship: that is what sets the visa regime.

Sources: the Montenegrin law on foreigners and the Interior Ministry’s secondary legislation on temporary stay and work. Montenegro is a candidate for accession to the European Union, but so far belongs neither to the EU nor to the Schengen area.

05 / The composition of the application

Who gets the status with you

The director receives the permit first and the family follows through reunification. Open a row to see the conditions.

The founder and director of a Montenegrin company
No convictions, with a certificate from the country of citizenship
Medical insurance and proof of the place of residence
Proof of funds for support

In a registered marriage, with the certificate legalised
Arranged through family reunification after the director’s status

The children of the applicant or the spouse
Where custody is shared, the other parent’s consent is required

They do not obtain the status on this ground
Other grounds are possible — study or a company of their own
We go through it individually

06 / Cost

What Montenegrin residency costs

There is no investment threshold: the budget is made up of registering the company, the contributions for the director and the upkeep. The number of people in the application affects the family reunification fees.

Your own company · the main scenario

€10,000

≈ $12,000

Holding period The whole time the status is in force

Registering a limited liability company in Montenegro
An employment contract with the director and payment of the compulsory contributions
Renting an office or a registered address
Accounting and reporting are kept up monthly
The permit is issued for a year and renewed while the company works

A company and property · the reinforced option

€100,000

≈ $116,000

Holding period The whole time the status is in force

A home of your own in Montenegro is added to the company
Ownership makes proving the place of residence simpler at renewals
The property remains your asset and can be let
The law sets no threshold for property — the amount depends on the market

Scenario

The main applicant

Spouse

Minor children

Parents and adult children

The programme sets no investment threshold. The budget is made up of registering the company, a registered address, accounting support, the compulsory contributions for the director, medical insurance and the permit fees. The amounts are given as practical guides and are checked as at the date of the enquiry. This is a preliminary calculation, not a decision of a state authority.

07 / Comparison

Montenegro against other programmes

On the cost of entry Montenegro is unrivalled, but it requires presence and gives no Schengen. Here are the parameters side by side.

	Montenegro	Hungary	Greece	Turkey	Cyprus
Entry budget from	€10,000	€250,000	€250,000	$200,000	€300,000
Schengen visa-free	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Presence requirement	Yes	No	No	No	A visit every 2 years
The right to work	Yes, in your own company	Yes	No	No	Limited
Processing time	1-2 months	4-6 months	4-6 months	2-3 months	2-3 months

The data are given as at the date this page was updated and are checked again before the agreement is signed.

Full program comparison →

10 / How it works

How the Montenegrin residency process works

STEP 1

The preliminary check

We go through citizenship, the family composition, the plans for presence in the country and the line of business of the future company.

STEP 2

Registering the company

We incorporate the company, obtain the tax number and open an account with a local bank. It takes a few working days.

STEP 3

The director’s employment contract

We appoint you as director, register the contract and start paying the compulsory contributions — without that the permit will not be issued.

STEP 4

The address of residence

Renting or buying a home with the address registered. Proof of the place of residence is part of the document pack.

STEP 5

Filing with the Interior Ministry

The application for temporary stay and work, the police clearance certificate, the insurance and proof of funds.

STEP 6

The permit is issued

A permit for a year. The overall time from registering the company is 1-2 months.

STEP 7

Renewals and permanent residence

Annual renewal while the company works and the presence rules are kept. After five years, permanent residence.

A step-by-step plan of the process

The same seven steps as a document: what is prepared at each stage, what costs arise and what is confirmed on renewal.

Download the step-by-step plan

11 / Our role

Why people arrange Montenegrin residency with us

The status is easy to obtain here and harder to keep: renewal depends on how the company worked over the whole year.

We run the company, not only the application

Registration, the account, the director’s contract, the contributions, the accounting. Without order in those documents there will be no renewal.

We calculate the real budget

On top of registration come the contributions, the accounting, the address and the insurance. We show the annual cost of upkeep before the start.

We plan the presence

The rules on absence are most often broken through not knowing them. We set the rules down and watch the deadlines together with the client.

We prepare for permanent residence

After five years the continuity of residence will have to be proved. We collect the documents for that from the first year.

12 / Team

Who runs the Montenegrin residency process

The application is run by a permanent team: the programme lawyer, the company accountant and a family coordinator.

Irena SokolovskaHead of Europe OfficeThe strategy and the structure of the company

Robert HaasCorporate LawyerThe documents, the registration and filing with the Interior Ministry

Hanna BergerTrusts and Succession AdvisorTaxes and contributions

Darya MelnikSenior Investment Migration AdvisorCoordinating the family and contact at every stage

15 / Materials

Useful materials on Montenegro

Materials on a director’s residency: the costs, the requirements for the company and the order of renewal.

The main materialPresentation

A Montenegrin residence permit through a company

The presentation gathers the essentials: the first-year costs, the requirements for the company, the presence in the country, the family composition and how the work is done.

Inside:

what the launch and the upkeep of a company cost
which contributions the director pays
how long you have to be in the country
how the family is arranged
which documents will be needed
what is checked on renewal
how work with BRIDGES is organised

PDF · free · current as of August 2026

The contributions, the accounting, the address and the insurance — what the cost of a year is made of.

The list by applicant, company and family, marking what has to be translated and legalised.

We calculate the first-year budget and the annual upkeep for your composition.

All the materials are updated regularly by our team and are used when supporting BRIDGES clients.

16 / News

What has changed in the rules

2022-12-31

The Montenegrin citizenship by investment programme closed. The routes into the country now in force are residence through a company, property or work.

2025-01-01

The requirements for proving the real activity of a company on renewal of a director’s permit were clarified.

Worth having

Download the Montenegrin residency checklist

The short document we give clients before the start: the costs, the requirements for the company, the presence rules and the stages — in one list, with nothing padded.

Inside the document

The first-year budget and the annual upkeep
The requirements for the company and for presence in the country
The current conditions for 2026

We will send it after a short form - no call or obligation.

17 / Questions

Answers to common questions

There is no investment threshold. The first-year budget is made up of registering the company, the registered address, the accounting, the compulsory contributions for the director, medical insurance and the permit fees — in total thousands of euro, not hundreds of thousands. We fix the exact budget before the start.

Yes. This is not a passive status: the permit is tied to the director’s work, and a long absence puts it in question and resets the continuity of residence for future permanent residence.

No. Montenegro belongs neither to the European Union nor to the Schengen area, although it is in accession talks. Travel around Europe requires a visa.

Yes. On renewal the authorities check the contract with the director, the payment of contributions, the reporting and the signs of real work. An empty company in the second year leads to a refusal.

The director receives the status first, and the spouse and minor children are then arranged through family reunification. Each of them needs their own documents and fees.

1-2 months from registering the company to receiving the card — one of the shortest timelines in Europe.

With continuous residence the right to permanent residence opens up, and later naturalisation, taking into account the requirements as to language and connection with the country.

Buying a home gives a ground for a temporary stay permit based on property, but it does not give the right to work. We often combine the two: the company as the ground for working and the home as proof of the place of residence.

The corporate and income tax rates are lower than in most EU countries, but the director has to pay social contributions monthly. We do the full calculation with an accountant before registration.

No, the citizenship by investment programme closed at the end of 2022. The path to the passport now runs only through long residence and naturalisation.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Tell us what outcome your family needs

We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.

Get a preliminary assessment Book a consultation

Or message us on WhatsApp or Telegram

Anna Kovalevskaya, lead lawyer at BRIDGES GLOBAL

Anna KovalevskayaLead lawyer, citizenship and residency, 12 years of practice