Updated August 20, 2026

ME-DN

The digital nomad stay

Residency in Montenegrothe nomad visa

A status for those who work remotely for a foreign company or their own firm abroad. The permit is issued for up to two years with an extension of two more, and income from a foreign employer is exempt from Montenegrin income tax.

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The conditions are checked against the Aliens Act and the tax amendments 152/22
Working since 2004
We run the application, the stay, the family and the extension

A Montenegrin temporary residence card in the Digital Nomad category

2 + 2 yearsThe permit and the extension

No income taxForeign income is exempt

The family togetherA spouse and children through reunification

01 / About the program

How the digital nomad status works

Montenegro wrote the nomad status straight into its Aliens Act: a separate ground of stay, its own permit and a tax exemption. The country is outside the EU and Schengen, so the status is chosen for the term, the sea and the tax regime, not for European documents.

The employer must be foreign

The law defines a nomad as a foreigner working electronically for a foreign company or their own firm not registered in Montenegro. Work on the local market is not covered by this status.

Two years plus two

The permit is issued for up to two years and extended for a maximum of two more. That is the longest continuous term among the region’s nomad statuses.

A pause before a new permit

After the status expires a new permit is issued only six months later. The status is designed for a long life in the country, but not for permanent residency.

The company is evidenced by documents

The application is accompanied by a contract or another document on working electronically and by proof that the company is registered abroad — an express requirement of the law.

02 / What you get

What the status gives you

The income is not taxed

The amendments to the Personal Income Tax Act (Official Gazette 152/22) exempt a nomad’s income from an employer not registered in Montenegro.

Up to four years in a row

Two years on the first permit and up to two more on the extension — with no annual reissues.

The family alongside

A spouse and minor children, adopted children included, join through family reunification under the law.

The work does not change

An employment contract with a foreign company, contracts with clients and work through your own firm abroad all qualify.

The Adriatic and low costs

Kotor, Budva, Tivat and Podgorica — life by the sea at costs noticeably below Western Europe.

You can wait for the decision in the country

An application filed before the 90 days of stay run out allows you to remain in Montenegro lawfully until it is decided.

A preliminary assessment

Calculate the budget for your family

Set out who is applying with you. With the calculation you get the full Montenegrin picture: the means required, the budget for the move, the timeline and a plan of action.

Who is applying for the stay?

Get the calculation

about a minuteno calls and no obligationsconfidential

The full calculation for your family composition
The timeline for each stage of the process
A plan of action: where to start

A Montenegrin residence card and a set of documents

03 / Why people apply

Why people arrange the status in Montenegro

Montenegro is chosen for a combination its neighbours do not have: a long term, an exemption of the income from tax and life by the sea without large budgets.

The longest term in the region

Up to four years in a row on one ground — Croatia’s limit is eighteen months and Hungary’s two years.

The exemption is in the law itself

The tax exemption of a nomad’s income is a provision of the Personal Income Tax Act, not an administrative practice.

Clear documents

A contract of work, the registration of the company abroad, insurance, housing and means. No quotas and no investment.

Family under the law

The family’s right to reunification is written into the same article as the nomad status itself.

No visa merry-go-round

For many citizenships entry into Montenegro is visa-free, and the application is filed inside the country.

A test of life by the sea

Four years is enough to see whether the Adriatic suits you before choosing a programme with a path to a permanent status.

04 / Travel

Where you can travel on the nomad status

Montenegro is not in the EU or Schengen: the status gives life in the country, and travel around Europe follows your passport.

Mode 01

Montenegro without limits

Residence, entry and exit for the whole term of the permit.

Mode 02

Schengen on your passport

A Montenegrin permit does not replace a Schengen visa: travel to the EU is set by the passport of your citizenship.

Mode 03

Work only for clients abroad

The status covers work carried out electronically for foreign companies. Entering the Montenegrin market requires a different permit.

Mode 04

The region nearby

Serbia, Albania, Bosnia — travel around the region is visa-free for most citizenships.

Sources: the Aliens Act of Montenegro (articles 3, 38, 43, 60a, 61) and the Personal Income Tax Act as amended (Official Gazette of Montenegro 152/22).

05 / The composition of the application

Who can obtain the status

Family members join through reunification once the main applicant has the status. Open a row to see the conditions.

Work carried out electronically for a foreign company or your own firm abroad
Proof that the company is registered in another country
Means, housing and medical insurance
No convictions and no ban on entry

A registered marriage with the main applicant
The stay is arranged through family reunification
Their own set of documents: passport, insurance, certificates

Children under 18, born in or out of marriage
Adopted children are included on the same basis as natural children
The stay is arranged through family reunification

06 / Cost

What funds have to be evidenced

The law sets no fixed income threshold: what is evidenced is regular receipts from abroad and means to live on.

A remote employee · a contract with a foreign company

There is no fixed threshold

There is no fixed threshold

Evidenced The whole term of the stay

An employment contract or another document on working electronically
The company is registered outside Montenegro — evidenced by an extract
Regular receipts from abroad in the account
Insurance, housing and a passport valid 3 months beyond the stay

The owner of your own company · a firm abroad

There is no fixed threshold

There is no fixed threshold

Evidenced The whole term of the stay

Your own company is registered outside Montenegro
Proof of the company’s registration is an express requirement of article 60a
The work for the company is carried out electronically
The income is evidenced by statements and contracts

Scenario

The main applicant

Spouse

Minor children

The €10-a-day rate is the base rule of the Interior Ministry’s regulation on means of subsistence; for a nomad the practice requires a regular foreign income covering life in the country. On top of that come the administrative fees, the insurance, the housing and the support. This is a preliminary calculation, not a decision of a state authority.

07 / Comparison

Montenegro against the neighbouring nomad visas

The key differences are the maximum term, the tax regime and the fact that the country is outside Schengen.

	Montenegro	Croatia	Hungary	Romania	Spain
Income requirement	A regular foreign income	€3,622 a month	€3,000 a month	3 average salaries	€2,442 a month
Tax on a nomad’s income	Exempt	Not taxed	Under the general rules	Not taxed up to 183 days	A special regime
The maximum term	2 + 2 years	18 months	1 + 1 year	Extensions of 6 months	3 + 2 years
Schengen	Outside Schengen	Schengen	Schengen	Schengen since 2025	Schengen
The path to permanent residence	Does not lead	Does not lead	Does not lead	No direct route	5 years

The thresholds are given as at the date this page was updated; the conditions for each country are set out on its own page.

Full program comparison →

10 / How it works

How the process works

STEP 1

Checking the employment and the income

We go through where the employer or your company is registered and how the regular receipts from abroad are evidenced.

STEP 2

The documents on the work and the company

An employment contract or client contracts and an extract on the company’s registration abroad — a compulsory annex to the application.

STEP 3

Insurance, housing, certificates

We arrange the insurance, the lease and the police clearance certificate and check the validity of the passport.

STEP 4

Entry and filing the application

For most citizenships entry is visa-free; the application is filed in person with the Interior Ministry for the place of stay, with a photograph and fingerprints.

STEP 5

The decision and the card

An application filed in time allows you to wait for the decision in the country. After approval we obtain the permit card.

STEP 6

The family and the extension

We file the applications of the spouse and the children for reunification and run the extension for up to two more years.

Up to four years on the Adriatic with foreign income that is not taxed here.

MontenegroThe Aliens Act, art. 60aThe tax amendments 152/22

Go through your situation

11 / Our role

Why people arrange the status with us

There are few requirements, but applications are returned over the form of the company documents and the evidence of income.

We prepare the company documents

The law expressly requires proof that the company is registered abroad. We assemble the extracts in the form the ministry accepts.

We put the income into provable form

Contracts, invoices and statements for several months — we lay the receipts out the way the authority wants to see them.

We run the family applications

Reunification is arranged after the main applicant’s status — we keep the order and the deadlines so the family does not wait extra months.

We work out the taxes plainly

The exemption applies in Montenegro. How the income sits with the taxes in your country of residency we go through in advance.

12 / Team

Who runs the Montenegrin residency process

The application is run by a permanent team: an immigration lawyer, a documents specialist and a family coordinator.

Viktoria LebedevaManaging Director, Private ClientsThe strategy for the programme and complex cases

Tomas LinderCompliance and AML OfficerRunning the application legally and the documents

Yan NovakWealth Structuring AdvisorTaxes on the move and the structure of income

Sofia MendesInvestment Migration ExpertCoordinating the family and contact at every stage

15 / Materials

Useful materials on Montenegro

Materials on the digital nomad status: the documents, the means and the order of filing.

The main materialPresentation

The digital nomad status in Montenegro

The presentation gathers the essentials: the requirements as to employment and the company, the documents, the order of filing and the tax regime.

Inside:

which documents on the work and the company the law requires
how the means and the foreign income are evidenced
how the exemption of income from tax works
which family members can move with you
how and where the application is filed
for how long the permit is granted and how to extend it
how work with BRIDGES is organised

PDF · free · current as of August 2026

A short check: where the company is registered, whether there is a regular income and whether the work documents exist.

The list for the applicant and each family member, the insurance and the police clearance certificate included.

We calculate the means required, the budget for the move, the fees and the support.

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

16 / News

What matters to know

2025-12-31

The updated Aliens Act applies: the nomad status is kept — a permit for up to two years with an extension of a maximum of two more.

2022-12-30

The amendments to the Personal Income Tax Act (Official Gazette 152/22) exempted a nomad’s income from an employer not registered in Montenegro.

Worth having

Download the Montenegro checklist

The short document we give clients before the start: the documents, the means, the stages and the timelines.

Inside the document

The documents on the work and the company’s registration
What evidences the means and the foreign income
The current conditions for 2026

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

17 / Questions

Answers to common questions

The law sets no fixed threshold: what is evidenced is regular receipts from abroad and means to live on — the Interior Ministry’s base rate is counted from €10 for each day of the stay requested. We fix the exact amount and the form of evidence as at the date of the enquiry.

Yes. The amendments to the Personal Income Tax Act (Official Gazette 152/22) exempt income received by a person with digital nomad status from an employer not registered in Montenegro. How that sits with the taxes in your country of residency is a separate question we go through in advance.

For up to two years. It can then be extended for a maximum of two more — up to four years in a row on one ground.

A new nomad permit is issued only six months after the previous one expires. If the plan is to stay for good, it is worth looking at grounds with a path to a permanent status in advance.

No. Because of the compulsory pause a continuous qualifying period for permanent residence does not build up on this ground. The status is designed for a long but temporary life in the country.

No. The law defines a nomad through work carried out electronically for a foreign company or their own firm not registered in Montenegro. The local market requires other permits.

Yes. A spouse and minor children, adopted children included, join through family reunification — once the main applicant has the status.

In person with the Interior Ministry for the place of stay in Montenegro; for most citizenships entry into the country is visa-free. Citizens of visa countries first obtain a D visa — the law provides for its issue for the nomad status.

No. Montenegro is not in the EU or Schengen, so travel around Europe is set by the passport of your citizenship, not by the Montenegrin permit.

Yes. If the application is filed before the 90 days of stay run out, the law allows you to remain in Montenegro until it is decided.

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.

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Anna Kovalevskaya, lead lawyer at BRIDGES GLOBAL

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