Montenegro has not resolved 398 applications for obtaining our citizenship, as part of the economic citizenship program, reveals the report of the European Commission (EC) on Montenegro.
That document states that on June 15th, 2023, 398 applications were still pending. The remaining pending applications, the European Commission says, should be properly checked to ensure that they are fully compliant with all restrictive measures of the European Union.
According to the report of the European Commission, in order to harmonize the national legislation with the acquis of the EU, Montenegro introduced visas for residents of the United Arab Emirates, as well as for citizens of Cuba and Ecuador (in January, April and May 2023) who had previously benefited from visa-free entry to Montenegro.
– However, there are 12 countries that are on the visa-free regime list for Montenegro, but not for the EU, seven of which enjoy a permanent exemption from visas (Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Kuwait, Qatar, Russia, Turkey), and five have seasonal cancellation of visas for entering Montenegro for tourist reasons between April and October (Armenia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan). The decision on the seasonal abolition of visas, which was adopted by the Government in April 2023, includes preventive measures against the risk of abuse of the visa-free regime, such as the need to be part of an organized tourist group – the report says.
One of the conditions is to enter and exit the territory of Montenegro by direct charter flights, and to have a paid tourist arrangement or an invitation letter from a Montenegrin tourist agency.
– Citizens of Belarus and Russia are visa-free for up to 30 days on a permanent basis, as well as citizens of China if they are in organized tourist groups. The investor citizenship scheme was discontinued at the end of 2022. In the period from January 2019 to December 2022, 556 applications were submitted (556 applicants and 1,281 family members). Until June 15, 2023, the Government made 954 positive decisions (293 applicants and 661 family members). On June 15, 2023, 398 applications were still pending. The remaining pending applications should be properly checked to ensure that they are fully compliant with all EU restrictive measures, the report said.
