Despite the discontinuation of Montenegro’s Citizenship by Investment Program, the country has given the green light to 280 applications that were submitted prior to the program’s termination.
The decision to issue these visas, despite the program being closed, has sparked concerns within the country and has also prompted inquiries into the distribution of funds associated with this initiative, according to VisaGuide.World.
The Citizenship by Investment scheme, also referred to as the Golden Passport Program, offered an opportunity for affluent individuals from abroad to obtain citizenship in Montenegro. This could be achieved by making a designated investment in the country and fulfilling the necessary criteria.
The Golden Passport scheme of Montenegro was highly regarded as one of the most popular programs of its kind in Europe for international individuals. In addition, a recent analysis conducted by Henley and Partners, in collaboration with Deep Knowledge Analytics, highlighted Montenegro as one of the top five European destinations for real estate investment. Montenegro secured the third spot in this ranking.
However, the authorities in Podgorica have made the decision to discontinue this program as of December 31st, 2022. They have emphasized that no new applications will be accepted starting from January 1st, 2023.
Montenegro has recently granted over 1,200 citizenships to individuals from different countries. Out of these, around 800 were granted through the golden passport scheme.
Reports of its involvement in questionable activities, such as money laundering and corruption, prompted authorities in this country to end the program in December of last year. However, the Finance Minister of Montenegro, Aleksandar Damjanović, expressed concern that discontinuing the program would have a detrimental impact on the Balkan nation.
In addition, he pointed out that a significant amount of €70 million was projected to be generated from the program for this year alone.
“From applications that are in procedure and those that have not even started to be solved, we expect up to 70 million euros – about 35 million of incomes is certain, but it’s estimated up to 70 million for the next year.”
