Montenegro's program to sell citizenship for investment

It is worth hurrying to buy Montenegrin citizenship!

The Republic and the EU have entered the final stage of negotiations.

Montenegro, one of the former republics of Yugoslavia, gained its final independence in the very early summer of 2006. Almost immediately, the authorities of the young republic announced their intention to join the EU, recognizing this goal as their most important foreign policy objective.

A long road to the embrace of Brussels

Nevertheless, both sides have always emphasized that Montenegro will have to pass a long and difficult preparatory path on its way to EU membership. The first agreement with Brussels was signed by the authorities in October 2007. After that, the cooperation deepened, new documents were adopted and signed.

The official decision on accession was taken in June 2012. At that time, a letter of intent was signed, in which Brussels agreed that the Republic of Montenegro would become a full member of the community in 2025. It is worth noting that already now the Republic has joined NATO, and also received a visa-free regime with the EU.

And today, July 1, 2020, the next Intergovernmental Conference “EU - Montenegro” opened in Brussels. EU officials believe that it opens the last chapter in the long history of rapprochement between Brussels and Podgorica. The head of the Montenegrin delegation, Mr. Aleksandar Drlevic expressed the hope that he hopes for a successful conclusion of many years of work, and is confident in the absolute functionality of the legislative framework of his republic.

Montenegro's program for investment sale of citizenship

In connection with the beginning of the conference, the question arises: how will Montenegro's accession to the EU affect the investment program of this country? The fact is that a year ago Montenegro launched its program, according to which its citizenship can be acquired by investing in the country's economy.

According to the terms of the program, a foreign investor can obtain a Montenegrin passport within just six months, making a non-refundable grant of €100 thousand and at the same time buying real estate worth from 250 to 450 thousand euros, depending on the region in which the purchase is made.

In February this year, the first investor became a Montenegrin passport holder. Potential applicants do not hide the fact that one of the main incentives for investment is the possibility of becoming a full EU citizen in the relatively near future.

Why it makes sense for investors to act faster

But the ambiguity of the situation is that it is difficult to give a prediction - what future awaits the program of Montenegro, when the country will be in the EU. In any case, one can't help recalling Moldova, where a similar program has already been suspended at the request of officials from Brussels.However, one thing is reassuring. All experts agree that whatever the future fate of the program, foreign investors who have already managed to buy Montenegrin citizenship will not be deprived of it “retroactively”. So you should hurry up! It is still possible to buy citizenship in the EU for only €350 thousand!

Montenegrin authorities issued the country's passport to the first investor

In the middle of last year, 2019, Montenegro launched its own program “Citizenship in exchange for investment”. Thus, this small country in the Balkans became the 17th state in the world to directly sell its passports. This is all the more interesting considering that Montenegro is to be admitted to the EU as early as 2025.

And the other day came the news: the first applicant received a passport of this country, having met the investment requirements. He turned out to be an Egyptian citizen, and the process of consideration of his case took exactly three months. Analysts note that the process of approval of applications is significantly hampered by one circumstance. The Government of Montenegro will not approve the list of new objects for the purchase of real estate under the announced program.

Recall that the conditions of the Montenegrin program for the sale of citizenship are as follows:

1. A non-refundable contribution of €100 thousand, plus an investment in real estate of at least €250 thousand in the northern, less developed regions of the country.
2. The size of the non-refundable contribution remains the same, but the investment in real estate increases to €450 thousand, if we are talking about the capital, Podgorica, or the southern, popular resort areas on the Adriatic.

Decrease in demand for investment citizenship of Montenegro in crisis conditions

Despite the temporary improvement of the epidemiological situation in Montenegro, in July the number of those infected for coronavirus began to increase again. According to the number of sick people per 100 thousand population, the country exceeded the permissible indicators and was put in the “red zone”. Many states, including most EU member states, announced the re-closure of borders with Montenegro. The consequence of such events was a decrease in demand for investment citizenship of the Republic.

The crisis has affected all areas of the economy of the state. The construction sector, which is directly related to the investment citizenship program and ensures its effective operation, was no exception:

• The risk of financial investments in mezzanine loan has increased, as there are no hundred percent guarantees for successful and timely completion of construction works.
• The list of properties for the program is not complete, due to the suspension of construction for the quarantine period.

The decline in investor interest in the Montenegrin citizenship program, according to experts, was also caused by the increased pressure on foreign citizens by the anti-corruption agency.

The drop in demand for Montenegrin citizenship on the part of foreign investors is quite understandable due to the events in the world and in the republic itself. However, it should be noted that the passport of this country is still in demand by Russian citizens. Moreover, after the relaxation of the quarantine, the first foreigner who received citizenship of the republic became a Russian.