Gov Press Conference sheds more light on upcoming Montenegro Citizenship Programme
The Montenegro Government has announced more details on the Montenegro Economic Citizenship Programme (MECP) in a press conference by the Minister for Sustainable Development & Tourism and the Vice President for Economic Policy & the Financial System.
The Montenegro government has just announced more details on the Montenegro Economic Citizenship Programme (MECP) in a press conference today where Mr Milutin Simovic, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy & the Financial System and Mr Pavle Radulovic, Minister for Sustainable Development & Tourism, explained the government's vision for the Montenegrin Citizenship programme. This comes after the decision by the Cabinet of Montenegro to launch a citizenship programme which will grant the Citizenship of Montenegro upon making an eligible investment in the country.
"The Government's decision was made with a view to further accelerate economic development in Montenegro and to improve the standard of living of Montenegrin citizens" said Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs politics and financial system Milutin Simovic.
Montenegro Citizenship Investment Criteria
The requirements for investors to obtain citizenship in Montenegro will be the investment in real estate as well as a donation of €100,000 to a government fund. The investment in real estate varies on whether the property is situated in the undeveloped region or a developed region. The value of the property should be at least:
- €250,000 if the government approved project is situated in the central or northern part of Montenegro.
- €450,000 if the government approved project is situated in Podgorica or in the south of Montenegro.
Qualifying Property under MECP
Speaking about the criteria for the projects to be invested, in the field of tourism, the minister said that eligible developments include hotels or mixed tourist complexes in the Primorje region and Podgorica with at least five stars, at least 60 accommodation units, minimum investment of €15,000,000 and the creation of at least 80 jobs.
In the Northern and Central Region, except for the capital of Podgorica, the criteria are: a hotel or a mixed tourist complex of at least four stars, at least 35 accommodation units, a minimum investment of €5,000,000 and the creation of at least 25 new jobs.
In addition, the applicant must deposit €15,000 for the application for himself, €10,000 for a maximum of four family members, and €50,000 for each additional family member.
Highlights of the Montenegro Citizenship Programme
The main benefits of applying for the Montenegro Economic Citizenship Programme include the following:
- Acquisition of citizenship within 6 months
- Dual nationality allowed
- No requirement to learn the language
- Candidate country for EU – expected to join by 2025
- Visa free travel to the European Schengen Area
- Visa free travel to over 120 countries including Russia & Turkey
According to the Press Conference, the Montenegrin Economic Citizenship Programme will be officially launched in January 2019 and thus will be accepting applications shortly. As the demand for the MECP is considerable and the programme will be open only for 2,000 applications for a time period of three years, Chetcuti Cauchi is accepting pre-launch reservations for investors interested in the Montengro Citizenship Programme.
