| Foreigners have exactly the same rights as locals in the purchase of the real estate, unless it is an agricultural land, forests, cultural heritage land etc.
The following information portrays steps for buying property in Montenegro. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 |
Property Taxes in Montenegro
The most important is purchase tax, which is 3% of the value of your property – valued by the tax office regardless of the purchase price on the contract. Purchase tax is payable as soon as the main contract is signed.
Once you are the registered owner of the property you will need to pay an annual property tax. The amount depends on the size and location of the property – for example, the tax for a two-bedroom apartment would be approximately three to four hundred euros per year. In addition to the annual property tax, property owners are also obliged to pay Tourist Tax as well. You will receive the bill in your mail usually in the Spring. It can be paid in the Tax Office (Poreska Uprava).
- For existing properties only: A transfer tax of 3% of the assessed value.
- For new properties only: A VAT of 21% of the purchase price.
- Notary fees of approximately 0.01% of the property value.
- Lawyer’s fees that generally run to about €100 to €1,000 per transaction.
- The seller will pay the real estate agent’s fee of 3 – 6% of the property value.
Rental Services and Property Management
The renting potential of the properties is quite high since in the past decade Montenegro became a popular touristic destination. Besides astonishing nature and great sights, this rather small country has great living conditions.
Here at “Home In Montenegro”, we offer comprehensive property management and rental service in Tivat, Kotor, Budva and Herceg Novi. Our flexible service can be tailored to your needs.
Our goal is to satisfy both clients and guests.
After having purchased a property through our agency, you can opt to rent it out.
In such a case, we could rent your property for you. Besides renting services, we provide rental cleaning, we check and control the property at the end of rental period, and we carry out the transaction process of your gained rental income to your account. In addition, we also take care of laundry, transfers, meetings and greetings, inventory taking and welcome packages. During your property’s rental or the time that you use your property, you will be able to benefit from our technical service support 7/24.
Contact us should you wish to find out more.
We will be happy to help you out!
Montenegro Residency Permit Requirements
Once you’ve decided to apply for Montenegrin residency the process is straightforward. Here are the essential details:
Primary qualifications for getting a temporary residence permit for Montenegro include full-time work, study, family reunification, owning developed real estate and seasonal employment.
Temporary residence permits are valid for one year and can be renewed for subsequent one-year terms.
If you want to leave Montenegro for more than one month in a year, you’ll have to inform your local immigration inspector.
Also note the requirement that you must own a house, condo, hotel, etc. in order to qualify for temporary residency under the real estate provision. Undeveloped land is not good enough.
After spending five years as a temporary resident, you can apply for permanent residency in Montenegro.
This means:
- Your residency permit lasts for five years and can be renewed for additional five-year terms.
- You’re granted all rights of Montenegro’s citizens except a passport and the right to vote.
- You have the freedom to leave Montenegro for more than one month in a year.
Montenegrin Citizenship by investment program
Starting in January 2019, the Montenegrin government launched a citizenship-by-investment program (CIP). The idea is to jumpstart foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in the undeveloped north, by offering citizenship to those who meet a few criteria. These are:
Pay €100,000 to the Montenegrin government, which goes into their development fund, supposed to support infrastructure in non-tourist areas of the country.
And make a €250,000 investment in a government-approved development project in the undeveloped part (generally the north, away from the coast) of Montenegro.
Or make a €450,000 investment in a government-approved development project in the developed, southern part of Montenegro.
You must also be a citizen of a non-EU country, have a valid passport from there, be able to prove you have a clean criminal record and demonstrate that your investment funds were legally obtained.
For more details read here.
Legal aid and Power of Attorney
Throughout the procedure of acquiring a property in Montenegro, it is advised to have a Legal representative (authoritative to perform their services on the territory of Montenegro).
It is possible to give a Power of Attorney to either your lawyer or Home in Montenegro in order to do a procedure on your behalf during the periods of time you are not in Montenegro.
Property insurance in Montenegro
After buying property in Montenegro, it would be wise to insure it. There are many companies offering property insurance in Montenegro, nonetheless, we would recommend one of the following two, as they are the most reliant ones.
Do I need a visa to visit Montenegro
Visas are not required by those referred to in the chart for touristic stays in Montenegro of up to 90 days. EU nationals entering with a national ID card may stay for up to 30 days but can stay for 90 days if using a passport.
Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements for Montenegro.
Visitors not staying in a hotel or official tourist accommodation must register with the police within 24 hours of arrival.
Here you can find more information about visas here.
