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Montenegro to End Its Citizenship for Investment Program in 2022

Montenegro announced that it will be ending it’s special citizenship by investment program (MSCBI) as of December 31st, 2021.

Montenegro’s cabinet said it will be cancelling it’s special citizenship by investment program due to the program’s low performance and popularity.

The Government’s official announcement states:

“Having in mind the reservations of the European Commission on this issue due to the possible difficulties of Montenegro’s path to the EU, as well as the questionable purpose of the Programme and its contribution to economic development, given that only 37 citizenships of the planned limit of 2000 have been granted so far, the Cabinet decided that the Programme should not be extended after the expiration of its three-year duration on 31 December 2021.”

Most industry officials however have been quick to observe that the program’s cancellation comes at the heels of Montenegro EU bid.

It is likely that Montenegro, the picturesque Balkan country in south eastern Europe , will stop granting citizenship by investment because the European Union, which it wants to join, doesn’t approve of the program.

Another reason is the program which was designed for people who can invest at least €250,000 in property, make a €100,000 deposit, and pay application fees, hasn’t brought in the revenue that was expected.

Originally, the Montenegro special citizenship by investment program was created as a development mechanism.

The program was launched in 2018 with a target of raising €1 billion euro in foreign direct investment (FDI) during 3 years.

That target was set based on 2,000 applications during three years of operation, assuming each applicant contributes €100,000 in fees and €400,000 in real estate investment or

development projects per application, will yield another €800 million investment in undeveloped areas of Montenegro. The total investment may well exceed €1 billion during the three years.

However, out of a forecasted 2,000 citizenship quota, Montenegro received 131 applications last year, and only granted 37 citizenships.

The Montenegro CBI will remain open until December 31, 2021 after this date the program will be permanently closed.

If you have any questions, or would like to apply for Montenegro citizenship, please contact a Global Pass consultant.