Is the Montenegrin Citizenship Program “Easy” or “Difficult”?
Having Montenegrin citizenship offers several benefits, including:
- The ability to bring your entire family to live, study, and work in Montenegro.
- Free healthcare services.
- Free education for children up to university level.
- Income tax rates among the lowest in the world (ranging from 9% to 15%).
- By 2025, once Montenegro successfully joins the European Union (EU), you and your family will enjoy many rights as EU citizens.
Most importantly, after residing in Montenegro for a minimum of three years, you can apply for an E-2 visa to the U.S. Given the current tightening of U.S. immigration visa issuance, this opportunity is vital. This is why many investors are eager to participate in this program.
The requirements for Montenegrin citizenship are generally easier compared to other residency programs in the U.S., Australia, or Europe. However, there are some challenges:
- The program was only available for two years (from 2019 to the end of 2021), and then it was extended for another year until December 31, 2022, with additional conditions.
- There is no Montenegrin consulate in Vietnam. Although the application process is not too difficult, it is relatively complex and time-consuming.
As a result, many organizations declined to assist with Montenegrin citizenship applications or even returned submitted applications due to the complicated and time-consuming process.
The Client’s Challenge
After researching the Montenegrin investment citizenship program and potential advisors, Mr. P., a senior executive of a well-known real estate group in Vietnam, approached SI Group.
He met all the educational and financial criteria, but his challenge was the tight timeline for processing the application.
At the time Mr. P. reached out to SI Group, the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing, making it more difficult to travel and contact the authorities for processing. With only three weeks left before the program closed, this posed a significant challenge for SI Group. However, with Mr. P.’s determination and desire, SI Group agreed to help him find a solution.
How SI Group Addressed the Challenge
In the three weeks leading up to the Montenegrin government’s deadline for application submissions, SI Group developed a comprehensive solution for Mr. P. All procedures, including authorizing a lawyer in Montenegro to open a bank account and execute the required investments per the program, were handled in Vietnam. Concurrently, SI Group worked diligently to contact Vietnamese diplomatic authorities both domestically and internationally to streamline the process and shorten the application time. Specifically, the necessary documents were consoliated in a third country before being handed over to the lawyer and submitted to the Montenegrin government.
Result Achieved
After collaborating with the lawyer and the network of consulates, just five days before the Montenegrin investment citizenship program ended or stopped accepting applications, SI Group successfully submitted Mr. P.’s application. The Montenegrin government subsequently confirmed the successful submission of the application.
Ultimately, Mr. P. received the approval letter for Montenegrin citizenship under the investment program on September 18, 2023.
Approval Letter Image. The Montenegro Citizenship by Investment Program is transparent and provides clear information. After receiving the Approval Letter, the client is allowed to disburse the investment capital of 250,000 EUR into the real estate project and make a 100,000 EUR donation to the government.
SI Group’s Pride
Not only in the case of Mr. P., but previously SI Group also received good news from two other successful clients. One of these clients is the owner of a fashion manufacturing brand and a chain of retail clothing stores in Vietnam. In this case, the client faced difficulties in explaining the source of assets, but thanks to the expertise of SI Group specialists, the issue was successfully resolved. The sweet result was the Montenegro Citizenship Approval Letter, received in July 2023.
