Starting a business in Montenegro

Hi,

only problem can be those quotas for number of working permits for foreigners, but so far this doesn't effect on directors, so if you are only employee you will be executive director and you will not have problems with quotas.
First of all find a place where to settle down, but this is very hard to find out during summer, since it is very different here on the coast at winter (whole year besides summer). Lot of people fall in love with Kotor, but it is probably the worst place on the coast to spend winter, Tivat is much better, but I prefer open sea!
Opening company and rest is standard procedure, there are a lot of agencies for this job, they can charge 300 euro to finish all, plus taxes, 150 euro, let say for 500 euro, roughly, you can finish all.
Apartments are from 200 euro per month, depending where, Boka bay and Budva are more expensive then Bar-Ulcinj area.

I can confirm everything Nemanja says here.

You can find the Law on Foreigners in Montenegro here: http://www.mup.gov.me/biblioteka/zakoni - you even have an English translation there. (Part 2 & 3 will be of interest to you: Temporary & Permanent Residence). So that should answer most of your questions.

To get that Permanent Residency, you need consecutive 5 years in Montenegro with Temporary 1-year residence permits without any gaps between the years, or that will take you back to zero... So always start the procedure to renew your work and residence permit between 20 and 30 days before your permit expires.

It could be better to come here May-June or September-October for great weather and a lot less tourists, in order to check the place, start your procedures, etc.

As for long term lets, I run the only agency specialized in long-term lets (6-12 months minimum leases) so I can help you out if needed. But note that starting a long-term lease between May and September is very difficult as most owners take bookings for the summer, and are afraid you will start the lease in May, leave in October, having paid 4 times less than they could have earned in 100 days of high season.

Finally, yes, Tivat & Herceg Novi are better places to live year round because a ot more sunny than Kotor (the sun sets around 3pm in the winter there...). Budva in my opinion is too crowded in the summer, and too empty in the winter.

Hope that helps!

hello

if you are employed in Montenegro for one year, what tax do you pay on earnings and for renting accommodations?

Hi,
depending on your salary, but for minimal wage deductions are around 120 euro. There is no tax for accommodation, not when you are renting it, if you own it it is just regular annual real estate tax.

Can I arrive with a tourist visa and register a company?

In principle yes.
When you arrive in Montenegro you should asap register with the police or tourist office to pay the tourist tax (let's say for 1 month) and get the "white card" they will give you in exchange. Then you need to get an insurance which I think is about 30€ for 30€ days.
Then you can register a company, and hire yourself as Director, which will start the working permit procedure for yourself, which will then allow you to apply for 1 year residence permit. You'll be asked to provide all sorts of documents (the list is quite long, and tends to change from one year to the next), but you should manage all of this in 1 month. Just start as soon as you can, as it's not so straightforward. And remember, when you get the work permit, you only have 5 days to complete the residence permit procedure, and the police for foreigner can only see you 3 days in the week (I think in Tivat it was monday, wednesday and fridays), so you have to not waste any time, as you might arrive at the police office the last of these 5th days and for some reason the office is empty, so you have to do the work permit procedure all over again (I can tell you from experience).
Anyway, the next year it gets a lot easier as you only prolong the work permit and residence permit, but still, you should start the procedure at least 30 days before the expiry of your residence permit.

Please could you provide me with a list of agencies in Montenegro that can assist with setting up a business?

Thanks

In my opinion the best is to first find an accountant as setting up the company is something a simple accountant can do for you, without charging you any extra fee.

Are there any reputable accountants that you could recommend?

Is there an up-to-date thread about Applying for Residency/Registering a business? I note this thread has been inactive for some time, and Montenegro's EU Accession has moved forward since that time.

Basically I can arrive in MN visa free as an EU citizen (for the moment). However, I *want* formal residency so that when the UK government shoots itself in the head .. i can escape

Yes, I can easily afford to register a company and hire myself as the Director, although i'm not entirely sure what my business would 'do' at this stage.

Hi Ryan
You can be a consultant and have a general consultancy firm. It's quick, easy and the most recommended option for expats wanting to settle in.

PM me, I can provide you with details of the person who did this for a lot of expats already.

Tijana

Hi Ryan,

Still 2 ways of claiming residency : based on a work permit or based on the ownership of a built property.

Nothing has changed, and the EU accesssion is still not for tomorrow

Cheers,

Carine

Probably not tomorrow .. but probably soon after.

Hi!

We are planning to travel to Montenegro (me and my wife) on 2 months to open a firm and I’ve doing research and contact  differents  lawyers asking  for their consultings price plus extra cost; and the total cost for the whole process was higher than I imagined. Costs of lawyers  500-600 eur plus stamps, translations, opening of the bank account, notary, etc.500-700 eur?

Do you think it is possible to do this process by my own  when I do not know the language or with a lawyer? Or is an accountant cheaper and can assist us through the process checking the documents, etc?

I have been in contact with a accounting firm too and the said that is not recommend go through lawyer  for opening a company  since it’s a lot more expensive/ or they ask for more money later. Is that true?. They also said that doing this process with accounting firm it’s better because there is a lot more things than just company opening. What did they mean?

Could you please tell me the monthly costs of a Company if you are the only employee?
I read on the internet that as soon as you receive the residency permit, you get also your work permit ? Is that right?

Thank you very much and have a nice day everyone!

It makes more sense to use an accounting firm to open the company since you need one anyway for the monthly paperwork.

One-off cost to open the company: 500-800€ including stamps, taxes etc
Monthly costs:
- accountant fees 100-150€
- social contributions for 1 full time staff : c.150€

Someone will correct me if these are not correct anymore

Now the residence permit and work permit are a single ID document indeed.

Cheers!

Hi

I will try to confirm a few things for you.
1. It is correct that you can open a company, hire yourself as a director(employee) and receive legal temporary (year to year) residency including work permit to work for your company.
2. I suppose you can "open" the company yourself, but in the end, you will need to hire an accounting service to manage the operation of the company anyway....
3. Lawyer vs Accounting.. it is important to clarify something here. I am not sure what kind of "lawyers" you have communicated with.  Here in Montenegro what you want to find is Accounting Service that offers help with both 1.opening a company + 2. requesting residency from immigration... These Accounting services usually have a lawyer on their team.
3. Cost: I would recommend you compare costs to other countries, Accounting/Legal service rates in Montenegro are very reasonable compared to other countries. I recently checked the equivalent for Portugal and got a quote of 3,000 euros to get started. Our service started helping us even before we arrived, to make sure we gathered all the right documents, checking them via email. Then they took care of absolutely everything for us. From preparing all the applications, going with us to any needed in person processes, following up with government offices , coordinating translations, .. literally everything. We just showed up mainly when our presence was required , usually to sign things. I think their service fee was approx 500-600eu but it covered multiple procedures over a few months. I thought it was very reasonable. Keep in mind there will also be additional fees from the government , notaries, translation services, medical checks, etc.. but overall costs were not too high.

I recommend folks visit Montenegro first and decide where they will live. Then you can move to the step of finding support services accordingly. I wish you success. If you need a referral to an accounting service, I would be glad to send you contact information for the service we used.. but that was in Herceg Novi area. I think it is best to work with a service near by.

Cost of the company registration: 300€ (one time fee)
Residence and ID card process cost: 250€ (per person, one time fee).
Time: 20-30 days for all.

Monthly fixed costs:
Every LLC must have at least one open contribution position, so at least one part-time employee. if the only employee is the Director, he must have a minimum salary of 100€/month (back on your personal account as salary) and pay an amount of 75€/month for contributions.
So monthly fixed costs are 75€ contributions and 150€ accounting and office.

Hi could you please give me details of the accounting firm.

I am looking to register a company and start a business in Montenegro

Regards,

Gautam

We used http://eosmne.me  and we are very satisfied.

When you get a temporary working and living permit do you HAVE to live at least 11 months in Budva?? I am planning to start up a company then go back to Turkey check the business opportunities before moving to Budva permanently

I have a company already established in Montenegro since October 2017, bank account, website and good name, would be interested to sell it as a package as in effect, apart from the fees and salaries, it is dormant

Please send me a dm for the your quote tx

Hi,

thank you for all the info

can you send me the info for the accounting firm you have worked with for residency processes?

thanks again

Serhan

Please check your private messages

I am in same position, looking for guidance along the same pathway please:
Thanks
R

________


Hello
Considering registering new tech company in mn.  We are based in California USA & UK.
Interested in learning where i can live low cost to submerge into culture, & procedure required to register company etc....
Many thanks
R

Hello there,

Have been searching for the options to setup a Limited Liability Company (Drutvo s Ogranienom Odgovornou). There are so many companies for doing that job but the price and time allocation they require differs. Hence, I'm a bit lost to compare and evaluate.

Can anybody refer a trusted, cost conscious partner here? Beyond that, do I really need that partner in Montenegro to proceed with all the paperwork, or is it managable even for a foreigner himself?

Thanks a lot for your help in advance folks!

Thanks a lot for your message. Somehow, my PMs are blocked. Eventually, I cannot send a PM to you. But would like to get details. Can you drop a message (a link, or e-mail) to me?

I will send you all the details within today. Can I get your email?

@ FundaT > As self promotion is not allowed on Expat.com,  i invite you to register your company in the business directory in Montenegro section.

Thanks,

Priscilla
Expat.com team 

Hi can you also send me an email about the details? Thanks alot. ***

Hi Çağrı. Have you started a company in Montenegro yet? Im wondering how the prodecure works. My husband and I are also planning to start a company and get a temporary residence and work permit in Montenegro.

PM me if you need help finding a reliable accountant to help. I have someone great to recommend.

Hi Zeynep,

Sorry I could not reply to your IM. Somehow my message option is blocked. I can give you some details and tips if you can provide me an email address or cell #. Sorry for the late reply.

Cheers,
Cagri

No worries. Here is my email: ***
Thanks

Hi,

I'd be interested to hear the easiest and most convenient way to set up a business in Montenegro and get residence permit.

My other question would be, can one company has 2+ shareholders? If so, do they get residence permits as well.

I'd kindly ask people who are competent and eligible to do so (ie an accountant) to contact me via PM.

Thanks

hi all,

not only the process but also the costs of registering a company and applying for a temporary reidence was unclear topic for us when we decided to do business here in Montenegro.

I want to tell about the process we experienced roughly, and hope this will help.

We registered our company in city Bar where also we planned our hospitality business.

We directly had a contact with an accounting company and paid around 1200euros, including registration of a company, opening bank account and applying for residental permission (for 2 people) as well.

Monthly fee the accounting company asked from us is 50euros that is untill the business starts.

There are many things written on the internet so it is very confusing for all of us. In this kind of issue, none of us should expect standart process and costs, not only because of the laws are changing but also the situation can change  according the person/company that you faced.

Company was registered in November 2018, and till this time we didn't have any trouble about the company and formal process, however we are open to the surprises unfortunatelly. From any point of view this is a compicated and risky way of doing business.

Also, I see many Turkish members are confused about these issues, so i give a link where Turkish Embassy declares some reports about these.

Thanks