New members of the Montenegro forum, introduce yourselves here - 2021

I am currently in Kotor - from The US.  Just looking to meet new locals!  I am a violinist and my partner is a classical pianist.  We also do a law of attraction podcast.

Hello! My wife and I will be arriving in Montenegro in a week. We have rented a flat in Herceg Novi for a month. We are super excited to meet other expats in the area. 😁

You'll love it!

Howdy! About to visit once the covid craziness settles down. Seriously considering relocation. Biggest concerns are the language and the internet as I trade stocks and require high internet (300mbps). Wondering if that's possible at all.

Yoesh wrote:

Howdy! About to visit once the covid craziness settles down. Seriously considering relocation. Biggest concerns are the language and the internet as I trade stocks and require high internet (300mbps). Wondering if that's possible at all.

Yoesh,

Yes it is absolutely fine, Montenegro is become a favorite place for Digital Nomads, and we have good internet. In many places you have optical cable, but you also have good speeds with 4G. I know many people working online, and this is not an issue anymore

As for the language, if you do not speak any Slavic language it may be a challenge, but what I would suggest is that in the 1st year you can hire a "PA" there are plenty of great young local people who are looking for a job and keen to help foreigners coming to their beautiful country, so you can find someone to help you. Salaries are pretty reasonable, so for most foreigners moving to Montenegro this is very affordable, and will save plenty of your time if you can skip visits to administrations etc.

Hi @all!
Me and my family went a week ago from Germany to Montenegro, Bar.
Are there other expats for help, jobs or only nice contact? Please contact me.
I speak English, German and Serbian/Montenegrian.

American husband/Russian wife wanting permanent residence. I build Steampunk lighting/Furniture with success in the states. Wondering if I could do the same there?

Hi unfortunately the population is very small in Montenegro meaning the market (specially for niche goods) is alot smaller...Not shooting down the idea, but i think you will struggle.

steamcitylamps wrote:

American husband/Russian wife wanting permanent residence. I build Steampunk lighting/Furniture with success in the states. Wondering if I could do the same there?

"When there is a will, there is a way."

Just do like almost everyone here, have several jobs!
Do this lighting/furniture business and a few more jobs (online or not) and you will be fine.
The more adaptable you are the better

I started here with the dream to start a Property Business, and the 1st year I did some "private taxi" job (driving foreigners between Dubrovnik Airport and Montenegro), I did some webdesign, and slowly slowly started some agency job (intermediary in rental transactions), I also took a job 6 months in the Marina Porto Montenegro, and finally managed to go full-time, after a couple of years, starting Property Development, with my own business.

Don't count on a job to fall from the sky on you, and just be on the look-out for the many opportunities that exist here, and that local people don't see, because most of them do not know all the options that exist abroad, and that could be implemented here.

You will find the largest community of Expats in Montenegro on Facebook in the group "Word of Mouth" and you can find tons of useful info there, everyone is very helpful in the group.

I had to google it to find out what is that you are doing, so I agree about market here, you will need a lot of promotion to find customers, but there are a lot of people who are not residents but they own very expensive villas and they have so much time and money that they are renovating houses every 2 to 3 years so that could be your chance

Thank you for that input! THATS exactly what I was thinking.
So next question, are items readily available? Can I get raw steel? Lumber? Buy my needed equipment like welders CNC machine etc?

You sure can and as a matter of fact equipment is very well priced and they stock quality tools,materials are also easy to source..Not too sure of CNC machines,I was actually also looking into getting a small engineering set up,as there are not many people that do skimming of cylinder heads and resleeving of blocks etc..Theres a ton of cars here and most the engineering work gets sent to Albania.So automotive wise theres a industry and few gaps that can be filled...But i still think if you capable of working with your hands and have knowledge then you will littraly be able to make it anywhere in the world,Theres always ways to earn....

OK... new kids on the block ! 
2nd generation Serbians, looking to return 115 years in the opposite direction, permanently.

Retired marine engineering Senior couple having lived aboard full-time since 2003, now looking for one last motor vessel to re-outfit and place into a non-touristy fish harbor or a "locals" marina and disappear.

looking to establish contacts for communicating marine information and experience share about common 13.5 - 16.5 used boats and the normal marine 
locations away from all the visitors.

Hi Everyone!
We are a couple, living in Tivat for the last.... 7 months? Wow, times flies, so we do have a residency permit, and we do think its a good place to establish if you really like the country.
People here is friendly but they tend to maintain some distance between each other.
Public employees are the worst, they are not cooperative (most of the time) and very lazy, so be advised if you want to open any kind of business that requires public government approval. Lots of bureaucratic steps (less than Italy, lets say) but still not the most straightforward.
I would advise you to establish residence in Podgorica and then move to Tivat (if you want to live here) since processes are way faster in PG than in TV. Opening a bank account can take anywhere from 1,5 hours to 3-hours and a couple of trips to the bank to complete random steps that couldn't be completed all at once 

The language barrier is always there, Notars are cool (most of them) but any public office will be a nightmare, they don't speak any English and they refuse to cooperate (using google translate is not good for them, talking with a Crna Gora citizen over the phone is not good neither) they want you to have someone who speaks the language. And if you don't understand they scream at you   Like if screaming is going to solve the language barrier 

For a touristic  city the impression that you get is that they DON'T WANT YOU THERE

Apart from that Crna Gora is a really nice country, winter in the coast side is warm-ish, the food is good! you can get a really good quality of life for 800-1000 Euros!

Dogs people be advised, the rules here are different, dogs are treated like a thing.

PD: nature (water contamination, natural resources preservation) its also at the bottom of the priorities, so you can basically do whatever you want

Hi, we are a couple from the Philippines planning to travel to Montenegro in the next couple of weeks. We intend to permanently move there but our current trip is to have a feel of the country first before making a commitment to living there. If anyone has a recommendation on a cheap apartment for a month long stay, that'd be greatly appreciated! Cheers everyone!

Hi there!
I'm Mary.
For now, I'm not really sure if I'm ready to move anywhere yet. But I just feel like it.
I'm an online tutor, so my job won't be a huge problem, but my partner is a locomotive driver, so...
I haven't been there before. And I don't want to go there while there's all this pandemic situation.
I think I need some recommendations on what places to visit there. (Later, of course.) I want both lovely and awful variants.
Maybe the pros and cons would finally help me make a decision.

Hi everyone,

I am O'Conner Smith all the way from South Africa.

My wife and I are looking to immigrate to Montenegro as my friends family just did and they absolutely love it.

I've only been to Croatia but it sounds like the country itself is quite similar geographically and the people are open to foreigners.

My career is on the Information Technology side but I've been struggling to find adequate info as to the IT sector in Montenegro and a specialised recruitment agency.

Any recommendations on where to look would be great!

Hello, all

Im a traveller and ESL Teacher, Now looking into working in Montenegro,


Ive tried to contact school , but no response, Im residing  in China. During these hard times its difficult to travel and find work.

Please tell your stories about life in Montenegro

Thanks , Shannon

Hi Mary,
I am David from the USA. I will be moving to Bar, Montenegro in 2022 after I retire. I married a woman from Montenegro and have visited there twice and it's an absolutely beautiful country. All of the coastal cities are full of life and history.  A must visit is Ostrug Monastary. It is perched on the side of a mountain and the monastery is carved into the rock. The Dormitor Lake is also a wonderful place to visit.  Just riding across the country you will see a lot and take in the snow topped mountains during the summer. I can't wait to move there. The only obstacle I face is learning the language. It's tough, especially if you are up there in age, like me but I just enjoy listening to the native people talk even though I have little to no idea what they speak of. I know a few words so if I hear the word it gives me an idea of what the conversation is about. Budva is the party town with a lively nightlife. Visit one time and you will not want to leave.

Hello my name is Wales, UK and myself and my wife are looking to retire in Montenegro early next year. I was wondering if I rent a property when I get there can I get a visa (permit) or do I have to buy a property to be able to do this.
Many thanks.
Neil

I should of said my name is Neil from Wales UK sorry.

Hello Neil,
I am David from the USA. I will try to give you some insight as to what you will need to live in Montenegro.  I am also retiring to the country with my wife who is a citizen of the country. In order for you to rent in the country you have to have a sponsor that is willing to vouch for your ability to live there. I was in the country in May and we purchased property there and the property had to be put in my wife's name because I am not a citizen yet. I think it would be easier if you purchased property but along with that comes taxes. I am not sure how much but we escaped the taxes by purchasing in my wife's name.  Montenegro is a beautiful country and the coastline is awesome. I really look forward to retiring there in 2022. The language is challenging but I will do my best to learn. I hope my post has helped a little. I'm no expert but I do know it is not an easy process. A citizen of the country would be a lot of help in guiding you thru the process. There are some English speaking people there that can help you.  Good luck!

Hi Neil,

I feel I have to jump in because there are a couple of wrong informations shared by Boxcarwillie59....

Boxcarwillie59 wrote:

In order for you to rent in the country you have to have a sponsor that is willing to vouch for your ability to live there.

This is not true. Any foreigner can rent in the country without such thing mentioned above. I am in the property business for 13 years, one of our activities is finding long term accommodations for foreigners here, and I have never heard of anything like this.
Your only limitations here will be based on your residency status. If you visit as a traveller, you can only stay 90 days every 180 days. If you can get residency, then you can stay up to a year with the temporary residency.

Boxcarwillie59 wrote:

I was in the country in May and we purchased property there and the property had to be put in my wife's name because I am not a citizen yet

This is also not true. A foreigner has the same rights as a local to purchase property.
Boxcarwillie59 if you need help with your situation, feel free to get in touch, as it seems you have been misinformed, hopefully by lack of knowledge and not malevolence.

When it comes to "citizenship", you do not need citizenship to live or buy in Montenegro. The vast majority of foreigners who live in Montenegro live here with:
1. either a temporary (1 year) residency permit which can be obtained either through
- work (employment in a company or in your own company) or through property ownership.
2. or a "permanent" residency (5 years) permit (only available with a work permit, not with property ownership.

The process is not that complicated.

Hi thats good to clarify some of the issues on the forum.
I wasn't aware that the permanent residency was not available on the basis of property ownership i thought you just have to have 5 years of residency.
I also didn't realise that they have changed the law regarding police certs and that they need  to have a apostille.
I am not sure if this a requirement for some countries or for all countries.

We put our property in my wife's name to escape taxes levied against foreigners. That is the only reason and any information I shared here was given to me by officials in the country. I am still learning but I do know I decided not to import my German built car to Montenegro from the USA because out of ten people asked about importing a car from America I got ten different answers.

HI Kumbor.
We are also unaware that you could not get residency based on property ownership. When did this change? We market Montenegro/property ownership to South Africans wanting to immigrate, so if this is the new law then we need to change our strategy.
Luckily we opened a business and have applied for residency as business owners...although we STILL waiting for residency ;(

Good day everyone.
I'm looking forward to visit Montenegro, and I'm looking for invitation letter for visa purpose, by physical person or legal entity. I'd be grateful if someone could recommend or provide me that. Thank you

Hey im Chris and new here too!! Will open a restaurant in montenegro and could not be more excited.

Where will your restaurant be?