Montenegro Residence as Director of Your Own Company in 2026: d.o.o. Registration, Single Permit, €10,000 Budget, Renewal and Absence Rules

This is the route I recommend most often for Montenegro. It is cheap to start, it gives the right to work, and its years count towards permanent residence. It also has a reputation problem: people set up an empty company, forget about it, and are refused at renewal. Below are the rules from the government page on temporary residence, the Law on Foreigners and the BRIDGES company director page, checked on 4 November 2026.

How the route works

You found a limited liability company, a d.o.o., and become its employed director. On that basis you apply for a single residence and work permit, the jedinstvena dozvola, which has replaced separate residence and work permits since July 2021. The permit is issued for up to 1 year and renewed.

Point	What applies
Minimum share capital	€1
Launch budget	from €10,000 (BRIDGES estimate)
Investment threshold	none
Permit term	up to 1 year, renewable
Time to status	1-2 months (BRIDGES)
Permanent residence	after 5 years of continuous temporary residence

Step by step

1. A preliminary check of your documents and plans.
2. Company registration in the central register (CRPS), a tax number (PIB) and a bank account. This takes a few days.
3. An employment contract between the company and you as director, and registration for contributions.
4. An address in Montenegro: a lease or your own property.
5. Filing with the Ministry of Interior: passport, police clearance certificate, health insurance, proof of funds, company documents.
6. Issue of the permit for 1 year.
7. Renewals, and after 5 years an application for permanent residence.

Register your stay with the police within 24 hours of arriving at a new address. People often call the registration slip the white card. The BRIDGES company director guide has a checklist of documents.

Renewal: where people fail

The company must really work. BRIDGES names the director contract and paid contributions as the core of the renewal, and since 1 January 2025 the rules on proof of activity for renewals have been clarified. The BRIDGES blog mentions a practical minimum of about €5,000 a year in taxes and contributions. I could not find this figure in the law, so treat it as a practitioner’s benchmark. File the renewal at least 30 days before the permit expires.

Family

The spouse and minor children get permits through family reunification. Parents and adult children do not qualify on this ground and need their own route.

Absences

According to the Law on Foreigners, a temporary permit lapses if you are absent for more than 30 days in a row, unless you notify the police in advance. For justified reasons the absence can be up to 90 days. BRIDGES adds that more than 90 days of absence a year puts the status at risk. This is not a route for people who want a permit while living elsewhere.

A reinforced option: company plus property

BRIDGES also offers a combination of a company and property with a budget of €100,000. The property gives a stable address, and the company gives the right to work and years towards permanent residence. This is a commercial package, not a separate legal programme.

Comparison with other countries

BRIDGES compares entry budgets for business and investment residence:

Country	Entry point
Montenegro	from €10,000, company
Hungary	€250,000
Greece	€250,000
Turkey	$200,000
Cyprus	€300,000

These amounts come from the BRIDGES comparison and cover different types of programmes, so read them as an order of magnitude.

Taxes for the company

Corporate income tax is 9% up to €100,000 of profit, 12% up to €1.5 million and 15% above, according to the corporate income tax law as summarised by BRIDGES. Your director salary is subject to personal income tax and contributions.

My honest view

This route works well for people who will actually live in Montenegro and run some real activity through the company, even a small one. If you need a permit while living in Dubai or Moscow, it will not hold. Start with the complete guide if you are still comparing routes.