Montenegro work permit (temporary residence and work permit)

Under the Law on Foreigners a non-EU national may work in Montenegro only with a temporary residence and work permit or, for some short assignments, a work registration certificate. The permit exists in three forms: employment, seasonal employment and posted work (contracted services, intra-company transfers and agency postings). This page covers ordinary employment with a Montenegrin employer.

Some people work without this permit: family members of Montenegrin citizens or permanent residents, students holding a study permit, researchers, people with humanitarian status and recognised refugees. Asylum seekers may work once their claim has been pending for nine months.

You must meet the general residence conditions: means of subsistence, accommodation, health insurance, a passport valid at least three months beyond the permit, no entry ban, no unconditional prison sentence over six months in Montenegro or your country of origin, and no security or public health obstacle. On top of that you need a written job offer from the employer for a specific post, a medical certificate of fitness for work and proof of your education and qualifications.

The permit is refused if the employer has been fined more than twice for illegal employment or unreported foreign workers, has been fined for unpaid taxes and contributions, is in bankruptcy or does not actually trade.

The Government sets the number of permits each year. The 2026 decision fixes 28,988 permits: 21,668 for employment and 2,320 for seasonal work, with 5,000 held back for allocation on request of the Employment Agency. The largest shares go to construction (5,938), accommodation and food services (4,683) and trade (1,425). Permits outside the quota include IT-sector employees, university graduates in managerial posts, professional athletes, executive directors and sole traders registered in Montenegro, and workers on government development projects.

You file the application in person at the Ministry of Internal Affairs unit in the place where you will live, on the prescribed form; photo, two fingerprints and a digital signature are taken at the counter. Exceptionally the employer can file it, after which you have ten days to appear for biometrics or the application lapses.

If you need a visa to enter Montenegro, you first apply for a visa D for work at a mission or VFS centre with the employer's guarantee or invitation letter; for this visa the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also obtains the consent of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Holders of a visa D for work must file the permit application within ten days of the visa's issue. A complete application filed before 90 days of lawful stay run out lets you remain until the decision.

The National Security Agency and the police give their opinion within seven days and the Ministry decides within 15 days. The receipt you get states when to collect the permit; if you do not collect it within five days of that date, the application is treated as withdrawn.

Within 24 hours of the permit's issue the employer must sign the employment contract with you and register you for compulsory social insurance. If you do not start work, the employer must tell the Ministry within three days so the permit can be cancelled. You may work only in the job stated and only for that employer, the employer must keep a copy of the permit at the workplace and must report the end of your employment within eight days.

The permit lapses if you stay outside Montenegro for more than 30 days, unless you notified the police in advance of a justified absence of up to 90 days. When you move to another town for more than three days you register your stay with the police there.

You or the employer apply for an extension at the Ministry in your place of residence no earlier than 60 and no later than 30 days before expiry. You file a valid passport, proof of accommodation, a new written job offer and proof that taxes and contributions were paid during the current permit. With a full-time contract the permit can be extended for up to two years. The extension fee is EUR 30.

You can appeal a refusal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs within eight days of receiving the decision. A refusal because the annual quota is used up is challenged instead through an administrative dispute before the Administrative Court. The Government published plans in July 2026 to introduce a new single-permit system in which the Employment Agency would have to consent before a permit is issued; until a new law is adopted, the current procedure applies.