Hidden page – the MUP-pet list, version 2.0
Hello! If you are reading this, you are a foreigner who either is or wishes to be resident in Montenegro, and you’ve been advised by a friend to have a look at our page before (re)applying for temporary residence (privremeni boravak).
So what is this “MUP-pet list” then? With apologies for the transparently dreadful pun (I couldn’t resist), on this page you will find the (almost) definitive list of documents to take to your local MUP centre to obtain temporary residence in this beautiful, ocassionally bonkers country.
This guide is for anyone applying for temporary residence and work permit in Montenegro either for the first time or renewing an existing visa. Get going on this one FULL month before you need the temporary residence to start. You will need this wiggle room!
If you are after only residency through property ownership, and are not looking to apply for a work permit, scroll past the picture of me near the bottom of this page and follow the instructions there.
Where possible, necessary documents have been scanned and posted for you to use. In other cases, a sample has been scanned and posted so you at least know what each document looks like.
Two caveats: first, apologies that this is all in English only. I appreciate that this will not suit everyone, but I don’t have time to translate it into French, German or Crnogorski and I’m guessing that my efforts will at least be more useful than MUP’s own, Serbo-Croat only (incomplete) guidelines. Secondly, this guide is just that – a guide. Due to ever changing laws and the vagaries of each opština, it’s possible that this list is not even now 100% up to date. If you encounter a requirement that is not mentioned below, or any errors, please let me know (including which opština you live in) and we will make amendments as necessary. You can contact me on ben@undiscoveredmontenegro.com. Thanks to all those who have already contributed!
* = only for those applying for the first time
1. Pisana ponuda poslodavca za zapošljavanje na odredenom radnom mjestu
Work contract – between you and your employer (or your company if applicable). You must fill out a standard work contract, stating position, salary etc. They can be picked up from any local knjižara. This must then be signed and stamped by the employer’s retained accountant, and assigned a case number (which in most cases, stupidly, is completely made up). It must also be stamped with the employer’s pečat and your signature.
Work contract.
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Filled out first page of work contract.
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If this is not your first time applying for temporary residence, you may also be required to prove that your contributions (from your salary) are up to date. These documents can be obtained from first your book-keeper and then the poreska uprava department of your local opština. Strangely enough, your green health books – which can only be kept up to date with proof of paid contributions – are according to MUP’s requirements not in themselves proof of paid contributions…! Instead your employer (or your own company as applicable) needs to request confirmation from the opština that your contributions are up to date. This document looks something like this:
PORESKA UPRAVA request document with “received” stamp on it
Right click image to view or download
For Bar opština, you get your application stamped at šalter 1 in the opština side building – it’s the first on the left as you enter. Make sure you have paid the € 5 tax first! You then need to go to room 218 in the opština to hand over your “IOPPD” documents , signed by the company director and stamped with the company pečat. You get these from your book-keeper or company Director of Finance. They will look something like this, and you need 12 of them for each of the previous 12 months (you will need 2 copies of each):
Monthly IOPPD sample
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Once these have been entered into the system, you need the confirmation document to take to MUP. Collection of the uvjerenje (not potvrda – ridiculously, there is a difference!!) is from room 248 in the opština itself. It will look like this:
PORESKA UPRAVA uvjerenje document
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If you have information on where to go for this document in other locations, please let us know and we shall put the info up!
2. Dokaz o registraciji pravnog lica sa sjedištem u CG (izvod iz centralnog registra privrednih subjekata)
A copy of the founding document of your employer’s company (proving their legitimacy in CG). If this has been lost, a copy can be obtained from the central registry in Podgorica or from the company’s book-keeper. If you are employed by your own company, you should have a copy of this yourself. It has to be a copy with the current year stamped on it, so don’t just use the original (this is to prove your company is still an existing entity).
Company foundation document sample
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3*. Dokaz o stecenom obrazovanju i kvalifikacije stranca*
Proof of your higher education. You must provide proof of your degree or high school qualifications (whichever is the more relevant).
First, get hold of your original certificate – a copy will not do! Fill out the Obrazac zahtjeva form, below. Leave the secondary and primary school sections blank if you are giving higher education diploma.
Obrazac Zahtjeva document
Diploma list of supporting documents required for potvrda
Click links to open documents
You will require 3 translations of your documents from a court appointed translator and a pink slip from the post office proving that you have paid the € 150 registration fee to the Ministarstvo Prosvjeta under account number 832-0000003161080-65.
€ 150 proof of payment slip
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Go to the Ministarstvo Prosvjeta (behind the Budučnosti football stadium in Podgorica) from 11-15h on any working day and go to see the lady in the Arhiv (their pauza is 13:00-13:30). It’s the first office on the left after you come in the main glass doors, room 5. If you have all the items shown on the list they should accept it at the Arhiv. If you are still missing the transcript of marks (your course breakdown) but urgently need this submitted because of visa expiry (as we did) then they will send you to the Director who should accept the application (at his discretion) and issue a potvrda, pending receipt of the transcript at a later date. The potvrda (proof) is the document you need for MUP.
Document proving your diploma has been registered at the Ministry of Education
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UPDATE: We’ve been informed that if you request only your high school diploma or equivalent, the fee is only € 51 and there is no need for grade transcription. This might well be the better option as it’s cheaper and easier!
4. Dokaz o zdravstvenoj sposobnosti
Doctor’s note declaring that you are fit to work. NB – this must theoretically be obtained from the main dom zdravlja in your opština, not the village ambulanta, from a doctor qualified to make such an assessment (see update in red below for why I say “theoretically”…). In Bar, you will require room 25 at the Dom Zdravlja (between 08:00-10:00 only), and be prepared to pay a fee of € 20. No examination will be required – just have your money ready (!).
UPDATE: We have heard reports that in Podgorica they can sometimes insist upon blood samples, a mental assessment with a psychologist and a full GP check-up. Do not worry. My most recent mental check up consisted of being asked if I was mentally sound. I said yes. My physical check-up consisted of being asked if I was physically fit. I said yes. I got my papers (!).
Official doctor’s note sample
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5*. Obezbijeden smještaj (list neprokretnosti ne stariji od 6 mjeseci i izjava vlasnika stana, ugovor ili drugu veza izmedju vlasnika stana i zakupoprimca)*
Proof of domicile – for home owners, a certified copy of the nepokretnosti list document proving that you own a property in Montenegro. This must be no older than 6 months old so in all cases you will need to visit your local opština to obtain this “new” proof (for Bar, go to šalter 2 and make sure you have paid two lots of tax first – € 5 and € 3). Take along your original proof of ownership documents, this should prove sufficient to get your “new” proof. For those renting, the original contract between you and your landlord is required.
LIST NEPROKRETNOSTI sample
Right click image to view or download
6*. Zdravstveno osiguranje (polisa osiguranja u CG ili zdravstvena knjižica)*
Proof of health insurance. If you are applying for temporary residence for the first time you will need a policy no older than 1 month – so leave this until last, you don’t want it running out before you have submitted your application! You can buy such policies from any insurance company (Lovćen, Uniqa, etc). If you are renewing your residency, you do not need this – just bring your green health book and ensure it is up to date with at least a month to run.
7*. Sredstva za izdrzavanje (potvrda iz banke u CG sa iznosom od € 3,650)*
Proof that you have a minimum of € 3650 in a CG bank account, the round figure of €10/day being the minimum that MUP reckon is required to support yourself financially. Bank statements are fine, as long as they are stamped and authorised genuine by the bank in question. Those renewing do not need this.
8. Fotokopija vzece putne isprave – svih stranica ili lične karte
Photocopies of every page of your passport. The reason for this is so MUP can check that you have not spent more than 30 days outside of Montenegro in the previous calendar year. 2018 update: They never used to bother checking but we’ve heard reports that many opštinas are now more rigorous. Fall foul of this max 30 days rule and you will suffer a “reset” and will need to apply as if for the first time, no matter how long you’ve lived here (that means supplying every piece of “original” documentation all over again). The only exceptions are company directors, who are super important and permitted to spend unlimited time on foreign shores.
NB – this “reset” also applies if you have allowed your temporary residence permit to elapse before applying to renew. Avoid having this happen. It’s a total pain in the you know what.
9. Certified translation (x2) of the photo page of your passport
10*. “Original copies” – not photocopies (!) – of relevant birth and marriage certificates, along with certified translation of each document x2*
Everyone applying for the first time needs to supply these documents. Ladies, you require the marriage certificate copies if you took your husband’s name.
2021 UPDATE: a new law has come in for certain countries that requires all the above to have an apostille seal. If your country of origin has a bilateral agreement with MNE (most Eu countries, for example), this won’t be necessary. If they don’t (eg, UK and USA), this could be required of you next time you (re)apply.
11. Pink slips proving you have paid three lots of tax – 2 x € 10, 1 x € 5 as administrative fees. You pay this at any post office, to account numbers specified by MUP.
Tax slips samples
Right click image to view or download
12*. Uvjerenje da lice nije u državi porijekla proavosnažno osudeno*f it is your first time applying for temporary residence, or if you have let your papers run out and have to start from the beginning again, you will need proof from your country of origin that you do not have a criminal record. UK citizens, you can begin the process here. You can do it all online and it takes between 3-10 days to get your results, so get cracking on this in advance if you need it.
2021 UPDATE: as with birth/marriage certificates, if your country of origin has no bilateral agreement with MNE (eg, UK and USA), this document will require an apostille seal.
VERY IMPORTANT
When dealing with the MUP-pets, it is important that you at all times keep your cool. Getting angry with them only means that they are less, rather than more, likely to process your applications in a timely fashion – or at all. Even in the face of overwhelming provocation (passport not accepted as proof of identity, non-acceptance of document due to one typo, non-acceptance of application due to them not telling you about a vital document that you need and therefore do not have), smile, replace, return. And always accept that there is almost no way you can get away with visiting just twice (once with the application, once to pick up your visa).
When you have finally submitted all the necessary documentation, you will need to return to MUP about 1 week later to pick up your dozvola za privremeni borovak i rad, which – hurrah! – also doubles up as your work permit (so there’s no need to apply for this separately). It comes not in the form of a stamp in your passport and a floppy grey book as in the past, but as an ID card that closely resembles the fabled lična karta.
Your temporary residence and work permit!
As mentioned above, it is highly possible (and likely) that this exhaustive list is not entirely complete. I’ll try and keep it updated but will always appreciate input from others, so if this list has helped you – or if you just think it’s a good idea or useful resource – please spread the word and help us all keep one step ahead of MUP!
Thanks!
Ben
2021 note: At the time of writing, 5 years continual residence in MNE on temporary residence DOES qualify you for “permanent” residency (the law used to be that everyone on temporary residency had to “reset” every 3 years, effectively making 5 years continual residency impossible!). When you are granted “permanent” residency, you only have to go through this nonsense once every 5 years instead of annually. I’m currently on year 10 under the old system and year 4 of the new, so I’ll let you know how that goes next year…
PROCEDURE FOR RESIDENCY THROUGH PROPERTY, NO WORK PERMIT REQUIRED
1. Completed application for temporary residency. This can be done at your local Tourist Organisation or border point of entry (example of form coming soon).
2. Fotokopija vzece putne isprave – svih stranica ili lične karte
Photocopies of every page of your passport.
3. Certified translation (x2) of the photo page of your passport
4. Obezbijeden smještaj (list neprokretnosti ne stariji od 6 mjeseci i izjava vlasnika stana, ugovor ili drugu veza izmedju vlasnika stana i zakupoprimca)*
Proof of domicile – for home owners, a certified copy of the nepokretnosti list document proving that you own a property in CG. This must be no older than 6 months old so in all cases you will need to visit your local opština to obtain this “new” proof (for Bar, go to šalter 2 and make sure you have paid two lots of tax first – € 5 and € 3). Take along your original proof of ownership documents, this should prove sufficient to get your “new” proof.
LIST NEPROKRETNOSTI sample
Right click image to view or download
5. Zdravstveno osiguranje (polisa osiguranja u CG ili zdravstvena knjižica)*
Proof of health insurance. If you are applying for temporary residence for the first time you will need a policy no older than 1 month – so leave this until last, you don’t want it running out before you have submitted your application! You can buy such policies from any insurance company (Lovćen, Uniqa, etc).
6. Sredstva za izdrzavanje (potvrda iz banke u CG sa iznosom od € 3,650)*
Proof that you have a minimum of € 3650 in a CG bank account. Bank statements are fine, as long as they are stamped and authorised genuine by the bank in question.
7. Pink slips proving you have paid three lots of tax – 2 x € 10, 1 x € 5 as administrative fees. You pay this at any post office, to account numbers specified by MUP.
Tax slips samples
Right click image to view or download
. Uvjerenje da lice nije u državi porijekla proavosnažno osudeno*
You will need proof from your country of origin that you do not have a criminal record. UK citizens, you can begin the process here. You can do it all online and it takes between 3-10 days to get your results, so get cracking on this in advance.