At this point, the Montenegro Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) has only included one approved project – a hotel in ski resort Kolašin. That said, more developments are planned for CIP later this year.

The Montenegro programme was unveiled last month, yet applicants haven’t had any real choice so far. The delay in approving more projects may be due to the stringent governmental requirements. To avoid the negative experience of the past when many projects just failed to come to fruition, the Secretariat for Development Projects has imposed strict rules to ensure each qualifying development comes with serious intentions.

The developer has to prove they have enough financial assets to complete the project. They also need to demonstrate an independently audited business plan. Also, it doesn’t suffice to just have a concept, the authorities require the ‘main design’ so the construction can start right away after the approval is granted. Generally, it may take the developer up to 6 months to meet these requirements.

A source in the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism shared information about three more developers awaiting approval in the next two or three weeks. Besides, seven or eight other projects are now in the pipeline expecting approvals by the end of 2019 and in early 2020

The Government of Montenegro aims to focus on the northern part of the country rather than the south which accounts for 90% of tourism revenues. Looking to raise a billion euros from the CIP (200 million in investments and 800 million in construction), the authorities have come up with an incentive programme that would bring more funds to northern Montenegro.

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