Montenegro will lift all restrictions on the entry of tourists from Russia from April 24

How it all began

Airplane Moscow - Rome. Yesterday we got married. This is our honeymoon and our first flight to Europe together. We have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. Summer, freedom, pizza, wine and just the two of us. No fuss, preparation, worry, and even this work. Goodbye Groundhog Day!

Italy. Rome. year 2012

We walk along narrow streets, go on excursions to castles, visit numerous squares and monuments, admire the architecture, buy souvenirs, have lunch in a cafe, and in the evenings we eat pizza by the fountain while drinking wine. We are happier than ever. There is no desire to return to my homeland. But…

Italy. Rome. year 2012

It's been a fabulous week. Again, life, work, bustle, traffic jams and the ubiquitous everyday dullness. There is nowhere as gray as in Moscow. It was then that the idea of ​​leaving the country arose in us. There were many reasons. This is a lack of confidence in the future (more precisely, the confidence that it will be like today), and everyday incessant rudeness from people around you who are unfamiliar to you (as they say - dullness and brutalization of the people), and the lack of proper medicine and education (how to give birth to children we did not understand), and the inaction of the state. institutions, and the dominance of migrants, traffic jams, fools and roads, zero service in everything, and most importantly - the government and all these games in politics. It’s impossible to watch TV; there’s constant insanity and battles between left and right on the Internet. I was sick of it all. Fuel was added to the fire every day. All this depressed us and pushed us to action. We went wild and also hated all the people around us. It was impossible to take this calmly. There was no point in changing anything in such a country or waiting for better times. There is only one life, and I didn’t want to spend it on something so real. In any case, we understood that things definitely couldn’t get worse. The only question that remained was... where?

After the new year 2013 we went on another long-awaited vacation. While everyone is suffering from -20, we will bask in the sun on the beautiful island of Phuket. In fact, it was reconnaissance. We went to Thailand to find out what kind of country it is - so distant and mysterious. Moreover, you can easily migrate to it without unnecessary hassles with documents.

Thailand. Phuket Island. Monkey Mountain. year 2013

But I won’t bore you with the details of the vacation. In the end, we abandoned this idea because it is very dirty, there are rats and cockroaches running around at night, and there are a huge number of selected Russian tourists. A 3rd world country is not our option. Plus it’s very far and a bit expensive for sudden flights in “what if something happens.”

Thailand. Phuket Island. Buddha Temple. year 2013

So February, cold and Moscow again. After this trip, we were once again convinced that we need to migrate to Europe. And civilization in all its manifestations, and people have the same mentality that we need, and our relatives seem to be close at hand.

We spent all our free time on the Internet. We were looking for how and where to leave. Yes, so that there is a sea and you can get there by car. Italy remained a dream. It probably remains somewhere deep in her soul even now. But that's not the point. Your whole life is still ahead. I’ll say right away that moving to Italy is expensive. Expensive and very difficult in terms of obtaining a work visa. Moreover, without knowledge of the language.

Unexpectedly, the wife found an article about how the family moved to Montenegro. It was like the sound of "BINGO" in the slot machines. We began to eagerly study all the information about this wonderful country. We began to dream about how we would go, how we would live at sea, what we would do. We even downloaded audio lessons of the Serbian language. We calculated all possible options, weighed all the pros and cons. I even had to change jobs in search of a better salary.

We saved money for six months. We saved money on literally everything. They spared neither themselves nor their strength. And now, six months later, we quit our jobs. You can't imagine what happiness this is. You are a simple office plankton and here you are free.

No one knew about our plans until recently. It was our little secret. They were afraid to jinx it and miss the dream. My parents took this news with difficulty, of course, but it was too late to dissuade us. The mechanism has started.

Russian migrants in Montenegro - who are they?

What categories of Russian emigrants can be found in Montenegro? First of all, these are businessmen and investors who come to the country with their capital and business. A lot of Russians buy real estate and come to the country on short visits to spend their holidays. Apartments in newly built buildings are actively in demand. Many of these houses are so-called “Russian” because their owners are investors from Russia who are building high-rise housing primarily for Russian-speaking buyers. We can say that Russians of this category (not permanent residents) make up the majority of the population here.

A fairly significant percentage of Russians in Montenegro are wealthy pensioners and mothers with children. The former can be either on temporary vacation or as more or less permanent residents, and mothers with babies, as a rule, are sent by spouses from noisy, polluted domestic cities with a population of over a million people closer to the sea, sun, fruit and clean air.

Children in Montenegro are happy and surrounded by the care of not only their parents, but also all the adults around them

As for Russians living here on a permanent basis, there are not so many of them. Montenegro is very favorable for freelancers, i.e. people who are able to provide themselves with work independently, without needing local vacancies and employers. Working via the Internet, you can focus equally on both Russia and Western Europe, Asia, both Americas, etc., which makes the freelancer independent of the Montenegrin economy.

People who make a living as freelancers pay minimal taxes in Montenegro.

Preparation

The route was laid out as follows: Moscow - Bryansk - Kyiv - Zhitomir - Chernivtsi - Suceava - Deva (Hunedoara) - Belgrade - Belo Pole - Tivat. Total almost 3000 km. We decided to take our time and extended the trip over 5 days. To travel through the territory of Romania, we received a tourist visa for 2 weeks in advance at the embassy.

I must say that we migrated along with our pet. This is our dog. Therefore, you can’t just break away and go. It was necessary to prepare documents for him, and this is a completely different story.

Our faithful dog

Firstly, our state, apparently, is making every effort to ensure that you never reveal the mystery of collecting documents. We looked through a bunch of forums and eventually glued the entire action plan together. First, we had our dog microchipped. This is the most important thing and the first thing to start with.

The second point is to get an annual rabies vaccination at least a month in advance. Then, two weeks before the trip, you need to come to the state regional veterinary hospital and get tested for worms. And then call and find out the test results. If everything is fine, then the day before the trip we go again to the district veterinarian, where we receive a certificate in Form No. 1. At the same time, the veterinarian will put stamps on your dog’s passport about treatment for ticks, and so on. And that's not it. Now we need to exchange this certificate for an international one. We did this at Sheremetyevo Airport, Terminal B. Since we laid out a route through Romania, and it is part of the EU, we also need a certificate for EU countries. They did it at the veterinarian's office at the airport. Well, that seems to be all. Our faithful dog is ready for the journey. Let me note that we were lucky with the dog. We taught him to ride in the car. And he didn't cause much trouble. He slept peacefully in the back seat, sometimes asking to go for a walk.

And so all the documents are collected, the car is fully loaded. Our dog sits faithfully on the bedding bags in the back seat, the navigator is set. Let's hit the road.

How to move to Montenegro for permanent residence from Russia

Probably the most important right that will appear with the acquisition of permanent residence is the opportunity to receive a pension in the future and the right to receive social assistance. But this is only under the condition that the person, while living in the country, worked and paid taxes consistently. The most basic rules for obtaining permanent residence:

• purchase a residence permit;
• live in the country for a long time and constantly renew the residence permit;
• after five years, apply for permanent residence;
• obtain citizenship.

It is believed that the easiest way for Russians to acquire permanent residence in Montenegro is to open their own company, even if it is a very small one. It is not difficult for a person from the Russian Federation to move to this state using one of the legal grounds, and plus, it does not require significant financial savings and expenses. As for such a category of citizens as pensioners, it is much easier and cheaper for them to immigrate to the country than to other EU countries. Elderly people acquire a residence permit when purchasing real estate and when starting a state of emergency. And what is important, when a person at that age opens his own company, he is automatically given permission to receive free honey. service.

On the roads of Russia and Ukraine

As soon as we entered the Kaluga region, a miracle happened: the clouds and smog cleared, a blue sky appeared, and we saw the sun. It was as if everything around us was rejoicing along with us. But there are the first 300 km ahead. and the first stop is Bryansk, where my parents live. We wanted to say goodbye to them, so to speak, and at the same time sort through our suitcase, because we didn’t need some of our things with us, and the car sagged a lot, and the “wonderful” Kiev highway could ruin the first days of the trip.

Russia. Highway Moscow – Bryansk

The road along the Kyiv highway is exactly 50 percent good. And all these 50 percent lie before the turn to Kaluga. What follows is quiet horror. At the entrance to the Bryansk region, there are road repairs everywhere, traffic lights and one-way traffic on potholes. This takes quite a bit of time. Somehow we arrived to my parents. In the evening we even managed to get rid of one bag of things. Already good.

2nd day. We left around 10 am. We hoped to quickly cross the border, but that was not the case. Troebortnoye - Bachevsk - we stand 3 hours before the checkpoint on the Russian border. What's most surprising is that no one cares about our dog. They didn’t ask for her passport or certificate at all. It even became offensive. After all, they put so much effort into collecting documents.

Ukraine. A line of cars before entering the Ukrainian border

We crossed the Ukrainian border quickly because the border guard offered to give him a bribe (quote: “So that it doesn’t cost you and doesn’t hurt us”) for filling out some kind of declaration. We put 1000 rubles in our passport. (If only we could get out of here as quickly as possible, we’ve wasted so much time) and five minutes later we were already moving towards the capital of the Square - Kyiv.

Ukraine. The route from the border to the turn to Kyiv

The road was gorgeous. Sun was shining. At some point they thought that this was Europe. The euphoria ended quickly when we turned onto the turn towards Kyiv and potholes began. This whole nightmare was framed by pitch darkness and the absence of lights. You can’t even say that you are entering the capital. Not Moscow for sure. And then a valiant traffic police officer stopped us, looked at the documents, apparently didn’t find anything to complain about, and let us go. They were surprised that he didn’t ask for money, the numbers were Moscow, and you could always come up with a reason. In Kyiv we booked a hotel for one night, when we got there it was almost 10 o'clock in the evening. Thanks to the capital's traffic jams. The room was luxurious, even with a jacuzzi and only 455 hryvnia per night. We fell into bed exhausted - we have to wake up early tomorrow.

3rd day. In the morning we realized that we needed to exchange rubles for hryvnia and fill the tank. While we were waiting for banks to open and exchange rates to be set, we lost a couple of hours and only left Kyiv at 11. Immediately the traffic police inspector stopped us, well, we think, again... to our surprise, he just asked us to wipe down the license plates and wished us a safe journey. Let's move on...

Ukraine. Our dog sleeps as if nothing had happened in the back seat

The road to Zhitomir is laid out beautifully. If the cars had wings, they would fly up, but the rest... I don’t know what to call it, because this is not a road at all... what the hell, honestly. A special “thank you” to our Navitel navigator, I would like to rip their hands off for such navigation. A couple of times he took us to some villages without roads, we thought we’d stay there. After winding around for an hour and a half in the Khmelnitsky area, we again drove out onto something like a highway. I still can’t understand which European Union they want to join with a complete lack of communication between cities. And again pitch darkness and off-road conditions. There are no flashlights, we want to sleep, we have no strength anymore, we look out for potholes on the road. Oncoming trucks are blinding, in general, we are tired of driving around Ukraine. At a speed of 60-70 km/h we approached the Ukraine-Romania border. It’s almost eight in the evening and the shift change is about to begin. Ukrainian customs officers were the first to notice our dog and asked us to put a stamp with permission to export the animal at the veterinary office. All this took about 10 minutes, and to the jokes of the border guards about expensive gas for Ukraine, we approached Romania.

What does permanent residence status give in Montenegro?

Citizens with permanent residence status in Montenegro receive certain rights and privileges to live in the country.

Basic rights of citizens with permanent residence:

• employment on equal terms with local residents;
• the possibility of purchasing a car with re-registration in your name;
• the right to social protection, receiving various benefits, pensions upon reaching the appropriate age;
• free medical care;
• reduced costs for various services, reduced property taxes and other privileges provided for by the legislation of the country for the local population.

For Romania and Serbia

We crossed the border into Romania without any problems. But it’s already dark and we need to quickly go to the hotel in Suceava. First of all, we were happy about the roads and the lighting in places - civilization heard us! I was especially pleased with the culture on the road - they see you in the distance and turn off the high beams. It should be noted that after nine in the evening the city seemed to die out. There is no one on the streets. Here Count Dracula and all the horror stories about vampires come to mind. We slowly drove to Suceava, looking closely at the road out of habit to see if there were any potholes? No, thank God. The navigator somehow brought us to the hotel, we checked into our room and we could relax.

4th day. After a trip to Ukraine, we realized that, most likely, we would not have time to get to Belgrade before dark, and we didn’t really want to travel in the dark, so we booked rooms in Hunedoara and Bela Pole (Montenegro), and wrote to all other hotels that we would be delayed two days. Now we can take our time and look around.

Romania

The morning began with another currency exchange. The Romanian leu is something. I have never held such beautiful and pleasant-to-touch money. In general, Romania gave us pleasant emotions. I don't even know how to describe it. Everything is so beautifully built, painted, well-maintained, and it’s clear that people are trying for themselves. For the first time we drove through a railway crossing without noticing it; for a Russian person, the rails are level with the asphalt - nonsense. Even the patches blend in with the old road and are not felt. God bless everyone with such gorgeous roads - this is a fairy tale after the Russian-Ukrainian potholes.

100 Romanian lei (with a transparent film in the form of a smiling mask)

I also advise everyone to forget the stereotypes about gypsies, dirt and poverty - there are carts with horses, yes, but gypsies as such have not been seen. On Romanian roads there are markings with special notches, and when we drove onto a solid wheel, there was noise in the cabin. So much for Europe, abroad.

Romania

It was starting to get dark earlier. In one of the cities there was an accident on the highway, and traffic was blocked, so the traffic jam lasted for 3 hours. Then a thick fog fell on the road, such that even markings were not visible two meters away. The fog lights didn't help. You can't see oncoming cars either. We had to drive 10-15 km/h until we passed the foggy area. Thus, at almost ten in the evening we arrived in Hunedoara, and then a miracle happened. A huge, luxurious 19th century room awaited us. High ceilings, a round room, massive entrance doors - just like in a castle. A good end to the day.

Romania

Day 5 greeted us with morning fog. We were moving to the border with Serbia. Belgrade is ahead. On the way we again enjoyed the beauty of Romania. Plowed gardens, trimmed bushes and trees, windmills and ancient houses. And somehow, imperceptibly, the navigator led us to the border. Here we were asked for the first time where we were going and why so many things. They explained that we were heading to Montenegro for the winter, and these were all personal belongings. Serbia also greeted us very cordially and at ease.

In the first city we exchanged euros for local currency and refueled. Soon we reached Belgrade. As it turned out, we booked a room in some football fan hotel, which could not be said from the photo on the booking page. The room was cold, dirty, there were empty beer bottles under the sink, the light in the bathroom was dim, it was smoky, and there was only one barely burning lamp in the entire room, in a word, it looked like a hangout from American films. I didn’t have the strength to go look for something else, we found good wi-fi and okay, by the way, we paid 25 euros plus tax for the room. We didn’t like Belgrade as we saw it at all - we immediately felt disgust towards the whole country, but the next day it disappeared when we saw a different, mountainous Serbia.

6th day. We woke up at 6 am and ran away from this hotel and this city. A couple of hours later we were already winding through the mountains with our mouths wide open from the beauty: the mountain river Lim, the huge Zlatar Lake with clear water, sandwiched between rocky mountains, in the midst of this beauty there are small cities, mining factories, quarries.

Serbia. Zlatar Lake

How can Russians obtain permanent residence in Montenegro?

Russian migrants can obtain permanent residence status in Montenegro by fulfilling the basic requirements provided for by the legislative system.

Rules and grounds

To obtain permanent residence in Montenegro, you need to live in this country for at least 5 years legally (according to a residence permit).

The following are also eligible for permanent residence:

• refugees from other countries;
• close relatives of Montenegrins;
• foreigners married to a national of the country and living in a single union for at least 3 years;
• former citizens of Yugoslavia;
• businessmen who have invested a lot of money in the local economy;
• property owners in the country;
• foreign citizens of Montenegrin origin.

What documents will be required

To obtain permanent residence, you must prepare a package of personal documentation.

What you will need:

• valid foreign passport + photocopies;
• a document confirming the fact of registration of a foreigner in Montenegro;
• medical insurance;
• certificate of no criminal record;
• financial guarantees;
• confirmation of the availability of housing for permanent residence in the country;
• a health certificate confirming the satisfactory condition of the applicant;
• application completed in Montenegrin language.

All listed documents must be translated into the national language of the Balkan republic.

Additional documents may also be required, depending on the reason for the move.

Where is permanent residence obtained?

You can obtain permanent residence - a plastic card confirming the status of a citizen of the country - at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro, operating in Budva, Podgorica, Bar and other cities of the Balkan state.

How to apply for permanent residence:

1. The applicant prepares all necessary documents and submits them to the authorized employee.
2. The specialist checks the documents. If everything is in order, it issues a temporary certificate confirming the fact of acceptance of the documents.
3. If, after considering the application, a positive decision is made, the applicant receives a permanent residence certificate, after which he needs to submit another set of documents to obtain citizenship.

Timeframe for making a decision

The decision to issue permanent residence is made within 6 months from the date of submission of documents.

Possible reasons for refusal

A residence permit may be refused for various reasons.

The most common reasons for refusal:

• the applicant has a criminal record;
• illegal conduct of business in the country;
• violation or ignorance of the laws of Montenegro;
• the documents were not submitted in full;
• errors were identified in filling out documents or falsely provided data;
• the applicant is a citizen of another country and does not plan to renounce his citizenship;
• the foreigner has been outside the country for one year;
• ignorance of the Montenegrin language.

There may be other reasons for refusal to issue permanent residence, which the applicant is notified about when contacting the migration service. He can submit documents to appeal in court within a week from the date of the decision.

Montenegro

In this delighted state, we approached Montenegro. Crossing both borders was faster than ordering breakfast in a makavto. We didn't even get out of the car. Having received the coveted stamps in our passports with the MNE sign, we rushed to the hotel, which is located near the border in White Field.

Montenegro. Construction of a tunnel on the way to Podgorica

I'll say a few words about gasoline. For 1400 rub. we filled a full tank (42-45l) with 95+ gasoline. This is enough for 500 km. In Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, we filled the 95 with €60 (€1.35 - liter) full tank and this is enough for more than 600 km. This is the difference: gasoline is almost 2 times more expensive, but you will only travel 20 percent more. Before leaving, we read reviews that gasoline is expensive, but it lasts twice as long - that’s all fairy tales.

Montenegro. A railway somewhere high in the mountains

There was a room waiting for us at the hotel for €50 - they booed us, after Belgrade we need to relieve stress. After walking around the town and eating a huge pizza, we passed out in our room until the morning.

7th day. This is the smell of freedom. The freshness of the mountains and invigorating coffee give you strength for the last forced march. The sea and the unknown lie ahead. We drove slowly as usual. And you can’t really drive in the mountains. It takes habit and experience. So we got to the capital of Montenegro - Podgorica. A city on a plain surrounded by mountains. The city is large, bustling like all capitals. Behind him are again mountains, mountains and mountains. We climbed to the very top and rode in the cloud. Unreal sensations, like nothing like that, but the fog around you is not fog at all, but a cloud.

Montenegro. We're riding in the cloud

And here it is, the long-awaited sea, shining and shimmering in the sun. Then the road goes along the coast.

We arrive at our hotel in Tivat. To begin with, we have difficulty finding it using the navigator coordinates, since there is simply no address. Well, welcome.

Montenegro. We go up the mountain. (on the way from Podgorica to Tivat)

Here we planned to stay for a week and start looking for a lawyer to prepare documents and permanent residence. The kind hosts show us the apartment and offer us a drink of rakia. And everything would have been fine, but the room was small, cold and there was wi-fi on the street on the first floor, and we were on the 3rd. The hostess assures that in 15 minutes she will “tweak” something and everything will work for us, 2 hours pass - zero result, she says that her son will come now and will also “tweak” something. And so the night passed...

Montenegro. Tivat. View from a dysfunctional hotel

8th day. In the morning we understand that we won’t live like this for a week, and it’s not clear how to solve migration issues without the Internet. We have to get out, fortunately we didn’t pay for the entire stay. We quickly called a lawyer who was in Herceg Novi. We agreed to meet. We cannot delay, we have 30 days to complete the documents, otherwise we will have to leave the country and enter again to extend our stay for another 30 days. Having folded our things and left the money for the night on the table, we hit the road. The road is again along the sea, through the entire Boka - Kotor Bay.

Montenegro. Herceg Novi. Coast of the Old Town

An hour later we arrived in Herceg Novi. We entered into an agreement to register a company and prepare documents to obtain a Boravka (work visa for a year) for me and my wife. They paid €950 for everything at once.

Parking in Herceg Novi is paid. In the center an hour costs 60 euro cents. To pay, we bought a parking slip (you can also pay via SMS, but you need a local SIM card), filled it out and put it under the windshield. Upon returning an hour later, a parking attendant was waiting for us, who said that the form was filled out incorrectly and charged us a fine of €5, but we remembered it for the rest of our lives.

We are lucky with hotels every now and then, so we got a wonderful room for the same 25 euros per night. By the way, the lawyer introduced us to a realtor who promised to find housing, and in the evening we went to look at the first version of the apartment. We liked it, it was a 3-room apartment with a full kitchen and a huge balcony overlooking the sea, but without the Internet. Looking ahead, I will say that now we live here, but at that moment we were not ready to move in right away, because the hotel was paid for a week in advance.

Residence permit in Montenegro for Russians

Stay in the country for Russians in 2021 can remain visa-free for only one month. If an emigrant plans to stay in the country for more than a month, he will have to apply for a visa. During this time, you will need to approve a residence permit and pay one euro per day for it*. You can pay it yourself at the bank or the owner of the rental property will do it. This permit is also called “white cardboard”. It can be obtained from the Ministry of Internal Affairs or from some travel agencies. This is a kind of tax for staying in the state. It does not need to be paid only for children under 12 years of age, disabled people and people with whom the purchased property is registered.

Important! Time spent in the country is limited to 90 days. After this, you need to leave the country or renew your visa at the territorial Ministry of Internal Affairs.

After determining the purpose of moving abroad, you need to fulfill some provisions that are presented in this list:

• obtain a temporary residence permit;
• live in the country for 5 years without breaking the law;
• obtain a permanent residence permit;
• acquire permanent residence.

A residence permit in the country can be issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro. There can be many reasons for acquiring a temporary residence permit (employment, treatment, family ties, scientific work, practice, student exchange, etc.). For all these pretexts of entry, some documents are required:

• a certificate confirming the presence of money for living in the country;
• honey. insurance policy;
• a document confirming the absence of a criminal record;
• paper, which indicates the need to stay in the state.

Emigration to Montenegro from Russia

To finally obtain a residence permit, a citizen must provide the following documents:

• application and questionnaire;
• international passport;
• approval of employment in the country;
• a document confirming the rental of living space or the purchase of a house;
• employment contract.

When the purchase of real estate has been completed, in order to obtain a residence permit, you need to submit an application and paper on ownership to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. You will need to pay forty-five euros*, and for each person who wants to obtain a residence permit. The authorities will consider the application for approximately 40 days, after which the decision will be notified.

Note! Real estate prices at this time are relatively low, but this is until the state joined the EU. Afterwards, most likely, they will increase significantly, as in other EU countries.

Average prices in the country

If you are interested in how much money you need for food per day in Montenegro, then on average 10-20 euros per day is enough for one person - it all depends on the choice of products and catering establishments. In addition, you should take into account various household expenses: travel, housing rent, entertainment. If you intend to visit Montenegro as a tourist, you also need to take into account the costs of excursions (from 25 to 45 euros per excursion). On average, one day of stay in Montenegro will cost approximately 25 euros per person, but if you are a tourist, then it is advisable to double or even triple this amount. It should be borne in mind that prices for accommodation in Montenegro differ depending on the location of the city: the closer to the resort area, the higher they are.

Average cost of goods and services

The cost of household goods and services in Montenegro is comparatively lower than in the EU countries, but significantly higher than in the CIS countries. Average prices for some goods and services are shown in the table:

Cost of food

Products in Montenegro are environmentally friendly and of high quality. At the market, products are a little more expensive than in supermarkets, but here they are fresher and of better quality. The average cost of basic food products is shown in the table:

What kind of work can you expect?

Montenegro, washed by the Adriatic Sea, attracts many holidaymakers in the summer, so at this time of year it is quite easy to find work in the tourism sector. The most popular vacancies are cooks, bartenders, waiters, maids, massage therapists, and drivers.

Installers, engineers and builders can also find work in Montenegro. It should be noted that Montenegrin employers willingly hire certified specialists who can find application for their knowledge as translators, in the field of information technology, in science, business management, etc. The average salary in Montenegro is about 480 euros per month, the minimum is 160 Euro.

Best places to stay in Montenegro

It all depends on the purpose of the move. For those Russian migrants who prioritize favorable climatic conditions, resort settlements will be the optimal choice.

One of the best places to live permanently in Montenegro is the city of Bar, located in a flat area. Thanks to this location, the settlement has a developed road transport network. It also has good private hospitals with highly qualified staff.

The capital of the state, Podgorica, offers the widest selection of various goods and services. However, it is not suitable for those who aspire to life in a metropolis. Most of the city is private housing construction.

Those wishing to find work in the service sector, especially at the height of the tourist season, should settle in Budva. It is here that there are a large number of catering establishments, nightclubs, hotels, beaches, where many citizens of the Russian Federation relax and work.

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Montenegro

Of course, there are pros and cons of living in Montenegro. In particular, the advantages include:

• stable growth of wages and the economy as a whole;
• low crime rate;
• low prices for food, services, purchase and rental of real estate;
• good ecology;
• many resorts and clean beaches;
• quality food products;
• marriage registration in Montenegro for many foreign citizens is legally valid and recognized in their home countries (including official exit marriage registration in Montenegro for Russians).

But despite the advantages, there are also some disadvantages of living in Montenegro:

• lack of central heating in houses;
• Montenegro is not a member of the European Union, therefore, to enter the Schengen countries you need to apply for a visa;
• peculiarities of the mentality of Montenegrins, characterized by slowness in fulfilling agreements;
• increased air humidity, causing mold in homes;
• high corruption of government bodies at different levels;
• Difficulties connecting to the Internet for foreigners;
• lack of intracity public transport in many cities.

MONTENEGRO FREE ENTRY FOR RUSSIANS FROM APRIL 24

The Institute of Public Health has adopted several new measures that will be in effect for the next seven days throughout Montenegro.

From April 24, citizens of Montenegro and foreigners from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and North Macedonia are allowed entry without a PCR coronavirus test, a positive serological test (IgG antibodies) or proof that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Let us recall that on April 21, the Minister of Finance of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic, announced that all entry restrictions would be lifted for citizens of the Russian Federation and three other countries.

Elena Myagkova

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Economy and standard of living

The economy and standard of living in Montenegro are characterized by stable growth, which in turn affects the improvement of the quality of life: the tourism industry brings the country more and more profit every year, the real estate market is developing, and the labor market is replenished with foreign specialists. This is also facilitated by good ecology, thanks to which the average age of residents of Montenegro is 75 years.

When talking about how much it costs to live in Montenegro, you should keep in mind that the cost of living and food here is much lower than in other European countries. And all because the economy of Montenegro, compared to the countries of the European Union, is weaker and the standard of living in the country is generally lower. However, the country's government is trying to introduce European standards into all management systems in Montenegro. In recent years, the state has seen a rapid increase in wages, and accordingly, the cost of living in Montenegro in 2021 is also growing.

The average salary of Montenegrins in 2021 was 480 euros. At the same time, those living in Montenegro claim that a family of three needs an income of at least 1,000 euros per month for a comfortable existence.