| Document Name: | Montenegrin passport |
| Date First Issued: | 5 May 2008 (current version)[1] |
| Using Jurisdiction: | Montenegro |
| Document Type: | Passport |
| Purpose: | Identification |
| Eligibility: | Montenegrin citizenship |
| Cost: | €33[2] |
The Montenegrin passport (Montenegrin / Serbian: црногорски пасош, Albanian: pasaporta malazeze, Bosnian / Croatian: crnogorski pasoš) is the primary document for international travel issued by Montenegro.
The passport is issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs or, if the citizen resides abroad, by a Montenegrin embassy or consulate. Besides serving as proof of identity and citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Montenegrin consular officials abroad, if needed. Citizens can not have multiple passports at the same time, unless they are of different category.
The first passports issued in Montenegro are from the 18th century, by Prince-Bishop Vasilije III Petrović-Njegoš.
After Vasilije, ethnicity was never a part of Montenegrin passports again. During the reign of Prince-Bishop Petar I Petrović-Njegoš, a special document known as "passport" (Serbian: Пасош) was granted to the citizens who wanted extraordinarily to visit foreign countries.
During the reign of Prince-Bishop Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, he granted special Montenegrin bills of passage. From then on, next to every user of the bill and subsequent passports, "Montenegrin" was added, relating to the country of birth. It also introduced the notification of which clan the individual is from. Later, Njegos formally instituted the official name as the "Montenegrin passport".[3] It was composed of the seal of the Cetinje Metropolitanate's righteous soviet, a bicephalic white eagle with spread-out wings, an Eastern Orthodox cross between his heads, and a passing lion beneath it, altogether on a red background.
With the secularization of Montenegro as a formal princedom under Prince Danilo I Petrovic-Njegos, religious affiliation and even physical description of the passport holder were introduced as of the mid 19th century, in attempt to prevent fraud.[4] The seal was replaced with Danil's coat of arms, the lion was moved onto a red shield on the eagle's chest, and an imperial crown was added.
The passports issued by Nikola I Petrovic-Njegos were significantly changed in appearance, also losing any reference to nationality.[5] The same were the unrecognized passports published by the Montenegrin government-in-exile in 1919, after the country's annexation by Serbia.
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, passports were issued in order with the Law on Travel Documents of Yugoslav Nationals, which came into force on 26 July 1996, although the country came into existence in 1992. They were navy blue in color and have two inscriptions in golden letters – Савезна Република Југославија (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) at the top and the word "passport" written in three languages: Serbian (Cyrillic script), English, and French at the bottom divided by the coat of arms. Following the restructuring of the FRY into the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003, passports with the new name were not issued due to the expected breakup of the union, which eventually happened in 2006.
Following Montenegro's independence, citizens of Montenegro used the same travel document as Serbia until 2008, the only difference being in issuing authority, in this case, the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro.
On 30 November 2006, the government adopted the Memorandum of Agreement between the Republic of Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia on Consular Protection and Services to the Citizens of Montenegro. By this agreement Serbia, through its network of diplomatic and consular missions, provides consular services to the Montenegrin citizens on the territory of states in which Montenegro has no missions of its own.
On 1 January 2010, the government officially invalidated all non-biometric Montenegrin passports, even if the expiry date was beyond 1 January 2010. Because non-biometric Montenegrin passports were no longer considered valid travel documents from that date onwards, holders were obliged to apply for new biometric Montenegrin passports to travel.[6]
The current passports are burgundy-red with the Montenegrin coat of arms. The data page is printed in Montenegrin, English, and French. Unlike previous passports issued in Montenegro, which used both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, this passport uses the Latin alphabet exclusively.
The passport includes the following data:
The information page ends with the machine-readable zone. The Integrated biodata card also contains the RFID chip.
The data page is printed in Montenegrin, English, and French, while the personal data is entered in Montenegrin.
Passports that can be issued are:
See main article: Visa requirements for Montenegrin citizens.
Montenegrin citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access (including eTAs) to 124 countries and territories, ranking the Montenegrin passport 46th in the world in terms of travel freedom (tied with the Kiribati passport) according to the Henley Passport Index.[7]
Montenegrin citizens have visa-free access to all countries of the Schengen area. Montenegro's visa policy works similarly granting visa-free entry to all EU member states. Besides them and 70 other countries, all visitors to Montenegro will need a visa.
In 2019 the government of Montenegro launched the Montenegro Citizenship by Investment Program. There were two ways to participate in the program:
Applications are processed within 8–10 months. Successful applicants are granted full Montenegrin citizenship and are exempt from the country’s restrictions on dual citizenship.[8]
