So, you came to Montenegro for a holiday and you’ve fallen in love with the country and want to stick around and enjoy the beaches and the mountains for the rest of the summer.
Hey, it happens.
In 2018, I booked a week-long trip to a small town I’d never heard of called Kotor. That trip stretched to ten days, then I returned for another two weeks, then for the rest of the summer. A solid few days were wasted frantically combing the internet to figure out exactly when my 90 day stay would expire.
In some countries you can just pop over the border to a neighbouring country and return the same day with a fresh entry stamp to reset the count (and I have heard stories of people doing the same in Montenegro), but one of my golden rules for travel is don’t mess with immigration rules (or officials).
If, like me, you hold a passport from an English-speaking country like Australia, UK, US, Canada, or New Zealand, you can just show up without a visa and you will receive a 90 day stamp on arrival.
You can then use it all up in one go and stay continuously for 90 days. Or, you can travel in and out for a total of 90 days in 180 days, counted from the date of your first entry. After 180 days, the counter will reset and you’ll have a fresh 90 days.
For example, you flew in on March 1st and stayed 90 days in a row. You’ll have to leave on May 30th, then you can come back on August 29th.
Or, you flew in on March 1st and stayed for a week. You left and then came back in April at Easter for two weeks. You left again and then returned on June 15th. You now want to stay for as much of the summer as possible. At this point you have used up 21 days out of the 90 days from your first entry, so you have 69 days left, and you can stay until August 23rd.
Note that this is calculated differently from how much time you can spend in the Schengen zone in the rest of Europe. Their rather complicated system is a rolling count of the number of days you have spent in any 180 day period (if you’re still trying to figure it out, this Schengen calculator is helpful).
Montenegro’s system is much simpler as you only need to count the number of days since you first arrived (just remember to also count the day you arrived and the day you leave).
So, short answer: you can stay 90 days in 180 days, counted from the day you first arrived in the country. Enjoy your stay – and if you decide you love it and want to stay longer… here’s a guide to getting residency in Montenegro.
Hi
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After 180 days, the counter will reset and you’ll have a fresh 90 days.
For example, you flew in on March 1st and stayed 90 days in a row. You’ll have to leave on May 30th, then you can come back on August 29th.
Do you mean you can come back 29th of Aug (after 90 days) Or 180 days?
Hi Jarek, in this example you can come back on the 29th of August – because you stayed 90 days in country and then 90 days out of the country and so the counter has reset.
hi! lots of confusing information about that all over the net. Some places say 90 days and then you can do border run and come back after 2 days for your next free 90 days stay in Montenegro and some say it has to be like Schengen 90 in 180. Even lawyers give totally confusing information :)) What did you do before your residency application, did you go for 90 days away or did you try border run to Croatia or Albania? Also, if you did apply for Montenegro residency, which way is best? We are freelancers, but there is no freelance visa in Montenegro. Just trying to find the best way! Loving Montenegro!!! Thanks a lot!!
Hi Tara, border runs are not technically legal and whether they will work is entirely dependent on the mood of the officer at the border. You can stay 90 days in every 180 in Montenegro (which is much simpler from how it is counted in the Schengen zone).
You can apply for residency even if you only have one day left of your 90 remaining, as you’re allowed to continue to stay while your residency is processed. Here’s my full article on how to get residency in Montenegro – https://kateinmontenegro.com/how-to-get-residency-in-montenegro/
Hi Kate, Hope all is well! I am an Australian also enjoying Montenegro in Tivat. I have 2 questions. I have tried ti calculate on the computer schengen computer but confused.
1. If I have arrived as an Australian Passport holder on September 26, 2024 and took a day trip to Croatia on October 30th, 2024 and returned from the day trip on October 30th 2024. I am unable to calculate the stamp as there is no end date put in passport? Can you shed light on how many days I have remaining?
Also, Christmas is a busy time and I would like to remain over the holidays, can you perhaps suggest the easiest options for myself and colleague to stay?
Hi Kate, Its Christina again. I forgot to ask can you just show up at Podgorica Immigration on a Thursday without an appointment to get advise on visa Information ?
Hi Christina, you can stay a total of 90 days in 180 days. So if you arrived on September 26th 2024, you can stay a total of 90 days in Montenegro between then and March 25th 2025 (so 90 days in Montenegro and 90 days elsewhere). If you use it continuously you’ll need to leave by December 25th.
If you want to stay longer than 90 days in Montenegro you’ll need to apply for temporary residency.
Hi again Christina, not unless you have excellent local language skills!