As a general rule, no. Montenegro's Citizenship Act makes renunciation of your other citizenship a condition of ordinary naturalisation, and a Montenegrin adult who voluntarily takes another country's citizenship loses Montenegrin citizenship by operation of law. The law does not stop there, though, and the exceptions are the part most summaries leave out. Three routes to Montenegrin citizenship do not require renunciation at all: descent from Montenegrin emigrants, marriage or life partnership with a Montenegrin citizen, and admission in the special interest of the state. And the rule on loss has its own exception for citizenship held under a ratified treaty, although no such treaty has been in force. This page sets out, article by article, who keeps a second passport and who does not.
Sources, checked 17 September 2026: Zakon o crnogorskom državljanstvu (Montenegrin Citizenship Act), "Sl. list CG" 13/2008, 40/2010, 28/2011 and 46/2011, in the consolidated text published by the Government of Montenegro, together with Constitutional Court decision U-I 17/11 ("Sl. list CG" 20/2014) and the amending act "Sl. list CG" 119/2026 (published 11 August 2026, in force 19 August 2026), which concerns life partnership only. For the absence of dual-citizenship treaties: the Government spokesperson's statement reported by the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) on 23 May 2015, and Prime Minister Milojko Spajić's statement in Parliament reported by Politika on 5 April 2024. We found no later act changing the articles discussed here. This is general information, not advice.
The short version, route by route
The Act lists the conditions for naturalisation once, in Article 8(1), points 1 to 8. Point 2 is "ima otpust iz državljanstva druge države": the applicant has been released from the citizenship of another state. Each other route then states which of those points apply. Whether a route requires renunciation depends on whether point 2 is on its list.
| Route to Montenegrin citizenship | Article | Residence required | Must you give up your other citizenship? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary naturalisation | 8 | 10 years, lawful and uninterrupted | Yes (Article 8(1)(2)) |
| Montenegrin emigrant, or a family member up to the third degree in the direct line | 10 | 2 years | No: the article applies points 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8 only |
| Spouse of a Montenegrin citizen (married at least 3 years); widowed spouse; life partner under 119/2026 | 11 | 5 years | No: the article applies points 1, 4, 5 and 7 only |
| Special interest of the state (scientific, economic, cultural, sporting and others) | 12 | None fixed | No: admission "even if" the Article 8 conditions are not met |
| Born in Montenegro, or lived there lawfully before turning 18 | 15 | 10 years (Article 8(1)(3)) | Yes: point 2 is on the list |
| Former citizen reacquiring citizenship | 26 | 1 year | Yes: point 2 is on the list |
| Under a ratified treaty on dual citizenship, subject to reciprocity | 18 | Per treaty | Treaty would decide; none reported in force (see below) |
Two details change how people read that table:
- Refugees are the control case. Article 13, on refugees, lists point 2. The omission of point 2 in Articles 10 and 11 is therefore deliberate, not an oversight in drafting.
- Article 12 is discretionary. Where the interest is a state interest, the ministry responsible for citizenship decides on the proposal of the President, the Speaker of Parliament or the Prime Minister; for scientific, economic, cultural, sporting and similar interests it decides with the opinion of the authority responsible for that field (Article 12(2)–(3)). It is not an application route an investor can simply choose. Montenegro's citizenship-by-investment programme closed to new applications on 31 December 2022; see what remains of Montenegro's citizenship by investment.
If you are naturalising: what renunciation actually involves
Under Article 8, release from your other citizenship is a condition of admission, not something that happens afterwards. The Act solves the chicken-and-egg problem with a guarantee.
| Step | What happens | Article |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You apply for admission without yet having been released from your other citizenship | 9(1) |
| 2 | On request, you receive a guarantee that you will be admitted if you meet the Article 8(1) conditions | 9(1) |
| 3 | The guarantee is valid for two years; within that time you must bring proof of release from the other citizenship | 9(2) |
| 4 | If you do not bring that proof within two years, the admission procedure is discontinued | 9(3) |
Article 8(2) removes the renunciation condition in three situations only: if you are stateless; if you prove that under the law of your current country you will lose that citizenship automatically on becoming Montenegrin; or if your request for release was refused because you have not settled military service obligations there, provided you sign a statement renouncing that citizenship if you acquire Montenegrin citizenship.
Whether and how your current country releases you, and what that costs you there, is a question of that country's law. We do not state other countries' rules on this page.
If you are an investor or retiree, you may not need citizenship at all
Most people who ask this question want to live in Montenegro, own property and travel, not vote. Permanent residence under the Law on Foreigners requires five years of uninterrupted residence and does not require you to give up any citizenship. It lets you live in Montenegro indefinitely; what it does not give you is a Montenegrin passport or the right to vote. See our guides to permanent residence and to the residence permit that comes before it.
| Status | Other citizenship affected? | Main time requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary residence permit | No | Renewable, up to one year at a time |
| Permanent residence | No | 5 years uninterrupted temporary residence |
| Citizenship, ordinary route (Article 8) | Yes, renunciation | 10 years |
| Citizenship through a Montenegrin spouse or partner (Article 11) | No | 3 years married, 5 years residence |
If you are a Montenegrin who became a US, German or UK citizen
This is the other half of the question, and the stricter half. Article 24(1)(1) provides that an adult Montenegrin citizen who also holds another citizenship loses Montenegrin citizenship by operation of law if that other citizenship was acquired voluntarily. The only carve-out is Article 18(2): citizenship acquired under a ratified treaty that establishes dual citizenship on the basis of reciprocity.
| Question | What the Act says | Article |
|---|---|---|
| When is citizenship lost? | On the day the facts occur, i.e. when the other citizenship is voluntarily acquired | 31(2) |
| Who records it? | The competent authority issues a decision ex officio | 31(2) |
| Are you heard first? | Yes, the authority must let you respond; it may decide without your statement if you were duly summoned and did not submit a written statement in time | 31(3)–(4) |
| How are dual nationals treated before Montenegrin authorities? | As Montenegrin citizens, unless a ratified treaty says otherwise | 2 |
| Can you get it back? | Yes, after at least 1 year of lawful and uninterrupted residence in Montenegro, but Article 8(1) point 2 applies, so you must be released from the other citizenship | 26 |
Three points of context:
- The 2006 transitional rules no longer stand. The Act originally dealt, in Article 39(2) and (3), with Montenegrins who held or acquired another citizenship around independence on 3 June 2006. The Constitutional Court found those two paragraphs unconstitutional in decision U-I 17/11 of 28 February 2014, and they ceased to apply on publication. How that decision affects a specific person's status is a case-by-case question for the competent authority; we do not generalise it here.
- No dual-citizenship treaty has been reported in force. In 2015 the Government spokesperson told CIN-CG that no dual-citizenship agreement with any country in the region was being applied, and that an agreement signed with North Macedonia on 6 March 2009 had never entered into force. In April 2024 Prime Minister Spajić told Parliament that roughly 300,000 Montenegrin citizens hold another citizenship and that the current legal framework does not recognise most of them, and said the Government would work on a legislative framework for dual citizenship.
- Nothing has been enacted since. The only 2026 amendment to the Act, 119/2026, extends the Article 11 marriage route to registered life partners. It does not change Articles 8, 18 or 24. See our note on 119/2026.
What this page does not settle
- Children born abroad to one Montenegrin parent. Articles 5, 6 and 24(2)–(3) contain separate rules on acquisition by descent and on loss during minority. They turn on facts such as the other parent's citizenship and registration deadlines, and we have not summarised them here.
- Individual effects of the 2014 Constitutional Court decision. See above.
- Your other country's rules. Whether the US, Germany, the UK or any other state lets you keep its citizenship when you become Montenegrin is decided by that state's law.
- Future reform. A dual-citizenship framework has been discussed publicly since at least 2024. This page describes the law in force on the check date.
Whose side we are on
We advise the person whose citizenship is at stake. We have no role in any state programme and take no commission from agents, developers or intermediaries. The decision that matters most here, whether to seek citizenship at all or to rely on permanent residence, is one we would rather help you make on the facts than sell you in either direction.
Before you apply, or if you have already naturalised elsewhere
If you are weighing Montenegrin citizenship, send us your current citizenships, how long you have lived in Montenegro, and whether you have a Montenegrin spouse, partner or ancestor. We will tell you in writing which route is open to you, whether it requires renunciation, and what permanent residence would give you instead. If you are a Montenegrin who has acquired another citizenship, send us the date and the country, and we will set out how Articles 24, 26 and 31 apply to your situation.
