The Montenegro Government has officially published the first list of tourism related development projects that qualifies for special citizenship by admission scheme of Montenegro.
The first list published by secretariat of development project on July 4th, shows first project is Condo hotel in Kolasin.
This hotel is Kolašin Resort & Spa invested by three Malaysian owners is the first project approved outside Podgorica. This hotel will have a capacity of 93 accommodation units (380 beds) and an estimated investment value of €11.3 million EUR, creating 66 new jobs. The three investors behind this development will also qualify for Montenegrin citizenship.
Before we talk about investing, hotels and citizenship, let us understand and know a bit about Kolasin.
Kolašin is a town in northern Montenegro has a population of close to 3000 residents. Kolašin is one of the premier centres of Montenegro’s mountain tourism and skiing, easily accessible by road and rail. Kolašin is located on the foot of Bjelasica and Sinjajevina mountains, which offer great conditions for skiing. Kolašin’s altitude (954 m) makes the town is considered an air spa. Biogradska Gora national park is in the town’s vicinity, and is considered a premium tourist attraction.
The development of Kolašin as a tourist destination is bolstered by opening of Bianca Resort & Spa, a luxury resort in town’s center.
Kolašin 1600 is a brand new ski resort, a gem in the southern part of the Bjelasica Mountain, was opened on February 16, 2019 with 62km of skii trails.
Podgorica Airport is 80 km (50 mi) away, and has regular flights to major European destinations.
Coming back to citizenship, under the special citizenship scheme rules, those who invest €250,000 in this hotel, and paying additional €100,000 to development of Montenegro will receive citizenship. The citizenship scheme is limited to 2000 applicants and will close by Dec 31, 2021
Last week the Ministry of Sustainable development, issued licenses to two due diligence service providers and has already issued licenses to marketing agents. The Special citizenship scheme is expected to commence by end of 2019, as previously announced by the secretariat.
The Montenegrin citizenship scheme opens door to hotel developers and resorts participating in the economic development of Montenegro catering tourism market which received over 2 million tourists in 2017. To qualify as approved project, hoteliers must invest from €5 million to €10 million and create atleast 60 jobs to qualify as an approved project for citizenship. The Government has a deadline for hoteliers until end of 2021
