How I opened a company and do business in Montenegro

Once upon a time… I incorporated a company in Montenegro in order to obtain a work and residence permit and to start doing business in and from Montenegro. When I think back on my first arrival, there was a serious summer heatwave, much like these days. I had heard from friends that Montenegro was a reliable business and tourism destination, but it was not until I saw it with my own eyes — flying over the beautiful northern mountains, making the great turn above Lake Skadar before landing, and later touring the Montenegrin coast and the north — that I truly understood how much beauty one small country can hide. At the same time, however, I had also heard about the serious bureaucratic problems and the slow procedures of the public administration, because at that moment this interested me even more. I still remember only the company registration process for which I had come in the first place: instead of the promised 5 days, due to mistakes made by the agency that was then handling the registration, the process took 15 days and generated unnecessary costs — starting with my time and everything else. But finally, instead of 28.04.2015, I received the registration papers on 09.05.2015. At that moment, all I cared about was getting them, because I was already starting to panic 😊 After preparing the required documentation — and after an unnecessary trip back to my home country to collect a criminal record certificate because I had not received timely information — I then had to go to the police to apply for a work and residence permit. If you thought company registration was a problem, then try applying for a work and residence permit 😊. In a very small space, a large number of people were waiting their turn, and there I was, with my papers in hand, without a translator. Nevertheless, after not quite 5 hours of waiting everything was successfully completed, and I received confirmation about when I could pick up my work and residence permit — for which I again had to come in person and again incur unnecessary travel costs. But necessity knows no law. Walking around Podgorica later on, I came across an accounting agency, and something nagged at me and told me to step in and have a talk. By coincidence, the executive director was in the office, and he mentioned, among other things, that the company had been operating since 1996 — and what interested me more at that moment, that it was possible to register a company without even coming to Montenegro. Looking at the website of the company I had walked into, which was quite old-fashioned at the time, this was not the only thing I had doubts about. However, that is exactly how it all started. My company is still operating, and successfully, but in a completely different way. Back then it cost a lot — most of all in lost time. And now…… I have been successfully doing business and cooperating with the accounting agency Finance Plus for many years, and they take care of my entire business from the financial, legal, and accounting side. And yes, you really can register a company "remotely", without your physical presence, which saves you a lot of time and money, and you can forget about running into problems similar to the ones I had long ago 😊 For your work permit you do not have to come twice — once is enough, when you apply for it. The crowds are still there, but not for you: you do not have to lose 5 hours like I did; you receive a notification when it is your turn while you are enjoying a warm coffee in a nearby café. The administrative barriers in the state administration still exist, but you will not feel them. All processes are fully digitalised, so you will have no worries about documentation. The quality of the service provided by Finance Plus is priceless. And many, many more things, on the way to something yet to come……………. Adam from Munich

How I opened a company and do business in Montenegro

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