Montenegro and coronavirus: Empty Serbian properties on the coast

A few days before the state of emergency was declared in Serbia due to the coronavirus in March, Darinka Dushey arrived in Belgrade from Budva to visit her daughters. A few days later, Montenegro closed its border with Serbia and imposed a ban on entry for Serbian citizens due to the high level of virus infection among the population. As a result, Darinka stayed in Belgrade instead of the planned few days, and, in addition to the border, her home in Montenegro was closed for the same period.

Her case is not unique, although there is no official data on how many Serbian citizens own property in Montenegro. A question posed to journalist Vesna Miranović from the Ministry of Health of Montenegro in Serbian by the BBC about whether Serbian citizens with property in Montenegro can come to their homes and stay in them revealed that this is not the case. Serbian citizens, regardless of whether they own property in Montenegro or not, cannot travel from Serbia to Montenegro. And it's not just them; citizens of other countries also cannot enter Montenegro if they are coming from Serbia. The conditions of the epidemiological situation do not consider property ownership as a criterion for entering Montenegro, but are based solely on the current epidemiological situation in Serbia.

Many Serbian citizens who own property in Montenegro are facing challenges in maintaining and paying bills for their homes from a distance. They are concerned about the condition of their properties and are unable to check on them. They are also worried about payments for electricity, home maintenance, and taxes.

However, there is a way out, although it is expensive and somewhat complicated - it is the use of general aviation, that is, non-commercial and temporary air transportation, which in simple terms means a private flight by plane. In this case, Serbian citizens need to have a booked hotel and a negative PCR test result taken no more than 48 hours ago, claims Dr. Miranović. Additionally, Serbian citizens can enter Montenegro without any conditions if they come from European Union countries and other countries listed in the green list of the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro, provided they have stayed in those countries for at least two weeks. Serbian citizens arriving from countries listed in the yellow list of the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro must have the results of one of the tests, provided they have stayed in that country for at least two weeks.