'In Montenegro, the demand of Germans to buy real estate by the sea is growing.'

The number of German citizens moving to Montenegro is increasing, and most of them are buying real estate in Bar and Ulcinj.

According to MUP, the number of German citizens who are moving to Montenegro is increasing, and most of them are buying real estate in Bar and Ulcinj.

The total number of German citizens who received temporary and permanent residence permits in Montenegro until 2021 did not exceed 245, but already in 2022 this number rose to 639 permits. According to the MUP, from the beginning of this year until the end of September, 600 German citizens were granted residence permits in Montenegro.

After finishing work duties at his apartment in the center of Ulcinj, programmer Stefan Eichler prepares to spend the rest of the day on the Great Beach. Before traveling to the beach, Eichler arranges an evening meetup in a WhatsApp group that gathers dozens of citizens''resettle in Montenegro after 2006, mainly buying real estate on the coast. The Russian and Ukrainian communities follow in the new wave of resettlement following the outbreak of war in Ukraine last year.

According to MUP data, Montenegro also has a Turkish community with 9,110 Turkish citizens with permanent residence permits.

The Law on Foreigners specifies that foreign nationals can stay in Montenegro for up to 90 days, and for longer stays they need a temporary residence permit. This permit can be issued to a foreign citizen who owns real estate in Montenegro.

A real estate agent Tihomir Rakocevic says that in the last two years the interest of Germans to buy real estate in''Ulcinje has grown significantly.

"Germans mostly buy real estate in rural areas. They are looking for properties outside the city and not in a luxury version. These are old houses that they are reconstructing in their ethnic style. Most of all they are looking for inexpensive houses in the range of 50 to 200 thousand euros, depending on the size of the plot," Rakocevic told BIRN.

According to data from the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCM) for last year German citizens spent a total of 57 million euros on real estate in Montenegro, followed by Russians with the amount of 50 million. During 2021, German citizens invested a total of 18.07 million euros in real estate in Montenegro.