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Montenegro will require Turkish citizens to obtain a visa to enter the country starting Nov. 1, as part of a broader alignment of its visa policy with European Union rules ahead of EU accession, according to Montenegro's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Montenegro's government adopted a decree on July 23 amending its visa regime, under which citizens of five countries whose visa policies had not previously been aligned with the EU's—Belarus, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye—will require a visa to enter Montenegro starting Nov. 1, 2026, according to the Foreign Ministry's statement.
Until Oct. 31, Turkish citizens holding ordinary passports can continue traveling to Montenegro visa-free for stays of up to 30 days within any 180-day period, not exceeding 90 days total.
Montenegro's government said the visa alignment fulfills one of the closing benchmarks for Chapter 24 ("Justice, Freedom and Security") in its EU accession negotiations, as well as one of the key commitments under its Reform Agenda.
The ministry said the move "confirms our country's strong commitment to European integration" and has opened access to approximately €4 million ($4.54M) in funding under the EU's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.
Montenegro's Foreign Ministry said visa applications will no longer need to be submitted exclusively through Montenegrin diplomatic and consular missions. Through a partnership with VFS Global, applications can now be submitted at VFS Visa Application Centres in India, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Russia, with additional centers planned in Pakistan, China, Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Belarus, Nepal and Uzbekistan, and further expansion planned to Jordan, Kuwait, Thailand and Indonesia.
VFS Global's existing centers in Türkiye will accept Montenegro visa applications.
The ministry said it is also developing a new Visa Information System, designed to be fully interoperable with EU information systems and aligned with Schengen security standards, with the eventual goal of introducing an electronic visa (e-Visa) system to allow online applications and faster processing.
Montenegro declared independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 and applied for EU membership in 2008.
The European Commission issued a favorable opinion on its application in 2010, identifying seven key priorities for negotiations to begin, and the EU Council granted Montenegro candidate status that year.
The EU Council launched the formal accession process in December 2011, with negotiations beginning June 29, 2012. After roughly eight years of negotiations, all 33 screened accession chapters have been opened, with 16 provisionally closed.
Montenegro's Foreign Ministry said the visa policy alignment strengthens national security, advances the digitalization of public administration, and enhances the country's competitiveness as a tourism and investment destination.
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