On the pages of our website, we share the impressions and experiences of families who have decided to come to Montenegro for permanent residence: what issues they have to face at each stage, and what ratio of expectation / reality they get in practical matters moving. Registration at the place of stay and tourist tax.

We flew to Montenegro (read about our preparation for the move in the article Permanent residence in Montenegro - STEP1)! The plane landed at the airport Tivat. Despite the fact that it was February on the calendar, the bright warm sun was shining, the grass was green. By Russian standards, it is not at all a February warm sunny day. We were invited to the airport building to pass passport control. We presented our passports, they looked at us carefully, put a stamp on entry into the country, and we left the airport building satisfied and slightly excited.

Since our final destination was city ​​of Bar, we pre-ordered a transfer and we were already met on the street. It was a pleasant little journey by car along the road along the Adriatic Sea, running through the city Budva, past the island of St. Stephen, the town of Petrovac. The road is 59 km long with picturesque landscapes, mountain views, Adriatic Sea, quaint villas with terraces and balconies took about an hour. It is worth noting that car traffic in Montenegro, through the city with tangled narrow streets, this phenomenon is unpredictable and annoying. You always need to be on the alert, cross the road very carefully, local drivers are reluctant to let pedestrians pass even at pedestrian crossings ... Probably, you just need to get used to it. So, after a little winding around the city, we got out of the car near a nice four-story villa, the first floor of which we rented in advance. We were already waiting and my sister and niece and the manager of the villa came out to meet us in the courtyard.

I really want to describe our new housing, a courtyard with tangerine trees, apartments with cozy bedrooms and a spacious equipped kitchen, but I will do this in my own post. So, the settlement and the first acquaintance happened, the traditions of Shrovetide were observed - a cheerful snack of pancakes with sage tea was organized. Since the weather forecast for tomorrow promises heavy rains, it was decided to conduct a walking sightseeing tour of the city today, despite 2 sleepless nights and epoch-making fatigue.

In short, I will say that we walked 10 km around the city, walking along the entire embankment, visiting sea ​​port, lighthouses, city center, shops. Having become acquainted with food prices in Montenegro and having bought food for the first couple of days, we are happy, full of impressions, returned home and, with no less pleasure, sorted out the purchases, took a shower and went to bed!

This is how my first sun-drenched day and the smell of “kafa” (coffee) passed on the land of the black mountains, and only one thought did not go out in my head: every foreigner who arrived in Montenegro must register within 24 hours after entering, pay the tourist tax and receive the so-called "white paper". And since we arrived on Saturday, we had time until Monday! And I fell asleep peacefully.

Registration at the place of stay and tourist tax

Registration of tourists in Montenegro, the so-called "white cardboard" issued at any post office and travel agency points. In the case of renting an apartment or a hotel room, the owners of the accommodation must arrange it for you, and you only pay the amount of tax in the amount of 1 euro per day per person, you can do it yourself, you just need to know the data about your place of stay. In our case, we went to the nearest post office with the manager of our villa. the nearest travel agency is closed before the start of the season, they said that we need registration for 30 days (this is the maximum period) for me and two children. I gave our passports to the post office employee and after 7 minutes receipts were already issued on thin pink self-copying paper, which indicated the name of the owner, my name, length of stay, city, fee amount, technical information of the payment transaction and my signature. That's all the "white cardboard"!

Tourist tax (stay tax) is not paid:

1) children under 12;

2) persons with severe physical disorders;

3) persons referred for resort-climatic treatment or specialized rehabilitation;

4) persons carrying out seasonal activities with a registered stay;

5) persons permanently staying in the accommodation facility for more than 30 days;

6) participants of school excursions, i.e. pupils and students whose stay is organized

as part of regular programs of sports and cultural events;

7) foreign citizens exempted under international conventions and agreements;

8) foreign citizens who, through their official humanitarian organizations, provide humanitarian assistance.

Children between the ages of 12 and 18 pay 50% of the set fee.

Those who have lived here longer than me say that no one has ever checked their registration, but when leaving the country they may ask for it, and if you don’t have a tourist tax document, you will have to pay a fine of about 200 euros .

In the meantime, it’s not too soon for me to leave the country, with a clear conscience I’m dealing with issues of settling and adapting in a new society, in particular local number cellular communication.

As you know, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians and residents of many other countries do not need a visa for a holiday in Montenegro if you are planning a vacation no longer than 90 days.

But if you need to register with the police or travel agency and pay the resort fee. You need to go through this procedure in 24 hours from the moment you enter the country.

What is the tourist tax and registration in Montenegro?

Tourist tax - the money that tourists pay for coming to rest in Montenegro.

Pay resort fee necessarily, in recent times every year this is taken more seriously. After paying the fee, you need to register at the tourist office or the police.

Do I have to pay a resort fee if I'm staying at a hotel?

By law, homeowners are required to register tourists living with them. But there is a nuance. Owners of housing are obliged to register, and all responsibility for the lack of registration (including payment of fines from 60 to 240 euros Estimated euro exchange rate:
200 euros = 14800 rubles
200 euros = 6200 hryvnias

200 euros = 234 dollars

Per person) are already carried by tourists. Owners are also fined 500-3000 euros Estimated euro exchange rate:
1000 euros = 74000 rubles
1000 euros = 31000 hryvnias

1000 euros = 1170 dollars

All courses are approximate, but they help to quickly estimate prices, but this does not make it easier for tourists.

Representatives of most hotels take a responsible approach to the registration procedure - on the very first day of your vacation, you must take your passports and register. But the owners of apartments, guesthouses and villas often believe that registration is the responsibility of tourists.

A small nuance

The owners of most good apartments (from 60 euro Estimated euro exchange rate:
60 euros = 4440 rubles
60 euros = 1860 hryvnia

60 euros = 70.2 dollars

All courses are approximate, but they help to quickly estimate prices per day) they register tourists themselves. Usually the tourist tax already leads to the cost of living. If you book accommodation on Airbnb.ru, you can clarify this point before payment.

When you check in, you will be asked for your passports. The hostess can simply take a picture of them, rewrite the data or take them away for one day. If the passports are not taken, remind the owner of the accommodation about the need to register tourists. You can also ask for confirmation.

Total: if you live in a hotel, you don’t need to register (but it’s better to check), if you rent cheap apartments You will most likely need to register.

How to register in Montenegro as a tourist?

In order to register, you must first pay the resort fee (they will give you a pink card, this is a check), and then go with this check to the tourist office (better and faster) or to the police.

In many resorts, the registration procedure is simplified as much as possible: it is enough to come with a passport to the travel agency and give the name of the owner of the apartment and the dates when you will live there. There, everything will be processed immediately, payment will be accepted and you will be issued a check. with the location of the main travel agencies of the country.

What are the deadlines for registering?

According to the law, you must pay the tourist tax to register within 24 hours upon arrival. If you arrive on a weekend, you can check in the following Monday.

Keep in mind that since 2018, many travel agencies work even on Sunday, but they have a short day. For example, in Budva on Monday-Saturday the resort fee can be paid from 8:00 to 17:40, and on Sunday - until 14:00. The ad says that the resort fee is not accepted on Sunday, but we once paid like that. If you pass by, you can try.

In fact, Montenegrin officials have a very different approach to registration punctuality. Some of our acquaintances were almost deported for having delayed registration by only one day, while others calmly registered without any problems a week after arrival.

Step-by-step instructions for registering in Montenegro

Since last year, the registration procedure has been quite simplified. At least on . Now it works very simply:

Unfortunately, in some resorts of the country, for one reason or another, it is not yet possible to pay the resort fee directly to the travel agency. Here's what to do in such a situation:

The tourist information center in the old part of Budva is an unremarkable building.

The whole registration procedure takes about 30 minutes, if you take into account the time for moving around the city and a small queue at the post office.

By the way, the same check is best to carry with you all the time - border guards or police officers can ask it when checking documents (it happens very rarely).

What if there is no tourist office in the village?

In very small villages on 1-2 streets there may not be a tourist information center. In this case, you must either negotiate with the owners so that they themselves pay the resort tax via the Internet (even in the mountains they know how to do this), or go to the nearest Big city and pay there.

If you book accommodation in such small village, immediately check with the owners how to deal with the tax. In order to save a few euros on housing, not to waste them on useless trips.

Resort fee in Montenegro: how much does it cost?

The amount of the resort tax depends on where you live. Everything is more or less tourist places currently subject to resort tax 1 euro Estimated euro exchange rate:
1 euro = 74 rubles
1 euro = 31 hryvnia

1 euro = 1.17 dollars

All courses are approximate, but they help to quickly estimate the prices per day.

Features of paying the resort fee in Montenegro:

• Resort tax is not paid: children under 12 and people with handicapped, tourists who came on a visa (for a period of more than 90 days), owners of housing and apartments.
• Pay half the resort fee: children aged 12 to 18 years.

According to unverified data, tourists who come to rest for more than 30 days also do not have to pay a resort fee. But in reality it is necessary to speak very persistently about this to the staff of the tourist office. Sometimes people are still forced to pay, sometimes not.

An important nuance!

Whether you need to pay a resort fee or not, registration is still required. It will just be free for you. Sometimes you have to pay 1 euro Estimated euro exchange rate:
1 euro = 74 rubles
1 euro = 31 hryvnia
1 euro = 2.35 Belarusian rubles
1 euro = 1.17 dollars

All courses are approximate, but they help to quickly estimate the prices for the form, but recently such situations are rare.

Why is it important to pay the resort fee? What happens if you don't pay?

Some tourists, out of ignorance, having read old reviews on the Internet or following the advice of locals, decide not to pay the fee. Now the system does not work quite clearly, and therefore not everyone is fined.

What are the consequences of not paying the resort fee and not registering:

• The border guard may not notice the fact of non-payment and nothing will happen.
• You may be fined for 60-240 euros Estimated euro exchange rate:
  200 euros = 14800 rubles
  200 euros = 6200 hryvnias
  200 euros = 470 Belarusian rubles
  200 euros = 234 dollars

  All courses are approximate, but they help to quickly estimate prices.

  per person and make them write a bunch of explanatory notes before departure at the airport. Most often the penalty 200 euros Estimated euro exchange rate:
  200 euros = 14800 rubles
  200 euros = 6200 hryvnias
  200 euros = 470 Belarusian rubles
  200 euros = 234 dollars

  All courses are approximate, but they help to quickly estimate prices.

  .
• On foreign excursions, they may not be allowed out of the country and blackmailed with deportation.
• They can be deported from Montenegro (it happens rarely, but judging by the reviews - regularly).

You need to understand that your friends and tourists who lived in hotels may not even know that the hotel paid the resort fee for them. Everything happens so quickly and simply that they then say with confidence: "I did not pay anything and everything was fine."

What if the resort fee is not paid and it is noticed at the airport?

Now the fact of paying the resort fee is checked selectively. The longer the queue at the airport, the less likely it is that someone will be checked. That is, in August the probability that they will be caught on unpaid tourist tax is several times less than in May or September.

If the border guard has checked you and the resort fee has not been paid, follow the recommendations:

1. Behave as politely and correctly as possible.
2. Be surprised that the fee is not paid (did not know) and immediately admit your guilt. In this case, the probability of getting the minimum fine 60 euro Estimated euro exchange rate:
   60 euros = 4440 rubles
   60 euros = 1860 hryvnia
   60 euros = 141 Belarusian rubles
   60 euros = 70.2 dollars

   All courses are approximate, but they help to quickly estimate prices.

   higher.
3. You should not swing the rights and be indignant. In this case, the border guards use the Italian strike method. They slowly draw up a protocol, demand to write an explanatory note and send them to pay a fine to the bank. Then just as slowly check everything.
   The trick is that in this scenario, you are likely to miss the plane. You will have to pay not only a fine, but also tickets home.
4. If you refuse to pay a fine or swing your license too much, you can run into deportation with a ban on entry to Montenegro for 5 years.

By the way, the longer you stay in the country, the more likely it is that the border guard will check the tax payment. The fact is that usually package tourists arrive for 7-14 days, most of them have already paid for everything. It makes no sense for the border guard to waste time and watch. But vacationers for a month and more than 100% flew in on their own. And here it already makes sense to spend an extra couple of minutes.

What should I do if the owner of the apartment refuses to pay the tourist tax?

If you rent housing in the private sector, it is highly likely that the travel agency will ask you to bring documents for the apartment where you settled. This means that they do not give up legally. In most cases, the owners refuse to provide anything, as they are afraid of getting a fine.

The problem is solved simply. Warn the owners that you will contact the communal police. Since the penalty 700-3000 euros Estimated euro exchange rate:
700 euros = 51800 rubles
700 euros = 21700 hryvnias
700 euros = 1645 Belarusian rubles
700 euros = 819 dollars

All courses are exemplary, but no one wants to pay quickly to help estimate prices, a compromise is found very quickly.

What if the hosts say they paid the fee, but there is no confirmation?

Many hosts and intermediaries register tourists via the Internet. In this case, of course, they will not have any checks. And this is a normal, widespread practice.

If you are worried, ask to print a screenshot of the screen showing that the fee has been paid. Well, or at least take a picture of this screen and reset the photo for you.

How to register if you plan to travel around the country?

According to the law, in this case, you must register in each resort for the time that you plan to live there. But in reality, no one is checking this yet, and it is difficult to explain why you register 2 weeks after arrival. It is necessary to show receipts or ask to look in the database.

For some, it is easier to register for the entire duration of the holiday, for example, in and travel around the country. We do not know of situations when tourists were punished for this small offense. But there is also back side. By registering for the entire vacation in one place, you are setting up the owners of the apartments. They will have to pay taxes for the days that you did not live with them.

We usually clarify in advance about registration. Even high in the mountains, the owners are aware and calmly do this procedure for tourists. It will not be difficult to do everything according to the law.

Typical "divorces" of tourists in connection with registration

Since far from all tourists know about registration, there are a lot of “divorces” associated with it.

The most popular one is run by small tour agencies from the waterfront. At the border, they negotiate with the border guard and when checking passports for half of the bus, he declares that they do not have registration and the resort fee has not been paid.

Threaten with fines 300-3000 euros Estimated euro exchange rate:
1000 euros = 74000 rubles
1000 euros = 31000 hryvnias
1000 euros = 2350 Belarusian rubles
1000 euros = 1170 dollars

All courses are approximate, but they help to quickly estimate prices or even deportation, require a bribe 100-200 euros Estimated euro exchange rate:
200 euros = 14800 rubles
200 euros = 6200 hryvnias
200 euros = 470 Belarusian rubles
200 euros = 234 dollars

All courses are approximate, but they help to quickly estimate prices. If there is a document confirming registration, tourists are released: “oh, an error happened by chance, the base went wrong.” Then this money is divided between the border guard and the agency.

The trick is that most tourists cannot have any registration documents: they are registered by hotel representatives and villa owners, without issuing any receipts.

The rest of the divorces are similar in meaning to this one and differ only in small details. For example, if you are traveling on your own, the border guard may have data of completely different people with expired registration open on the computer and in this way he is trying to take a few euros from you.

How to protect yourself: never go on foreign excursions (and any other) with unverified agencies that have surprisingly cheap prices if you register yourself, always carry a form confirming the payment of the resort fee, if you have one (now they are not always issued).

Tourist offices on the map of Montenegro

Since tourists very often ask where the travel agency is located, we decided to mark all known to us on the map of Montenegro.

Travel agency contacts in Montenegro: mail and phone number

For the most popular resorts countries, we wrote out the contacts of tourist centers:

Budva:
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +382 33 402 814

Kotor:
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +382 30 311 633

Bar:
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +382 032 322 886

Becici:
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +382 069 349 126

Saint Stephen:
[email protected]
Phone: +382 069 349 123

Herceg Novi:
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +382 031 350 820

Rafailovici:
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +382 033 468 032

Petrovac:
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +382 033 461 173

Ulcinj:
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +382 30 412 333

Contacts of other travel agencies known to us can be found above.

Friends, although this does not directly relate to the work of the guide, I don’t want to see upset guests nearby, so I have to write this note. I give the pronunciation of the terms in Cyrillic so that you can name the cherished words to the local citizens who host you.

I mean that Montenegro has a strange procedure for registering foreigners at the place of stay (prijava i odjava boravka stranca (priyava / odjava boravka stranca) and paying the "resort fee" or, literally, "tax for the stay of a tourist", boravisna taksa (boravishna tax This procedure, of course, with its opacity and thoughtlessness, causes a lot of criticism from the guests, the system electronic registration sometimes buggy, but it is there and it needs to be done.

The phenomenon is that the owner of the rented property is obliged to register you, unless, of course, he legally leases it, and both the owner of the property and you can be fined upon leaving for lack of registration, and independently of each other. Everything is clear with hotels and legal apartments, they immediately inform you whether registration is included in the cost of living, thereby confirming and guaranteeing it.

But if you come to friends, or you are rented housing illegally (the owner does not have a certificate for renting housing), then it is better for you to take care of it yourself. As a guide, I only know the facts that I saw myself: if a tourist crosses the border of Montenegro to leave, and the officer does not see your registration in the system, there will be a fine and hassle, I really came across this. It’s painful if, when you take off at the airport at the border, they don’t find registration, while you pay a fine, the ticket may disappear ...

I'm what. You need to talk in advance with the owners of the accommodation or the tour operator about the availability of registration, preferably for the entire period. It is even better to receive confirmation of registration upon arrival in the form of a receipt for payment of your registration, and in Tivat, Kotor and Herceg Novi they issue a special paper - confirmation of registration (White cardboard).

Increasingly, he began to receive guests who want to live 2 days in one city, 2 days in another, a day in a third. It is quite difficult for the locals to understand, they can not register at the 2nd and 3rd place of residence. My advice to you, ask for registration at the first place of residence immediately before the end of your holiday. Or go and register immediately for the entire term yourself. Otherwise, spend a lot of time, after arriving at a new place, explaining to the hosts and representatives of the travel agency why you decided to check in in the middle of your stay. Here, too, is a catch. Some register you and enter into the system (Ministry of Tourism), while others (Ministry of Internal Affairs) can fine you at the border. And communication between them is not very ...

Large hotels and legal apartment owners electronically register tourists via the Internet, they may not give you anything as confirmation, unfortunately. I have not encountered any problems with legal large companies lately, everything works. But if you check in yourself, or the owners are "muddy", then you can simply go to any "TURIST INFO" booth (more on them below), give them your passport and check if you are registered in the system and until what date. Ask, "Ima li moja registracia u sistemi" (Ima li moja registracia u sistemi)?

So, according to the Montenegrin "Law on tourist (boravisnoj) tax" for all foreigners staying in Montenegro, registration at the place of stay is required within 24 hours. You are required to register for the entire period of your stay in Montenegro and pay tax for each day of your stay in a particular city in Montenegro. The full name of the law and its first lines are given below:

Ordinary tourists pay a tax for their stay (boravišna taksa (boravishna tax), from 80 cents to 1 euro per day / person, depending on the municipality. The amount of the tax in this range is set by law by each municipality independently, therefore in Budva, Bar, Ulcinj, Tivat or which the cost of registration may vary slightly.Children under 12 and the disabled do not pay a fee, children from 12 to 18 years old pay 50%.Those who came on a visa for more than 90 days do not pay a fee.Property owners also do not pay for themselves and for their relatives. But everyone is required to register at the place of stay! There is also a payment for the very fact of registration, for everyone, but here the amount is small - a symbolic 1 euro for registration. They are fined at the border precisely for not registering in the system. Moreover, now they have become check the presence of registration not only at the exit at the border, but the police can also come during the holidays.So in the cities it is better to carry documents with you.

How to register yourself for the entire duration of your stay, even if you have to change the city and hotel, and not depend on anyone in this? Very simple, except for the queues for registration during the season. Tourist bureaus are organized in each municipality. These are stand-alone stalls or offices with a separate entrance to the building. They are called "TURIST INFO" and they often have the letter "i" on them.

Ask any local "Where is the tourist info?", They will understand and show a finger. Come there and say the word "registration", the address and the registration period. They send you to the post office or sometimes they accept payment on the spot if they arrived before 14.00. ALWAYS make yourself a copy of the receipt and keep it until you leave. After payment, the employee takes your passport, looks at the stamp - the date of entry, so that it is yesterday or today (remember about 24 hours?), tell him or show the address (you should have it in the booking or voucher, you can take utility bills in the corridor of the apartment , Houses). Hosts must tell them their TIN in advance and register in the system in advance. If an employee sees this housing in the system, then according to the data from the passport, he registers you in the system at this address for the entire period you require. Of course, it is not entirely legal that you move to another city, but register for the full term here, but inside Montenegro, no one checks for sure in which municipality you are registered. The main thing is that registration and payment for it be for the entire duration of your stay.

Citizens of Russia who come to Montenegro as tourists (individually or as part of an organized group) must have valid foreign passports. They don't need a visa, but must have tourist voucher.
Citizens of Russia who have permission to stay in the EU countries, as well as countries - members of the Schengen Agreement and Switzerland, can spend in Montenegro during transit 5 days from the date of entry. (Registration at the place of residence is carried out in accordance with the Law on Movement and Residence of Foreigners).
Legal entities (hotels) and individuals ( private sector) that provide paid services to foreigners are obliged to register the arrival of a foreigner with the appropriate authority (the inspector for foreigners in the police) within 12 hours.
A foreigner who is in Montenegro and did not stay either in a hotel or in the private sector (for example, came to friends) must register his stay within 24 hours from the moment of arrival in Montenegro. During this period, a possible change of address or place of residence is also registered.
A Russian citizen can stay in Montenegro as a tourist for a maximum of 30 days. Tourist trip cannot continue beyond this period. The only thing that a tourist from Russia who wants to stay in Montenegro can do in this case is to leave the country and then return to it again, since then he again gets the opportunity to stay for a period of 30 days, provided for tourists.
If a tourist wants to extend his stay for more than 30 days, because he, for example, has established a business in Montenegro, he needs to request permission from the inspector for foreigners, and if all conditions are met, get it. Then he will be able to extend his stay for more than 30 days, as he will be issued an exit visa for the number of days for which he extends his stay in Montenegro.
Stay in Montenegro can also be registered through travel agencies or tourist offices (in each regional center, their premises are located in the buildings of the local tourism organization).
To register the stay of a tourist, you need a foreign passport.
It is important for tourists to know that both those who arrive with a voucher (a document that confirms that they will be staying at a hotel) and those who arrive without a voucher must register. The only difference is that those who arrive as part of an organized group are registered by the hotels and agencies serving them. Tourists arriving without a voucher must register themselves.
Russian citizens who have bought property in Montenegro are also required to register their stay on the same terms as other tourists from Russia.
If a foreigner arrives in a car with foreign registration numbers, when crossing the border, he must present to the police officers:

1) a valid technical passport in your name
2) valid driving license
3) the so-called green card (zeleni karton)

A foreigner in Montenegro can manage someone else's vehicle with foreign registration numbers, if he has a legal residence in the country in which the owner of the car lives, and has a power of attorney, which is certified by a judicial notary.
Foreign tourists in Montenegro are usually concerned about the cost of the stay fee (boravišna taksa), which varies from city to city. This is because each regional center (opština) has the right to independently determine the cost of the stay fee within the limits established by law. Here we give an overview of the cost for a stay with 1 person in the most visited tourist centers:

BUDVA: 1 euro per day
TIVAT : 70 cents per day
KOTOR : 80 cents per day
ULBTS: 50 cents per day (lowest fee throughout Montenegro at peak tourist season!).
HERCEG NOVI : 70 cents per night (from September 16 to June 14 - 50 cents per night).
BAR: in the territory of Bar, Shushan, Sutomore and Chan - 70 cents;
on the territory of Virpazar, Utjeha and Dobre Voda - 50 cents.
KOLASHIN : in 3-, 4-, and 5-stars. hotels - 80 cents,in 1- and 2-stars, as well as with friends - 60 cents.
ZABLYAK : in a hotel (legal entity) - 60 cents,from a private person - 50 cents.

There is no stay fee for children under 12 years of age. For young people aged 12-18, the fee for the stay is 50% of the fee for the "adult" fee in a particular tourist center. Youth discount is not provided only in Ulcinj.

In the last post, I talked about obtaining a tourist visa to Montenegro, and briefly touched upon the issue of tourist registration and payment of tourist tax. Today, we will talk in detail about tourist registration and payment of a tourist tax, and we will also figure out which of the Russians does not have to pay this fee.

If you are traveling to Montenegro on a tourist package, then the tour operator is responsible for paying the tourist tax and registering you.

Why pay tourist tax?

In this matter, everyone decides for himself. I prefer to pay and not have a headache, which is completely unnecessary on vacation.

In this part of the post, I will talk about some of the restrictions that make you pay this tourist quota.

1) Passing the border. When departing from Montenegro, during the passage border control, you may be asked to show payment for the tour. collection. There is a fine for non-payment.

The Montenegrin law on tourist tax (zakon o boravisnoj taksi) says that any foreigner arriving in Montenegro is required to go through the registration procedure. The law specifies a period of 24 hours, it is during this period that the tourist must register at the place of his stay. Excerpts from this Montenegrin law can be seen in the photo for the post.

The law clearly states that a tourist is obliged to register for the entire period of stay in Montenegro and pay a tax for each day of his stay in a particular city (resort) of Montenegro. There are several questions here: what if I live in different cities, what should I do if sometimes I will travel outside of Montenegro? Read more about these features.

Who does not have to pay tourist tax

The tourist tax (boravisna taksa - boravishna tax) in most resorts (Budva, Kotor, Tivat, etc.) is 1 Euro per day of stay, but each municipality has the right to set its own tax (sometimes just below 1 Euro per day).

Children under 12 and disabled people do not pay tourist tax, children from 12 to 18 years old pay only 50% of the tourist tax. For tourists who came to Montenegro on a visa (for a period of more than 90 days), they also do not pay a tax. Foreign owners of Montenegrin real estate also do not pay for themselves and for relatives. Sometimes, there is a symbolic payment for the very fact of registration, as a rule, it is not more than 1 Euro per form.

But everyone, without exception and regardless of the payment or non-payment of the tourist tax, is required to undergo the tourist registration procedure. All tourists arriving in Montenegro must be registered at their place of stay!

Who and where in Montenegro checks the registration of tourists

With the check of tourist registration, it’s a circus at all, before the registration of visitors and their registration was carried out “on paper” with the issuance of a “White Cardboard”. For this reason, many tourists did not particularly seek to register, and Montenegrins did not particularly check if a tourist was registered or not. Now there is a common database (as the Montenegrin authorities say), in this database there are all law-abiding tourists.

Checking the presence of registration at the place of stay can be done by border guards during the departure of a tourist from Montenegro, and recently police officers on the street have the right to do these checks, because a single database allows this.

Remember the Moscow police checking the Tajiks on the street, there is something similar, but in the place of the Tajiks and Uzbeks, we are with you. So to say, feel like a Tajik. :) However, it should be noted that you need to play a dirty trick too much for an ordinary policeman to become interested in you. I had a street check of documents, but they didn’t break through the database. I advise you to always have your passport or a copy of your passport with you.

What is the responsibility for the lack of tourist registration

The law establishes a fine for not registering, the fine is 200 Euro. I have not seen cases of deportation of tourists due to their lack of registration, but there are descriptions of such outcomes on the Internet. In addition to a fine of 200 Euros, you will have to have that hassle and an explanation of the reasons, and all this at the airport, before boarding the plane.

Tourist tax payment procedure in Montenegro

Important! Every year they try to simplify the registration procedure (in my opinion it should be canceled altogether), so carefully read the comments on this post. All news is there.

In this part of the post I will tell you about the procedure for paying tourist tax and about registering a tourist with a tourist organization in Montenegro. The procedure is very simple and takes 30 minutes of your vacation time, provided that you read this post to the end.

Choosing a vacation spot

The ease of registration and the speed of this bureaucratic procedure depend on the choice of your vacation spot. For example, in Budva there are several tourist booths that operate on a convenient schedule. And in the resort of Dobrota there is not one, the nearest one should be looked for in Kotor.

The first actions of a tourist who came to Montenegro

Here's what you have to do:

1. Clarify information about the owner of the apartment and find out the exact address your residence in Montenegro;
2. Pay the tourist tax at the post office (sometimes this can be done directly at the office of the tourist organization);
3. Register with a tourism organization.

Depending on the choice of accommodation and agreements with its owner, you should either register yourself with a tourist organization, or give your passport to the owner of the accommodation and hope that he will register you. This should be done during the first day of your stay in Montenegro.

I strongly recommend not to rely on the owner of the housing, but to go through this simple bureaucratic quest on your own. The owner may forget, or deliberately not pay the tourist tax, but the entire responsibility for his mistake will fall on your shoulders.

If you came to visit friends, or you are rented housing illegally (the owner does not have a certificate for renting housing), then it is better to do the registration yourself.

So, we write down the data of your place of residence. You need the exact address and surname of the owner of the apartment, let the Montenegrin write it down himself, so as not to make mistakes.

You have all the necessary data for paying the tourist tax and registration, we take a foreign passport, money (at the rate of 1 Euro per day of stay) and go to look for a place of payment.

Where can I pay the tourist tax

Theoretically, tax payment can be made directly at the tourist office, but in reality, all tourists are sent to pay by mail (or at a bank - this is less common).

I still recommend that you first look at the office of a tourist organization, and if there is no queue, ask them about the possibility of paying tax. In this case, you do not need to go to the post office. Blog readers say that lately tax payments have been willingly accepted directly at tour booths.

post offices in large resort towns a lot, the offices are recognizable, they look very bright and even fashionable. Inside the post offices, everything is quite modern and civilized, if there is a queue, then no more than 5 minutes. Hello Russian Post.

Come to any post office and tell the operator "Tourist registration" (you can say in any language you understand, they will understand you) and hold out a piece of paper with the address of your residence and the name of the owner of the apartment.

The cashier will clarify the duration of your stay in Montenegro and issue a pink receipt with a tourist tax stamp, previously it was white and was called “White Cardboard”.

The pink ticket is the fact of your payment of the tourist tax, but is not the fact of your registration in the country. The pink receipt must be kept for the entire stay in the country, it may be required when leaving Montenegro.

The next step in legalizing your stay in Montenegro is registration with a tourist organization.

UPD Now an employee of a tourist organization has been placed at the main post office in Budva, so that all registration + payment of tourist tax takes place in one room. It is more profitable to pay in cash, as a commission of 5 Euros is charged for paying with a card (robbing). Read the comments on the post, all the news is there.

How to register with a tourism organization

In every tourist city there is a booth or office of the state tourist organization, do not confuse with travel companies selling tours.

All offices of the tourist organization look in the same design, somewhere it is a booth stylized as a sailboat (in some cities the booth has a sail), somewhere the office is located on the first floor of the building, etc.

Inside the office you will be met by a friendly (or not so) employee who should present your passport, a pink tourist tax receipt (from the post office) and wait a couple of minutes. Your data will be entered into a common database, and the receipt (do not lose the receipt) and the passport will be returned.

At the tourist office, you can take maps of the city, information booklets and get oral advice. As a rule, the staff of tourist offices speak several languages, so it is possible to speak Russian.

That's the whole process of registration and payment for the tour. tax. Now you can rest easy.

Frequently asked questions about tourist registration in Montenegro

I receive a lot of questions in the mail about the features of registering tourists in Montenegro and about paying tourist tax. All the most popular and useful questions from blog readers, I have placed in this part of the post. As new questions appear, the section will be updated and supplemented. Ask your questions in the comments.

I did not pay tourist tax and did not register, what threatens me in Montenegro?

Most likely, nothing threatens you on the territory of Montenegro. The police have the right to check the registration of tourists on the street. By personal experience I can say that this happens very rarely.

Questions about the lack of tourist registration and non-payment of tourist tax may arise when leaving Montenegro. There is a rather strange situation here, since the border guard sees all the data about the tourist and knows about the payment / non-payment of tax, but there are no universal fines. The fine for this violation is 200 Euros. There is unverified information that you can pay a fine at the police station, in which case the fine will be only 50 Euros.

Probably (this is my assumption), the system of electronic registration and registration of tourists is in test mode and it is up to the border guard himself to fine or not to fine the violator, depending on the circumstances. These are just my guesses, because all the data about the tourist is in the general database and why Montenegrins do not use it remains a mystery to me.

Do I need to register in Montenegro for an independent tourist?

Regardless of the method and type of travel, each tourist must go through the registration procedure and pay a tourist tax. Unlike organized tourists, for whom their travel agency does everything, an independent traveler must also register and pay tax.

I forgot to register in the first 24 hours of my stay, what do I face for this in Montenegro?

The situation with untimely registration of a tourist on the territory of Montenegro is quite complicated and ambiguous. There is official permission on the possibility of extending the period for registration if your arrival fell on a weekend or holiday. In all other cases, there must be a good reason.

For a short period of delay, Montenegrins look through their fingers, often it depends on the mood of the employee of the tourist organization. On the Internet, you can read about cases when tourists were fined and sent to the inspector. I do not recommend delaying registration without special need, especially if you decide to do it.

In which city should I register if I live in Budva, Kotor, Becici and Herceg Novi?

In which city to register, if you decide to travel around Montenegro and live in different regions, this is the most difficult and controversial issue. The law speaks about registration at the place of stay, this allows the authorities to collect statistics and understand the direction of tour flows.

But if you do everything according to the law and try to register in different cities, then how to explain to the employees of the tourist organization that you came to them not 24 hours after arrival, but a week later, and that you have registration for this week.

Due to misunderstanding, problems may arise, because employees of the Ministry of Tourism (National Tourism Organization of Montenegro) register and enter your data into a common database, and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will fine you. And as you understand, these departments do not cooperate with each other very successfully.

In a word, if you decide not to sit in one city, but to travel all over Montenegro, then commit a small offense and register in one place for the entire duration of your stay in the country, so you will have fewer questions.

I checked in for my entire stay and then went on a trip to Albania, what about the tax?

Practice has shown that there are no problems with leaving for neighboring countries (Albania, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Italy, etc.) and a successful return to Montenegro. These routes are like independent tourists, and tourists vacationing in Montenegro on tour packages.

From the point of view of common sense, you have already paid the tourist tax, you after a sightseeing trip to neighboring country return to the place of your original registration, so that all the rules of the law are observed.

I live in a hotel not an apartment, do I need to check in too?

It doesn't matter where you stay, in a hotel, in an apartment, in an apartment, or even in a tent, you must pay for the tour. collection and register at the tourist office. Although it is also not clear what to do with the tent, what address to indicate and what name of the owner of the property.

I have a Schengen visa, do I need to pay tourist tax and register?

Regardless of whether you have a foreign passport of a Schengen visa, you are required to go through the tourist registration procedure, which also implies the payment of local tourist tax.

My experience of paying tourist tax and registering in Budva

Now I’ll tell you about my experience of receiving the coveted pink ticket at the post office (payment of tourist tax) and about the entire process of tourist registration in Budva.

I ask the owner of the hotel for information about the apartment and leave the house. I go towards the Old Town, in that direction is the main post office in Budva. If you are in Budva for the first time, then either ask the locals where to look for mail (anyone will show you the way), or a guide can be shopping complex TQ Plaza (the post office is located opposite the shopping complex).

There was a queue at the post office that took me five whole minutes, precious time. There is no need to fill out any applications at the post office, I just hold out a piece of paper with an address and a foreign passport, and the girl operator enters all the data into the computer. I pay the indicated amount and I have a pink tourist tax receipt in my hands. The whole procedure took 10 minutes, you have to hurry to the tourist booth, there may also be a queue.

From the main post office, to the tourist office on the Jadran way, ten minutes at a leisurely pace. I come to the tour booth, but there is no one there (lucky). I hand out a pink ticket with a passport to an employee of a tourist organization. After a couple of minutes, the girl returns the documents to me and standardly asks “Can I help you somehow?”.

From a conversation with a pretty employee of a tourist organization, I learn some local news (about the daily blocking of the road from Budva to Cetinje, and about the unfavorable weather forecast). I take some free maps of Budva, thank you for the information and leave.

As a result, time for all the procedures for paying the tourist tax (I stood in a small queue), registration (there was no queue), chatting in offices and with the owner of the apartment, hiking around the city, etc., no more than 30 minutes were spent. As you can see, everything is very fast and simple.

Have a good rest in Montenegro.