EU programmes

Montenegro is a partner country of the European Solidarity Corps https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity_en, the main EU programme providing volunteering opportunities. The current status of Montenegro opens the following opportunities for organizations and young people:

• organizations from Montenegro can apply for and receive a Quality Label (if they meet the quality requirements), which is a prerequisite for participation in the European Solidarity Corps;

• organizations from Montenegro that hold a Quality Label or a valid Erasmus+ European Voluntary Service accreditation can participate in volunteering activities as partners and can send young people to short-term and long-term volunteering activities, as well as accommodate young people from European Solidarity Corps participating countries.

There are several organizations from Montenegro that hold a Quality Label (an up-to-date list can be found at the European Youth Portal).

Regular national reporting and monitoring of youth participation in the EU voluntary programmes have not yet been established. The European Commission Progress Report for 2020 stated that, for the first time, six young volunteers from Montenegro participated in the European Solidarity Corps.

Information regarding organizations from Montenegro which they have accreditations for sending and receiving young volunteers is available on the:

Other programmes

Montenegro does not have international volunteering programmes that are funded by the state (in the amount of at least 50% of the total budget) and implemented on a larger scale, i.e. implemented on a wide spectrum in the country.

However, it is important to mention that National Voluntary Service (ADP-Zid) is involved in two networks: Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations and Service Civil International (SCI), which offer cross-border volunteering opportunities of a differing format, such as work camps.

Legal framework applying to foreign volunteers

The Law on Voluntary Work stipulates that a person who is not a Montenegrin citizen has the right to perform volunteering in the territory of Montenegro under the condition of having a permit for temporary or permanent residence and if other conditions set for volunteers within the Law are fulfilled (Article 19). In terms of rights and obligations, international volunteers are equal to volunteers who are Montenegrin citizens.

The conditions for a foreigner’s stay in Montenegro are regulated by the Law on Foreigners (Zakon o strancima) https://www.gov.me/dokumenta/b60fe0b7-7390-4588-91c4-587612905414 (National Gazette Nos. 12/18 and 3/2019). Information on visa regimes for foreign citizens can be found at the web portal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Law on Foreigners stipulates that a temporary residence permit for volunteer service within the European Voluntary Service may be issued to a foreign national aged between 18 and 30, who fulfils the requirements for permits issuing outlined by the Law and who evidences the grounds for the application by submitting the concluded contract on volunteer service (Article 58).  In addition to this, it is very important to point out that this article of the law is specifically regulated within the framework of the agreement between Montenegro and the EU which refers to EVS.