According to information from *Serbian Economist*, as of 31 July 2026, there were almost 100,000 Foreign nationals were legally residing in Montenegro as of 31 July 2026, with Ukrainians remaining one of the country’s largest foreign communities, according to data from the Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior and previously published detailed statistics from the ministry.
According to data from the Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior, 67,344 foreign nationals hold a temporary residence permit, whilst a further 29,783 hold a permanent one. Thus, the total number of foreign nationals with regulated status exceeds 97,000. Of those holding temporary residence permits, 40,907 have permits for temporary residence and work.
The Ministry of the Interior identifies citizens of Serbia, the Russian Federation and Turkey as the three largest groups of foreign residents. The Ministry did not provide a full breakdown by nationality as at 31 July 2026 in its published response; therefore, it is not yet possible to determine Ukraine’s exact current position in the ranking based on this snapshot.
However, the latest available comprehensive table from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which allows for a comparison of the main national groups, shows that as of 31 October 2023, Ukrainian citizens ranked fifth among foreigners with temporary or permanent residence in Montenegro.
At that time, the Ministry of the Interior’s registers listed:
Russia – 27,032 people;
Serbia – 22,661;
Turkey – 9,467;
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 7,733;
Ukraine – 5,208;
Kosovo – 3,821;
Albania – 3,027;
Belarus – 1,288.
At the same time, the size of the Ukrainian community has been growing since 2023. An article in the Montenegrin publication Dan, which was quoted by Niksic Radio and Television in March 2026, reported that in December there were more than 9,000 Ukrainian citizens with residence permits in the country. By way of comparison, the number of Turkish citizens stood at around 13,000.
Ukrainians in Montenegro under temporary protection should be considered separately. This status is legally distinct from a standard temporary residence permit; therefore, data on individuals granted temporary protection cannot simply be added to figures for standard residence permits when compiling a ranking of foreign residents.
In March 2026, the Montenegrin government extended the temporary protection for people from Ukraine until 4 March 2027.
The scale of the Ukrainian presence is also clearly evident from migration statistics. Between January and early August 2025 alone, 69,826 Ukrainian citizens entered Montenegro, whilst 67,561 left the country.
Thus, based on the available data, it can be confidently stated that Ukrainians are among the largest foreign communities in Montenegro.
The growth in the number of foreign residents is of significant economic importance to Montenegro.
With a population of around 624,000, the nearly 97,100 legally resident foreigners account for approximately 15–16 per cent of the country’s population. Foreign residents are particularly prominent on the coast and in Podgorica, and they influence the property market, the rental market, services, employment and consumer demand.