Environment for nomads

The Government of Montenegro created the Program for attracting digital nomads in Montenegro until 2025 to respond to the need to define a strategic approach to creating a favorable environment for the activities of digital nomads in Montenegro.

The rise of telecommuting opportunities and the influence of social media has increased interest in the lifestyle of digital nomads. Digital nomads, or those who travel while working remotely, comprise tens of millions of the world's population. In the past few years, the offer for co-working and shared living has developed worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has made remote work more prevalent than ever, and many companies are announcing long-term plans to enable remote work to a much greater degree. It gives millions of people the opportunity to become digital nomads.

This Program is a consequence of the recognition and understanding of the benefits of the business development of digital nomads, but also the recognition of the challenges that affect the characteristics of the environment essential for their operation. Opportunities and challenges are recognized in the institutional and normative framework, but also based on comparative experiences and inspiring practices from the countries of the EU and the Western Balkans.

The implementation of this Program and the accompanying Action Plan aims to cause a change in the stay of a more significant number of digital nomads in Montenegro and the recognition of Montenegro as an attractive destination for digital nomads.

The Ministry of Public Administration, implementing the mission of digital transformation in the country in cooperation with relevant partners, is continuously solving the recognized challenges sustainably, incorporating the principles of inclusion, equality, and accessibility into the defined solutions.

The Program is a product of monitoring standards of participation of the public and target groups in creating public policies. The consultative process was carried out following the Regulation on the election of NGO representatives to the working bodies of state administration authorities and the implementation of public hearings to prepare laws and strategies (Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 41/18). With the expert support of the UNDP Program in Montenegro, efforts were strengthened to tailor this policy to the needs of the target groups. Additionally, this Program was created following the Methodology for developing policies, drafting, and monitoring the implementation of strategic documents.

Dynamic social changes stimulate digital nomads' activity, which depends on the ability to adapt and purposeful use of existing resources by individuals, different groups, and society as a whole. The digital era has brought forward new experiences, expectations, and needs of digital nomads. Therefore, the Government of Montenegro and the Ministry of Public Administration are fully committed to the modernization, inclusivity, and efficiency of public administration and applying practical and value-oriented policies to achieve visible results with implementable initiatives and activities. The Program intended for digital nomads represents a concrete contribution to that commitment.

The Government's activities, in cooperation with the private, academic, and civil sectors, as well as international organizations, are aimed at changing and improving legal frameworks and infrastructure, creating modern e-government, raising the level of information security, and digitizing the entire society. The Program for attracting digital nomads defines strategic priorities and goals for introducing visas for digital nomads, conditions for defining the status of digital nomads, activities, and analyses to evaluate the economic and social potential and competent institutions for implementing activities.

The stay of digital nomads in Montenegro, primarily regulating the status of digital nomads, will contribute to the public administration mission in Montenegro - to bring the country closer to the e-world and be more influential in the digital era.

Digital nomads can support developing ideas for improvement and creating e-solutions, making the country more competitive and successful economically.

For Montenegro, as a tourist destination, digital nomads have great promotional potential but can also influence the country's investment image. Digital nomads create significant added value by consuming goods and services of the country they reside in and have a positive impact on local entrepreneurship.

An impact can be expected on the local technological and start-up scene due to the exchange of knowledge and the creation of ideas that are important for society. Depending on the number of digital nomads residing in the country, comparative practice shows that they jointly contribute to the country's budget and economy.

Some of the contributions of digital nomads to the communities they live in are: respecting the multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and accepting differences, as well as fostering an LGBTQ-friendly approach, awareness of the importance of environmental protection, and contributing to the implementation of green policies; encouraging tourism through a tour and promotion of the country in which they reside; promotion of digitization, the advantages of digital work efficiently and innovatively; contribution to the economic activity of the community through realized consumption on different bases.