Customs: what you may bring into Montenegro

At a glance

Official source: Uprava carina, passenger traffic. For entry rules, see Entering Montenegro. For animals, see Pets.

Duty-free value limits

The exemption applies to goods in your personal luggage. The import must be occasional. The goods must be for personal or family use, or gifts. The type and quantity must clearly show that the goods are not for sale.

• You may not split the value of one item to stay under the limit.
• Tobacco and alcohol within their quantity limits do not count toward this value.
• Perfume and eau de toilette have no separate limit for travellers. They count toward the value limit.
• Goods within the limits are also exempt from VAT. Excise goods in personal luggage are exempt from excise within the customs rules.

Tobacco and alcohol

Persons under 17 cannot use these allowances. Choose one tobacco product, or mix them so that the used shares add up to no more than 100%.

The decree names only air travel for the higher tobacco quantity. Sea travellers use the lower quantity. The alcohol allowance is the same for all transport.

You may mix spirits and drinks up to 22% vol, if the used shares add up to no more than 100%.

Fuel

• Standard tank: the fuel in the factory-fitted tank of a motor vehicle or motorcycle is duty-free.
• Portable tank: up to 10 litres per private vehicle or motorcycle is duty-free.
• Other form: fuel in any other form is not personal luggage.

Use the fuel only in the vehicle that brought it. Do not remove it or store it, except during a repair. You cannot give the exemption to another person. Misuse leads to import duties.

Driving rules are in Driving in Montenegro.

Cash: EUR 10,000 or more

You may carry less than EUR 10,000 (or the equivalent in other currencies) without a declaration. At EUR 10,000 or more you must declare it to customs. This applies on every entry and exit, to residents and non-residents, and to people who carry money for a company or for another person.

• Counts as cash: money, cheques and other means of payment, bearer securities, precious metals, precious stones.
• Does not count: currency no longer in circulation, antique collector coins, casino chips.

1. Declare the cash at the place where you enter or leave Montenegro.
2. Fill in the official declaration form (Obrazac prijave). Every border customs office has forms.
3. Give the customs officer the form and the full documents on the origin of the money. The officer checks your identity and the form.

A notice about this duty is displayed at every border crossing. A customs officer may also ask you about cash. Customs report every transfer of EUR 10,000 or more to the anti-money-laundering authority.

Money in the country: see Money in Montenegro.

Banned goods

• Drugs: import, export and transit are allowed only for licensed legal entities with a special permit. Possession for personal use against the law is a misdemeanour.
• Plants, fruit, vegetables, flowers and seeds from third countries: entry is forbidden without a phytosanitary certificate. You may bring bananas, coconuts, dates, pineapples and durian without it.
• Dog and cat fur: placing on the market, import and export of dog and cat fur and products that contain it are forbidden. The veterinary administration may allow exceptions for education or taxidermy.
• Protected wild animals and plants (CITES and national law), their parts and products: forbidden without a permit or certificate, against the permit, or with an expired or forged document.

Customs may limit other goods for public order and safety, health of people, animals and plants, the environment, national assets, intellectual property and other reasons.

Goods that need a document

• Ordinary medicines: carry only what you need for yourself, for a minor or incapacitated family member, or for a travelling animal. The amount must be no more than 6 months of need. Show customs the medical documents that prove the need. You cannot receive needed medicines by post or courier.
• Medicines that contain drugs: carry the amount needed for personal therapy for up to 30 days. You need a certificate from your treating doctor or a mental-health specialist. The certificate must be no older than 90 days.
• Medicines for an animal that contain drugs: the same rule applies, with a vet's certificate. Declare the vet's certificate to customs.
• Wild species (specimens): declare them to customs at the border crossing. The officer checks the permit. Without documents, customs seize the specimens temporarily. If you do not supply the documents within one month (two months at most if extended), customs confiscate them and you pay the costs.
• Protected geological and paleontological objects: you cannot export them. An exception for science, education or an exhibition needs a permit of the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Cultural goods: you cannot take a protected cultural monument abroad permanently, except in an exchange. A temporary export (presentation, expert examination or conservation) needs the approval of the Ministry in charge of culture.

The same approval procedure applies to these older items and art:

• archaeological material over 100 years old
• drawings, paintings, watercolours, original prints, sculptures, photographs and films
• manuscripts
• books and printed maps over 100 years old
• archive material over 50 years old
• objects and vehicles over 75 years old

The law lists more items in Article 54.

• Foreigners without permanent residence (in transit, or for hunting and sport competitions): you may bring hunting or sport weapons and ammunition for them. The weapon must be entered in your passport. If it is not, the border police enter it, if you have approval to carry the weapon under the law of your country of residence.
• Citizens of EU states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland: you may bring weapons and ammunition that are entered in the European Firearms Pass, if the Ministry issued a prior import approval. The official text is unclear on whether approval is needed when the weapon is for hunting or sport and you have proof of the purpose. Confirm with the border police before you travel.

Fines and contacts

Do not use the border police numbers to report a crime or an offence. Call 122.