Is Montenegro in the EU? What it means for your trip

It’s one of the questions I hear most, and it’s understandable. Montenegro pays in euros and sits in Europe, so it looks like an EU country. It isn’t. Here’s where its accession stands, according to the European Commission, and above all what it means for you as a British visitor.

Candidate since 2010, negotiating since 2012

The European Commission has listed Montenegro as a candidate country since December 2010, and accession negotiations opened on 29 June 2012. Its enlargement page records chapters provisionally closed in 2025 and 2026, from chapter 5 in June 2025 to chapters 8 and 29 in July 2026. The same page mixes an older text with the newer timeline and doesn’t make the overall number of closed chapters clear, so I’m leaving the total out.

The 2007 constitution touches on this too. Article 15 says Parliament decides how Montenegro accedes to the European Union. There’s no official joining date, and I won’t repeat the ones floated in the press.

The euro, with no agreement

This is the big source of confusion. Montenegro uses the euro, but not because it’s in the eurozone. Brussels describes a currency used in practice with no treaty behind it. You pay just as you would in Spain or France, and what that means for cards and fees is in Montenegro currency.

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Outside Schengen, and why that helps you

Montenegro isn’t in the Schengen area. gov.uk points out that days spent there don’t count towards your 90 days in Schengen, and Schengen days don’t count in Montenegro. Since Brexit that’s genuinely useful, because a week in Montenegro won’t eat into the allowance you might be using in Croatia or Italy. The flip side is the border, where gov.uk warns that the EU’s Entry/Exit System can mean longer queues when you cross into Schengen. Your passport rules are in Montenegro entry requirements.

Healthcare and mobiles, non-EU style

These are the two things people forget. On healthcare, gov.uk says Montenegro recognises the GHIC, but you need to take it with your passport to the Montenegrin Health Insurance Fund to get a certificate that unlocks free or cheaper care in the public system. Skip that step and the bill is yours, with nothing to claim back. I’d still travel with insurance, and the detail is in healthcare in Montenegro.

On mobiles, being outside the EU means Montenegro may not be part of your network’s European roaming package, so what you pay depends on your provider. I’d check before going, because an afternoon with maps open in Durmitor can be expensive. Options are in mobile and roaming in Montenegro.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Kotor and pick one that fits your day.

Customs, as at any external border

At the border, anyone carrying €10,000 or more in cash has to declare it, and gov.uk says you can’t bring in meat, milk or products containing them, with exceptions for baby food. That’s standard at an external frontier, and worth remembering if you’re driving down from Croatia with a full cool box.

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