On 28 April 2010, Montenegro ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on the avoidance of statelessness in relation to State succession, signed on May 11, 2007. Prior to this ratification, on March 2, 2010, the Parliament of Montenegro adopted the Law on Confirming the Convention on the avoidance of statelessness in relation to State succession. The Convention will enter into force on August 1, 2010.

On the day of signature of the European Convention on Nationality the Government of Montenegro proposed amendments and addenda to the 2008 Citizenship Act of the Parliament of Montenegro. The proposed amendments predominantly relate to: laying out the conditions for the prevention of statelessness; stipulating clear conditions for naturalisation; granting competence to the Ministry of Interior to naturalise individuals ‘in the interest of the state’, following the proposal of the President of Montenegro, the Prime Minister, or the Speaker of Parliament; and increasing the number of years required for expatriates to obtain Montenegrin citizenship.