Podgorica, (MINA) – President Jakov Milatovic has submitted to the Government an initiative for a new long-term immigration policy strategy, both towards foreigners and also toward the return of emigrants to Montenegro, due to, what he described as growing dissatisfaction with the way the Government is handling this area.

He said that Montenegro needs a responsible and organized migration policy, which will be firm when it comes to abuses and crime, but fair towards everyone who respects the country’s laws and contributes to society.

Milatovic emphasized that Montenegro lacks a register of foreign citizens and precise data on migration flows, which is why he proposed the formation of a single, digitally connected system of registers of foreigners.

He also proposed that quotas for temporary residence and work permits for foreign nationals be set quarterly, based on the real needs of the economy.

Milatovic believes that the work of the mediation agencies should be controlled more tightly and that abuses that undermine the labor market and citizens’ trust must be prevented.

“At the same time, foreign employers must have the obligation to, wherever possible, hire domestic workers first”, Milatovic added.

He also proposed amendments to the Law on Private Companies, in order to prevent the establishment of “phantom companies”, used only as covers for obtaining residence permits.

He added that a special challenge is the real estate market, where he proposed a package of fiscal and social measures, including a VAT refunds for citizens of Montenegro when buying their first property or building a house, a tax on unused or empty apartments, additional taxation of luxury real estate and taxation of multiple residential units owned by the same owner.