Social assistance (MOP) in Montenegro 2026: amounts from 1 July, who qualifies, which income and property rule you out and how to apply

From 1 July 2026 family social assistance (materijalno obezbjeđenje, MOP) in Montenegro pays 101.32 euros a month for a single person and 192.64 euros for a family of five or more. The same amounts are also the income limit: a family qualifies if its average monthly income in the previous quarter is not higher than the amount for its size, and a family with some income receives the difference up to that amount. Property above the set limits, a job held by a member able to work and a car also rule the right out, and you apply at the social work centre on form Z-MO.

This guide explains the amounts, who qualifies, what rules you out, the procedure and the changes ahead.

How much is social assistance from 1 July 2026?

• The amounts are adjusted on 1 January and 1 July, and existing beneficiaries receive the new amounts automatically.
• A family with income receives the difference between the amount in the table and its average monthly income in the previous quarter.
• When a centre commission grants the right after a direct inspection, the family receives 50% of the amount for three months, with a new check afterwards.
• A child of a social assistance beneficiary is entitled to a child benefit of 64.26 euros a month.

Who qualifies for social assistance?

• A single person or a family with a member who is unable to work.
• A pregnant woman, a single parent and a parent supporting a child who are able to work, and the same right goes to an adoptive parent, a guardian and a foster parent.
• A person who finished an adapted or special education programme, for up to five years after finishing school.
• A person over 18 in regular secondary school, until the end of the set period.
• A person who grew up without parental care, until they take a job for longer than six months, and as a single person for up to five years after leaving care.

What rules the right out?

• Business premises owned or used, building land in an urban or suburban zone, and a flat larger than a studio for a single person, a two-room flat for a family of two or three and a three-room flat for a larger family.
• Farmland or forest larger than 20 ares for a single person, up to 60 ares for a family of five or more, or other land larger than 2 ha.
• A job held by a member able to work, except a contract for permanent seasonal work.
• A car or a truck, except a vehicle used to transport a beneficiary of the disability allowance or the care supplement, as well as a tractor or other machinery and more than two livestock units in a rural area.
• A job or training refused in the last two years, a job left by choice or through one's own fault in the last year, and property sold or an inheritance waived in the last three years.

What does not count as income?

• The personal disability allowance, the care and assistance supplement, child benefit, the newborn payment and one-off financial aid.
• Pupil and student support, severance on retirement and compensation for natural disasters.
• Income from a contract for permanent seasonal work.
• A beneficiary taking part in an employment programme through the Employment Agency keeps the right for up to 12 months, at the full amount of the month before the employment contract.

How do you apply and when does the right end?

• You apply at the social work centre for your place of residence on form Z-MO, showing your ID card and signing consent to a data check, and the centre obtains other proof from official records itself.
• A beneficiary able to work draws up an individual activation plan with the centre and the Employment Agency, and if they do not follow it, the right ends.
• The right also ends when a beneficiary uses residential care for longer than 30 days, serves a prison sentence longer than six months or stays abroad, except for medical treatment or schooling.
• From 1 December 2026, when the unified disability assessment starts, a person who has turned 67 and a child under 15 count as persons without work capacity.

The benefit paid through the Employment Agency is covered in our guide to unemployment benefit, and payments for children in our guide to child benefit. Benefits for people with disabilities are covered in our guide to the disability allowance, and the lowest wage in our guide to the minimum wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much is social assistance in 2026? From 1 July 2026 it is 101.32 euros for a single person, 121.66 euros for two, 146.06 euros for three, 172.41 euros for four and 192.64 euros for five or more.

Who qualifies for social assistance? A family with a member unable to work, as well as a pregnant woman, a single parent and a parent supporting a child who are able to work, if income and property stay within the limits.

Does a car rule out the right? Yes, except a vehicle used to transport a family member who receives the disability allowance or the care and assistance supplement.

Does seasonal work rule out the right? No, a contract for permanent seasonal work does not rule out the right, and the income from it does not count.

Where do I apply? At the social work centre for your place of residence, on form Z-MO.

What changes on 1 December 2026? A person who has turned 67 and a child under 15 will count as persons without work capacity under the law.

Sources

The amounts from 1 July 2026 come from the Decision on adjusting the income threshold and benefits, Official Gazette 119/2026, and the amounts from 1 January 2026 from the decision in issue 13/2026. The conditions, property limits, end of the right and activation plan come from the Law on Social and Child Protection (Articles 21 to 31a), the 12-month employment programme rule from the amendments of December 2025, Official Gazette 160/2025, and the seasonal work rules from the amendments of April 2026, Official Gazette 52/2026. The form and documents come from the Rulebook on detailed conditions for basic social benefits. The information was checked on 27 September 2026. Fijaka is a classifieds platform; this text is not legal advice.