Nursing Homes in Montenegro 2026: What a Place Costs, How to Get One Through the Social Work Centre and Who Pays

Montenegro has five public care homes for older people, in Podgorica, Risan, Bijelo Polje, Nikšić and Pljevlja. A place in a public home is normally obtained through the social work centre (centar za socijalni rad), which issues a placement decision, and the ministry set the price of the service for these residents at 300, 400 or 550 euros a month, depending on the level of support needed. The resident contributes all of their income to the cost of the stay, and relatives with a duty of maintenance and the state cover the rest. Under the April 2026 amendments to the Law on Social and Child Protection, only providers not funded from the budget kept the right to set their own price for direct contracts, and Dom starih Podgorica states that a place is granted exclusively on the basis of a social work centre decision.

This guide explains which homes exist, what a place costs, how the procedure works, which documents are needed and who pays.

Which public care homes are there?

• The Risan home was founded in 1947 and is the oldest institution caring for older people in Montenegro.
• The Bijelo Polje home states a capacity of 200 places in double and triple rooms.
• Care home services are provided by licensed providers, public and private, and a private home sets its own price.

How much does a place in a care home cost?

• For residents referred by the social work centre, a ministry decision of 28 November 2022 set the price at 300, 400 or 550 euros a month, depending on the level of support and the scope of the service.
• Dom starih Nikšić gives a price of 400 or 550 euros for these residents, depending on the ward.
• For direct contracts, public homes charged between 400 and 700 euros a month, and Nikšić 500 or 650 euros in a double room.
• Residents who entered a public home on a direct contract under the earlier rules keep that right.
• The homes' average monthly spending per resident in 2024 ranged from 896.44 euros in Podgorica to 1,242.74 euros in Pljevlja.
• At Dom starih Podgorica the price covers accommodation, three meals and two snacks, a doctor and nursing care, physiotherapy, psychosocial support, a hairdresser and laundry, and trips cost nothing extra.

How do you get a place?

• The application goes to the competent social work centre, which issues a placement decision based on evidence and an individual service plan.
• The home's admission and discharge team, a doctor, a social worker, a psychologist and a lawyer, reviews the documents and decides on the ward.
• Support is graded in four levels, from a resident who cannot look after themselves to one who manages everything alone or with reminders.
• For people diagnosed with dementia and people deprived of legal capacity, placement goes through the social work centre.
• A care home is an open institution, so residents can go out accompanied, receive visitors and leave the home, and married couples can get a shared room.

Which documents are needed?

• An application for placement and the resident's statement of will or consent.
• Copies of the ID card and the health insurance card.
• A report from an internist and from a psychiatrist or neuropsychiatrist, no older than six months, stating that the person is fit for collective accommodation and which therapy they take.
• A certificate from the chosen doctor that the person has no infectious disease.
• Proof of income, for example a pension slip, a bank statement or a statement from the Pension Fund (Fond PIO).
• After a hospital stay, the homes in Risan and Nikšić ask for a negative Clostridium test.
• If income does not cover the price, the Risan home asks for a copy of a guarantor's ID card and the guarantor's statement to pay the difference, certified by a notary.

Who pays for the stay?

• Under the amended Article 158 of the law, the resident, a relative with a duty of maintenance and anyone who has taken on the payment contribute to the cost of a stay in an institution with all of their income or assets.
• Personal disability allowance, the care and assistance allowance, one-off financial aid and severance pay on retirement do not count as income.
• A resident with assets that can cover the cost keeps the right to manage their own income, and in a public home may conclude a lifelong maintenance contract with the institution.
• Under the 2023 rulebook as amended in 2025, a relative with income up to 460 euros does not contribute, and above that contributes 3% to 25% of the cost of the service, depending on income.
• The 2026 law requires the ministry to adopt new criteria within a year, so check the scale in force at the social work centre.
• If the state pays the cost in part or in full, payment of the personal disability allowance and the care and assistance allowance stops after 60 days in the home, while residents who bear the full cost keep them.

How a lifelong maintenance contract works is explained in our guide to the lifelong maintenance contract, and pension conditions in our guide to the pension in Montenegro. How to choose the doctor who issues certificates is covered in our guide to the chosen doctor, and how a relative abroad can authorise someone in our guide to a power of attorney from abroad. If an older person needs a companion at home, you can look for one through Glatko.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a care home in Podgorica cost? For residents referred by the social work centre, the price set by the ministry is 300, 400 or 550 euros a month, depending on the level of support.

Can you arrange a place directly with a public home? Since the April 2026 amendments, only providers not funded from the budget can set their own price for direct contracts, and Dom starih Podgorica states that a place is granted exclusively on the basis of a social work centre decision.

Does the home take the whole pension? The resident contributes all of their income to the cost of the stay, but the personal disability allowance and the care and assistance allowance do not count as income.

Do children have to pay for a parent's care home? A relative with a duty of maintenance contributes to the cost, and under the current rulebook does not contribute if their income does not exceed 460 euros.

Where do you submit the application? At the competent social work centre, together with the medical documents and proof of income.

Can a resident leave the home? Yes, a care home is an open institution and the resident can decide to leave, after which the placement decision or contract ends.

Sources

Prices, resident numbers and spending per resident come from the analysis of the Institute for Social and Child Protection of July 2025, prices and the rules on the care allowance from the frequently asked questions of Dom starih Nikšić, and the procedure and support levels from the page of Dom starih Podgorica. The rules on cost sharing come from the amendments to the Law on Social and Child Protection, Official Gazette 52/2026, and the rulebook on cost sharing, 46/2023, with its amendment 38/2025. The information was checked on 26 September 2026. Fijaka is a classifieds platform; check prices and conditions with the social work centre and the home.