The concept of citizenship in Montenegrin law can be traced back to the laws promulgated in 1803 by Petar I Petrović-Njegoš, which articulated the principle of jus sanguinis in reference to Crnogorac (Montenegrins) and Brdjanin (Highlanders), and then to the legal code of 1855, which reiterated the earlier principles and also granted foreigners the right to reside in Montenegro.

[11] It also established particularly stringent criteria for naturalisation, in an effort to prevent refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and from Croatia from gaining voting rights in Montenegro.

However, Article 18 provides exceptions from this general prohibition against multiple nationality in the case of a bilateral treaty between Montenegro and the other country of citizenship.

[24] In March 2010, former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra received citizenship under this article due to his investments in tourism in Montenegro which were reported to be in the range of millions of Euros, despite pending charges of corruption that had been laid against him in his home country.

[25] The move sparked public criticism, but government spokeswoman Olivera Đukanović dismissed the concerns by claiming that other countries had similar programs.

[22][26] In the light of German reports in August that Oleg Deripaska would be granted citizenship under the programme, more criticism emerged.

Movement for Changes leader Nebojša Medojević as well as Vanja Ćalović of NGO MANS were quoted as warning that the programme would attract gangsters and increase corruption.

Budimir Aleksić of the Poslanik Nove for his part complained that the government would "sell citizenship" while leaving 60,000 residents of Montenegro stateless.

[25] Stephan Meyer of Germany's Christian Social Union also spoke out against it, and said it might threaten the recent moves to grant Montenegrin passport-holders visa-free travel within the Schengen Area.

[29] Then in November 2010, the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally announced the suspension of the previous guidelines about economic citizenship.

Media reports attributed this action to pressure from the European Union, though MFA spokesman Zeljko Stamatović denied it.

[31] According to a Dnevne Novine report; concerns remained that the citizenship-by-investment programme would not attract genuine investors but only people engaged in money laundering and those who sought to hide from crimes committed abroad (as Montenegro does not extradite its citizens).

[32] However, others argue that the programme could help in attracting foreign investment capital to Montenegro, especially from Americans living abroad who remain fully subject to U.S. taxation unless they switch citizenships.