Citizenship by origin — one parent + birth/registration

ME-DSC-02 is the one-parent jus sanguinis cluster: acquisition of Montenegrin citizenship by origin (porijeklom) where only ONE parent is a Montenegrin citizen, with a place-of-birth or registration element supplying the second leg. It bundles four statutory variants. Article 5(2): a child with one Montenegrin-citizen parent who is BORN IN MONTENEGRO acquires citizenship automatically — the sole territorial element in the origin chapter, but still NOT pure jus soli because a Montenegrin-citizen parent is indispensable. Article 5(3): a child with one Montenegrin-citizen parent, where the other parent is stateless, of unknown citizenship, or unknown, born on the territory of another state, acquires automatically (an anti-statelessness descent rule). Article 5(4): a child with one Montenegrin-citizen parent born abroad acquires if he would otherwise remain stateless (operationalizing Art 4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, in force for Montenegro since 5 Dec 2013). Article 6(1): a child born abroad to one Montenegrin-citizen parent, who does NOT hold the other parent's citizenship, acquires by origin IF an application for entry in the birth register and the register of Montenegrin citizens is filed before the child turns 18 — the registration-before-18 sub-route, with the child's own consent additionally required if he is over 14. Together these cover the cross-border and mixed-nationality families that are the typical Montenegrin diaspora reality. It is a signature route because the one-parent variants carry the genuine eligibility complexity (deadlines, statelessness tests, consent) absent from the both-parents case.

Each variant has its own condition-set, but all share the indispensable Montenegrin-citizen-parent anchor assessed at the moment of birth. (A) Art 5(2): (i) exactly one parent a Montenegrin citizen at birth; (ii) child born on the territory of Montenegro. No registration step and no deadline — acquisition is automatic; the in-Montenegro birth supplies the territorial nexus. (B) Art 5(3): (i) one Montenegrin-citizen parent at birth; (ii) the OTHER parent is stateless, of unknown citizenship, or unknown; (iii) child born abroad. Automatic; protects against statelessness where the non-Montenegrin lineage cannot confer nationality. (C) Art 5(4): (i) one Montenegrin-citizen parent at birth; (ii) child born abroad; (iii) the child 'ostaje bez drzavljanstva' — would otherwise remain stateless. A pure safety-net, narrower than 6(1) because it is conditioned on actual statelessness, but automatic (no deadline). (D) Art 6(1): (i) child born abroad; (ii) one Montenegrin-citizen parent at birth; (iii) the child does NOT hold the other parent's citizenship ('a nema drzavljanstvo drugog roditelja'); (iv) a registration application for the birth register AND the citizens' register filed before the child turns 18; PLUS (v) if the child is over 14, his own consent (pristanak) is required. Unlike 5(3)/(4), 6(1) is NOT automatic — it is a timely-registration route and lapses at 18 (the adult continuation is Art 6(2), handled under ME-DSC-03). The unifying limit: place of birth and registration are only secondary qualifiers; there is no descent acquisition beyond the parent-citizen link and no generational extension past the Art 6 deadlines.

Competent authority: the Ministry of Interior (MUP — organ drzavne uprave nadlezan za unutrasnje poslove, 'nadlezni organ', Arts 27-29). For the automatic variants (Art 5(2)/(3)/(4)) the act is a determination of citizenship by origin (utvrdjivanje) and register entry; for Art 6(1) it is the registration application itself, which is constitutive of the acquisition and time-barred at the child's 18th birthday. Channel: filed on the prescribed form (Pravilnik o obrascima; Form 8 for parental-lineage determination) in person or via authorized representative (Art 28(1)); for the cross-border cases that dominate this route, the request may be filed through a Montenegrin diplomatic or consular mission abroad (Art 28(3)). Documents: the child's foreign birth certificate (legalised/apostilled and translated), proof of the Montenegrin parent's citizenship, and — for Art 5(3)/(4) and Art 6(1) — evidence of the other parent's statelessness/unknown status or of the child's lack of the other parent's nationality (e.g., a negative nationality certificate). For an Art 6(1) applicant over 14, the child's written consent (pristanak). Decision/appeal: the competent authority must decide within one year of initiating the procedure, by a written, reasoned decision with a legal-remedy instruction (Art 29(3)); an administrative dispute (upravni spor) lies to the Administrative Court (Upravni sud), then the Supreme Court, then a constitutional appeal (Art 29(4)). Realistic timeline: the binding practical risk in this route is the Art 6(1) deadline — registration MUST be completed before 18, so diaspora parents should file well in advance; U-III 1363/19 shows the judicial-review tail can run close to two years if a refusal is contested.

Governing provisions: Article 5 paragraphs (2)-(4) and Article 6(1) with its final paragraph. Native text Art 5: 'Crnogorsko drzavljanstvo porijeklom stice dijete:.. 2) ciji je jedan roditelj u trenutku rodjenja djeteta crnogorski drzavljanin, a rodjeno je u Crnoj Gori; 3) ciji je jedan roditelj u trenutku rodjenja djeteta crnogorski drzavljanin, drugi je bez drzavljanstva ili nepoznatog drzavljanstva ili je nepoznat, a rodjeno je na teritoriji druge drzave; 4) ciji je jedan roditelj u trenutku rodjenja djeteta crnogorski drzavljanin, a rodjeno je na teritoriji druge drzave, ukoliko ostaje bez drzavljanstva.' Native text Art 6(1): 'Crnogorsko drzavljanstvo porijeklom stice i: 1) dijete rodjeno na teritoriji druge drzave, ciji je jedan roditelj u trenutku rodjenja djeteta crnogorski drzavljanin, ako se do navrsene 18. godine zivota podnese prijava za upis u maticnu knjigu rodjenih i registar crnogorskih drzavljana, a nema drzavljanstvo drugog roditelja.' Art 6 final paragraph: 'Ako je dijete iz stava 1 tacka 1 ovog clana starije od 14 godina zivota, za sticanje crnogorskog drzavljanstva potreban je i njegov pristanak.' The NATLEX English (through 77/2024) confirms each. Constitutional anchor: Art 12 of the Constitution (Sl. list CG 1/2007) and Art 1 of the Law. Amendment history: Articles 5 and 6 were UNCHANGED across the 13/2008 → 40/2010 → 28/2011 → 46/2011 → 20/2014 (Constitutional Court annulment) → 54/2016 → 73/2019 → 77/2024 cascade; 77/2024 altered only Art 37. A transitional origin rule also applies: Art 41v (final paragraph) deems a person born in Montenegro whose one or both parents were entered in the citizens' evidence at birth, and who is in the birth register but not the citizens' register, to acquire citizenship BY ORIGIN — bridging register-entry gaps for the founding/post-2006 cohort.