The extension of the deadline for replacing ID cards is not within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), the department announced, adding that no citizen will be denied access to exercising their right to an ID card after today.
The Ministry of Interior recalled that more than five years ago, on March 30, 2020, they began issuing the third generation of documents, in accordance with the Law on Amendments to the Law on Identity Cards.
"Amendments to the law adopted by the Parliament of Montenegro in March extended the deadline for replacing ID cards to September 30th, instead of the originally scheduled deadline of March 30th," the Ministry of Interior said.
The department emphasized that they are acting in accordance with applicable regulations, adding that they do not have the authority to independently extend the deadline, which is exclusively determined by law, and the adoption of laws is within the competence of the Parliament of Montenegro.
"As previously stated, citizens had more than five years, or 66 months (1.436 working days) to replace their old ID card with a new - electronic one," the Ministry of Interior said.
They emphasized that they informed citizens about the obligation to replace and the anticipated deadlines through all available communication channels.
"We would like to emphasize that the Ministry of the Interior communicated with citizens at full capacity through the media, official statements and social networks," the statement said.
It is added that the management of the Ministry of the Interior and employees of the competent Directorate for Civil Status and Personal Documents made dozens of public appearances on this very occasion in all Montenegrin media (statements, guest appearances, inclusion in programs), both before and after the extension of the deadline.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs emphasized that the key point in these appearances was the appeal to citizens to replace their old ID cards with new ones.
"Also, before the original deadline expired, with the support of Montenegrin operators, SMS messages were sent to citizens, inviting them to act responsibly and replace old documents in a timely manner," the Ministry of Interior said.
The department said that citizens could also learn about this obligation, all the benefits of the electronic ID card, on the official accounts on the Ministry of Internal Affairs' social networks, and the importance of replacing documents was emphasized, so that they could continue to exercise their rights and obligations without hindrance.
"We would like to remind you that fines are also prescribed in accordance with the Law on Identity Cards, but we also emphasize that a repressive approach is not the focus of the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but rather work in the interests of citizens," the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
As they stated, proof of their commitment to providing services to citizens is the fact that 10.093 requests were received in June alone.
"The data that 36.041 requests were submitted in the first 25 days of September, and 4.902 in just one day (September 25), confirms that the officials worked more than dedicatedly," the statement said.
It is added that the Ministry of Interior carried out activities to implement requests via a mobile station, for immobile and sick persons, by going to their home address, for those who cannot access the counters in person.
"Finally, in order to eliminate any possible doubts, we emphasize that no citizen will be denied access to exercising their right to an ID card after today," the statement concludes.
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