Spain wants to cancel Spanish Golden Visa program | SovSpot (2024)

Spain is considering either increasing the minimum investment for Golden Visas or discontinuing the program alltogether.

The Spanish government is considering modifying or cancelling its golden visa program, which means that people looking to invest in real estate in Spain may have to pay more or have a restricted time to do so.

Intentions to cancel the Spain Residency by Investment program

Spain provides non-EU citizens with a variety of visas and residency permits, many of which require applicants to meet certain restrictions and submit extensive paperwork. According to the leader of a left-wing party negotiating the subject with the government, Spain could scrap its so-called “golden visa” scheme, which offers resident rights to foreigners who invest in real estate in the nation.

Arguing that the program provides no benefits to the country, the Spanish left-wing political party, Mas Pais, proposed a bill to Congress in February this year to terminate the Residency by Investment program.

Errejon distinguished it from real estate investment and from international investments in Spanish enterprises that eventually contribute to the country’s economic progress.

Furthermore, the leader of the Mas Pais party stated that the Spanish government does not check where the money for real estate purchases comes from.

Following the suggestion of a left-wing party negotiating the topic with the government, Spain could become the next European country to terminate the Golden Visa Program.

According to an article in El País, the leader of the Spanish Más País party, Ingio Errejon, told reporters on Monday that he has achieved a preliminary deal with the Social Security Ministry to end the Golden Visa Program.

According to Errejon, the visas are a “backdoor privilege” for millionaires, turning Spain into a “sort of colony, often attracting dark money.”

Will the Spanish Golden Visa be canceled, or will investment amounts increase?

Non-EU nationals can obtain residency in Spain through the Golden Visa scheme provided they invest at least €500,000.

The ministry refused to acknowledge any plans to end the program. According to a source close to the negotiations, no agreement has yet been reached because the ministry is still reviewing offers from political groups.

According to an El Pais report, the government is considering either raising the minimum amount of investment required for the Golden Visa Program or repealing the plan, as advocated by the Mas Pais party.

Errejon stated that golden visas encourage speculation in home prices in this country, emphasizing that the scheme benefits the national economy while expelling the local population.

“Spanish citizenship cannot be bought,” Errejon said, emphasizing that the program has resulted in a “brutal” increase in home costs and has pushed people out of their neighborhoods while creating no new jobs.

With the goal of stimulating the country’s economy, the Spanish government launched the Golden Visa Program in 2013, granting residency to applicants who meet the required requirements and make significant investments, thus providing visa-free access to the Schengen Zone and a path to permanent residency, among other benefits.

Authorities in Spain gave over 5,000 permits from the program’s inception until November of last year, with Chinese investors benefiting the most, accounting for 45 percent of the total (2,263 visas issued).

The Spanish Golden Visa’s History

Golden visas are a tool approved by the government of Mariano Rajoy (PP) in 2013 through the entrepreneurs law, at a time when the real estate sector was stagnant due to the bursting of the brick bubble and foreign investment was fleeing in a stampede due to the sovereign debt crisis that precipitated the Spanish bank bailout more than a decade ago.

A few months ago, the European Commission requested EU partners to stop awarding them. Ireland and Portugal have lately imposed restrictions.

In Spain, this residency by investment scheme permits foreigners who invest at least 500,000 euros in real estate in Spain (excluding fees or mortgages) to acquire a three-year residence permit that can be extended for additional two years.

Investments of more than one million euros in deposits or shares of Spanish capital corporations, or more than two million in government bonds, are also subject to the process. This residency permit is accessible to highly qualified professionals and is also available in circ*mstances of family reunification.

More than 94% of the authorizations issued to foreign millionaires are based on the residential investment premise. In recent years, this path has accelerated in comparison to conventional financial or corporate investment opportunities, which have mostly gone untapped.

In 2022, Spain issued 2,462 residence permits to investors who purchased houses worth more than half a million euros, representing a nearly 60% increase over the previous year.

Other investors, such as those who purchased public debt, invested in firms, or made deposits of more than one million euros, only added a few dozen permits. Only six foreigners were granted residency permits last year in order to invest in Spanish government debt.

Total number of Golden Visas issued by Spain

Since the implementation of the Spanish Golden Visa, 11,464 individual authorizations have been given. Another 19,805 authorizations for family reunion should be added to them. In total, 31,000 persons have been awarded residence permits, with the purchase of housing accounting for 94% of the cases.

The EU’s adamant opposition to investment visas

In recent months, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Malta have removed or made more difficult the process of granting residency permits or golden visas to foreign millionaires who invest in real estate.

The European Commission has requested member states to stop selling citizenship to wealthy investors by 2022. He urged governments to examine to see if anyone sanctioned as a result of the war had a golden passport.

The European Commission has urged EU governments to terminate investor citizenship programs and improve inspections when giving residency cards, citing them as a security and money laundering concern.

Portugal declared earlier this year that it was discontinuing its Golden Visa Program, while Ireland likewise decided to discontinue its Residency by Investment scheme.

The European Parliament has repeatedly expressed grave concern about the lack of adequate control mechanisms for granting these residence visas for investors, allowing the entry of people and their families with questionable capital and without conducting a rigorous investigation into the origin of the funds.