'Golden visa' for Spain ends tomorrow

SPAIN will no longer issue 'golden visas' giving foreign investors automatic residence rights – the scheme officially ends tomorrow (April 3).

The very first piece of legislation approved this year, Law 1/2025 of January 2 stated that it would no longer be possible for non-European Union citizens to secure leave to remain in Spain by buying a single property for €500,000 or more.

Any applications filed before the April 3 deadline would be considered in the usual way, and any existing 'golden visas' will still be renewed going forward if their holders continue to qualify, it was reported earlier this year.

Why the 'golden visa' has been scrapped

The scheme's end comes 359 days after Spain's socialist president, Pedro Sánchez, called time on a move originally aimed at reviving an ailing housing market after five years of recession.

Sánchez claimed letting non-EU nationals 'buy' residence through property purchase was exacerbating inequality and 'property poverty'.

'Golden visa' homebuying was forcing up prices and reducing availability for the average worker, the president said.

From its launch in Spain in 2013 up until November 2024, a total of 15,356 'golden visas' were issued, of which 96% were for buying a single property for at least half a million euros – a sum that, 12 years later, is not much greater than the average home price for many of Spain's most high-demand housing areas.

The remaining 4% of 'golden visas' were for other qualifying, non-property-related investments: Shares in Spanish companies, deposit funds and commercial start-up capital worth at least €1 million, or national public debt bonds of €2m or more.

Scheme also axed for non-property investments

Although Sánchez hinted last April that automatic residence permits would remain in place for corporate and government-bond investment, these, too, have been abolished.

The national leader championed 'those who come to Spain to create jobs, invest in innovation and boost productivity', but 'not those who simply want to speculate' by acquiring homes they had no intention of living in or using.

Yet the new legislation renders null and void Articles 63-67 inclusive of the law that created the 'golden visa', meaning it is no longer available at all.

'Golden visa' had 'no impact' on housing market, say experts

Property professionals in Spain have questioned whether axing the scheme will really make a difference for those who struggle to access housing.

Estate agencies recall that the average worker or family is seeking an affordable home, not an upper-end apartment or villa valued at half a million euros.

Spain's Association of Developers and Builders (APCE) says 'golden visa' purchases accounted for 'less than 0.1% of the 4.5 million homes sold between 2013 and 2022', meaning it had 'no impact on the property industry'.

Chinese, Russian and US nationals accounted for most 'golden visa' property purchase applications, which averaged between 950 and 1,000 a year until 2021.

Following the UK's departure from the EU and then the Ukraine invasion, applicants soared to between 2,000 and 3,300 annually as buyers from both countries sought ways to gain residence in Spain.

The average new 'golden visa' holder in 2024 spent €657,204 on a property, government figures reveal.

Applicant numbers for the first three months of 2025 are expected to have been higher than in previous years due to a last-minute rush to buy Spanish homes before the scheme ended tomorrow.

Scrapping this system does not, however, preclude non-EU citizens from acquiring Spanish residence, buying a property to live in permanently, or purchasing a holiday home in Spain. Different options for doing so remain in place, as described in our comprehensive guide to visas for Spain.