Spain's golden visa programme to end in April 2025

'GOLDEN visas' granting automatic residence rights to foreigners for property purchase or investment will be axed in Spain from April 2025, according to the latest national government announcement.

A publication in the daily State Official Bulletin (BOE) confirms non-EU citizens will no longer be able to 'buy' residence from April 3 this year, although applications filed before that date will be honoured, and existing 'golden visas' will be renewed upon request.

The scheme's end will come exactly a year after Spain's current president, Pedro Sánchez, expressed plans to scrap what was originally designed to boost a flagging housing market following a long recession, but which is now contributing towards inequality and 'property poverty'.

What is a 'golden visa', and why is it being axed?

Introduced by the previous PP-led national government in 2013, the 'golden visa' was offered to anyone from outside the European Union who bought a residential property for a minimum of €500,000 – but now, 12 years on, this is not an especially high price for a home in Spain.

In fact, in many of the most popular 'golden visa' zones, half a million euros is close to the average property value – or even lower.

At a time when young adults and working families are being priced out of the housing market in big cities and key coastal tourism areas, Sánchez – of the centre-left PSOE party – considered it inappropriate for homebuying to continue to be 'a speculative business venture'.

But 'golden visas' will not just end for foreign property buyers – no more automatic residence permits will be granted for any other qualifying investment in Spain.

Those who invest at least €1 million in Spanish-based companies, investment or deposit funds or in setting up commerical activity deemed 'in the public interest', or who acquired a minimum of €2m in national public debt bonds, were also able to benefit from the scheme.

Despite speculation that non-property investments would continue to attract residence rights, Sánchez has confirmed these will no longer apply.

All circumstances that render a person eligible for a 'golden visa' are provided for in Articles 63, 64, 65, 66 and 67 of Law number 14/2013 – and these will all be declared null and void.

In practice, though, over 94% of 'golden visas' have been issued for property purchases, meaning the system has not greatly contributed to upping corporate or government-bond investment.

Who benefits from the 'golden visa'?

Whilst exact numbers have not been confirmed for the previous two years, Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) reported that around 780 were awarded between January and October 2024 inclusive.

The first decade of the scheme saw nearly 11,500 'golden visas' issued, of which fewer than 700 were for non-property-related high-level capital participation.

'Golden visas' for homebuying went to investors from China and Russia more than any other nationality, although a significant minority were awarded to purchasers from the USA, Egypt, Ukraine, The Philippines, México, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia.

More recently, British citizens made up the fourth-largest national group of golden visa-holders – after the USA – for home purchase, following the country's departure from the EU in January 2021.

Since Brexit, the 'golden visa' property-buying scheme offered a shortcut to residence in Spain for those who would not otherwise meet income requirements that had dramatically increased in keeping with the UK's new status as a third country.

Non-EU citizens can still move to Spain and obtain legal residence through other means, independently of the value of any property they wish to buy. You can find out more about the options available in Visas for Spain: A comprehensive guide.