Spain set to axe golden visas for buying property

Golden visas giving foreigners automatic resident rights in Spain for buying high-value property will be scrapped in a bid to curb spiralling home prices.

Until now, any citizen of any country has been able to secure legal residence in Spain simply by purchasing a house or flat for a minimum of €500,000 – but this system is set to end very shortly, reveals socialist (PSOE) president Pedro Sánchez.

Stating that a home 'should be a right, not merely a speculative business venture', Sánchez says his cabinet has been 'debating for months' whether to eliminate the so-called golden visa, or to keep it but with more stringent conditions.

Launched in 2013 by Sánchez's predecessor, Mariano Rajoy of the Partido Popular (PP), the golden visa system was aimed at reviving a flagging housing market.

But 11 years on, spending half a million euros on a property no longer gets you a high-end home – in fact, in the most popular golden-visa zones, this is not much above the average price tag.

'Impossible' for workers to 'access decent housing'

The majority of areas targeted by golden visa applicants are in or close to holiday hotspots or major cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Málaga, and Palma de Mallorca.

“These are districts with a high level of demand, where it is nearly impossible for those who live, work and pay their taxes in them to buy a decent home,” Sánchez stated during a meeting this week in Dos Hermanas (Sevilla province).

Referring to the housing market crisis which started in 2008 and led the country into recession, the president stressed that 'speculative investment in property' is what triggered this 'disaster'.

“It also leads us to harsh inequality as a consequence of so many young adults and families being unable to access the property ladder,” Sánchez believes.

His government's 'priority' is to ensure that nobody in Spain 'has to spend more than 30% of their monthly income' on a 'decent, good-quality and appropriate' home.

Spain follows European Commission recommendations

The system of being able to 'buy' residence in a country through property purchase has been 'heavily criticised by charities from the start', the president reveals.

Following the Russian invasion in Ukraine in 2022, the European Commission called for EU member States to end golden visa schemes, although it has not banned them altogether.

As a result, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland have stopped issuing these élite permits, and Greece has made conditions for obtaining them much more stringent.

Pedro Sánchez says Spain intends to follow the Commission's recommendations and has 'started the process' of 'eliminating' golden visas.

The golden visa in figures

Automatic residence based upon high-level investment in Spain is also granted to those who invest at least €1 million in Spanish-based companies, investment or deposit funds, or a minimum of €2m in national public debt bonds.

It is believed these methods will still be permitted, although according to data from Spain's Social Security office, a total of 94.3% of golden visas issued have been for buying residential property.

From 2013 until the end of 2022 – the most recent full year on record – Spain issued 11,464 golden visas, of which 10,810 were for purchasing homes valued at over half a million euros.

The main beneficiaries have been citizens of China (2,712) and Russia (1,159), reveals the 2023 International Transparency report, with 99.33% and 94.65% respectively for buying property.

Iranian nationals were granted 203 golden visas, of which 99.01% were for purchasing homes, and US citizens were given 179 of these prestigious permits, with 94.97% being property-based.

Since the UK left the European Union in February 2021, buying a home for over €500,000 has proven a popular short-cut for British nationals to gain residence rights in Spain – before 2023, a total of 177 golden visas were awarded to Britons, with 93.78% being for homebuying.

Other nationalities which have benefited from the scheme are Egyptians and Ukrainians (143 each); Philippines (122), Mexicans (114), Venezuelans (98) and Saudia Arabians (89).

Foreigners wishing to move to Spain still have multiple possibilities to obtain a visa to live in Spain. Discover all the options in our article Visas for Spain: A comprehensive guide.