Spain cancels “golden visas” for foreigners buying real estate
9 April 2024 12:10
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that Spain is canceling the “golden visa” program that grants residency to foreigners who buy real estate in the country. This is reported by elEconomista, reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
“We are going to take the necessary measures to ensure that housing is a right and not just a speculative business. We do not want a speculative investment model,”
– the official said.
Investment in the real estate sector is the most used way for non-resident foreigners to enter the country. According to Sanchez, currently about 94% of investor visas are related to real estate investments. Foreigners buy property mainly in large cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Alicante, Palma and Valencia, where the housing situation for local residents is already tense.
Spain introduced a golden visa programme in 2013. Currently, it is possible to obtain a residence permit by investing more than €500,000 in real estate. The residence period is two years, but can be extended for five years.
Last year, the Spanish government agreed to suspend the issuance of resident visas to Russian investors and entrepreneurs. This measure, which affected all citizens of this nationality regardless of their relationship with the country’s authorities, was taken in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
This year, 451 residence visas were issued for the purchase of real estate and 24 for other forms of investment. Most applicants for such visas came from China, the UK, Iran, Russia and the Philippines.
