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Spain proposes ending the golden visa scheme, inaugurated in 2013 requiring a €500,000 home investment for residency. The move targets speculation in large cities, echoing broader European moves to eliminate wealth-based resident permits.
According to the recent developments, Spain is planning to phase down its famous 'golden visa' program. For your knowledge, it is the system that allowed foreign investors to get residence by investing €500,000 in property. The decision comes as Spain seeks to address the widespread speculation that plagues many of its towns.
During a visit to Seville, Sanchez stated, We will eliminate the so-called golden visa program, that grants residency in exchange for a €500,000 property investment. The move, which is scheduled for approval at Tuesday's cabinet meeting, seeks to tackle speculative property investments that impede access to homes for many young people and families.
Introduced in 2013 during economic challenges to attract foreign capital, the initiative provides non-EU investors a three-year work and resident visa in return for investing at least €500,000 in property or a Spanish enterprise. Sanchez underlined that today, a significant majority of these visas are tied to property investments, highly concentrated in big cities like Barcelona,Alicante, Madrid, Malaga, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands.
The Prime Minister also underlined the tremendous housing market pressures in certain places, making it very tough for citizens who live, work, and contribute taxes to find suitable accommodation. If rumors are to go by, in reaction to rising housing issues, some southern European nations have also gone ahead to either tighten requirements or stop similar visa schemes that were launched during the financial crisis.
Portugal ended its golden visa program in February 2023, which had greatly raised house prices, while Greece recently tightened laws, raising the necessary investment to up to €800,000. According to reports, criticism of such visa programs has intensified, with many calling them a European guilt claiming that residency cards should not be issued simply on the basis of money.
In 2019, Brussels encouraged member states to tighten down on these schemes, saying that they might promote corruption and money laundering, mostly benefitting wealthy Chinese and Russian investors. The decision to end Spain's golden visa program reflects a larger European effort to address the social and economic consequences of similar programs.
