Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
SPAIN’s Golden Visa scheme, which allowed non-EU citizens to reside in the country by making large investments, has ended.
In 2013, the initiative was launched to attract foreign capital after the financial crisis.
It granted residency permits to those who purchased property worth at least €500,000.
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Residency was also given to people who invested €2 million in Spanish public debt or €1 million to companies in the country, investment funds or venture capital or bank deposits in financial institutions.
Most visas are linked to the purchase of property, with minimal impact on job creation or projects.
Analysts also believe that people used the scheme to wash money.
The government announced in April 2024 that it would be scrapping visas due to housing shortages in certain areas of the country.
According to reports, 90% of Golden Visas were purchased in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona as well as touristic areas along the coast, including the Balearic Islands. Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol are also popular destinations, but rising housing prices have made it difficult for local residents.
780 visas were granted last year between January and February with an average investment of just over €657,000.
Spain will grant 14,576 visas through property investment up to 2023.
Most of the beneficiaries are from China and Russia, but also the UK, US Ukraine, Iran Venezuela, and Mexico.
The European Commission urged its member states in 2022 to discontinue programmes that provide passports and residency in exchange of financial contributions.
The government stated that it would be following the recommendations of Brussels and pointed out similar schemes have been cancelled by Ireland and Portugal.
Just Greece, Hungary, Malta, and Italy are still running ‘cash for residency’ incentives.
