The end of Spain’s Golden Visa, which allows Brits to relocate to Spain with minimal paperwork, has been blocked in the Spanish Senate — meaning the bill must now go back to Congress for further debate and discussion
The Spanish Senate has rejected a bill aimed at abolishing the country’s Golden Visa, forcing the legislation back to Congress for further debate.
Spain had announced in April its intention to terminate its Residency by Investment scheme, also known as the Golden Visa.
This programme allows Brits and other non-EU nationals to relocate to Spain with minimal paperwork, provided they purchase a property worth over €500,000 (£412,000) or make a significant investment. It was initially believed that the ban could be implemented as early as January 2025.
The scheme has been particularly popular among Brits who have faced increased bureaucracy due to Brexit, so this latest development will be good news for those eyeing up Spanish property. In 2024 alone, 780 Golden Visas were issued up until the end of October, with 573 granted after the announcement of the abolition.
According to the Spanish government, hundreds of these visas have been given to Britons. Despite non-residents being limited to spending only 180 days a year in the country, the British remain one of the largest foreign property buyer groups in Spain.
The disagreement over the ban is partly political, with the Senate controlled by the centre-right Partido Popular (PP), while Congress is under the control of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his coalition government comprising the centre-left Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and the radical left-wing Unidas Podemos, reports the Express.
Concerns have arisen over the Spanish government’s forceful tactics in attempting to pass what’s referred to as the Judicial Efficiency Bill. Central to this contentious piece of legislation are measures aimed at speeding up trials for illegal squatting incidents, while tacked onto it is a controversial provision to scrap the Golden Visa scheme.
The bill’s passage has met resistance, with the Official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament detailing on December 2 that the PP party has lodged a veto. The conservative group criticises the government for not employing “proper legislative drafting techniques”, slamming the proposal as “a hodgepodge of uncoordinated legislative amendments”.
Speaking to Investment Migration Insider, Dr Jacinto Soler-Matutes, senior partner at Emergia Partners — a firm that specialises in emerging market business development — suggested that the ban could be solidified by Congress in the December sittings, projecting its likely inclusion in the Official Gazette shortly after and ending by April 1.
In anticipation of its impending conclusion, there’s been a rush on applications for the Spanish Golden Visa. Since the announcement of its potential demise, monthly application rates surged from an average of 69 between January and March to 95 between April and October.
Catalan News reports that the majority of Golden Visa approvals are for Chinese nationals, with over 3,300 visas issued between 2013 and 2023. Russian nationals aren’t far behind, having received 3,100 in the same period.
Despite its success in attracting investment to Spain, the scheme has sparked controversy. The issue of affordable housing is a widespread problem across Europe, but it’s especially severe in Spain.
The Bank of Spain estimates that 600,000 new homes need to be built annually to meet demand, yet current plans only account for 90,000 per year.
