It is no secret that Golden Visa schemes, including the Spanish Golden Visa, are under increased scrutiny throughout Europe. The UK ended its Golden Visa Scheme back in February 2022, followed a year later by its close neighbour Ireland. Portugal reviewed and changed its Golden Visa qualification back in early 2023, by removing property as a qualifying asset, which was by far the most popular route to residency in the country.
The Spanish Golden Visa raising popularity
Now all eyes are turning towards Spain. Of all the current Golden Visa options, Spain is rapidly becoming the most popular. There are many reasons for this, one of the main ones being the highly unusual ‘no stay requirement’ policy.
There is also the potential to obtain citizenship within as little as 2 years, one of the quickest processes to obtain a Golden Visa out of all the EU countries, and very low additional costs associated with the process. Furthermore, few can argue with Spains fantastic climate and quality of life.
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Political Changes and Economic Impacts
However, over the last year Spain has gone through political change with a new progressive Government being formed on the 16 th of November 2023. This has somewhat drawn eyes away from the Golden Visa Scheme, now we are settling into 2024, the eyes are likely to focus right back on economic matters, with the Golden Visa Scheme being very high on that list.
Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa, before his eventual resignation at the end of last year, stated withdrew property as a qualifying asset stating to CNN ‘It is no longer justified, and is a biased way of inflating the housing market, which has reached unsustainable prices’.
The average house price in Spain has continued to increase in 2023, by around 7%, with areas such as Alicante and Palma rising by around 15%. All this despite the increase in interest rates, pointing towards ‘cash purchases’ from more wealthy individuals. One measure that could be used to curb these increases would be following Portugal’s lead in removing real estate as a qualifying asset.
The junior coalition partner of the Spanish Government, Sumar, has already stated its desire to discontinue the scheme in 2024. Earlier in 2023, the Spanish political party Mas Pais also proposed abandoning the scheme, citing reasons similar to those given by Portugal’s Prime Minister.
What is clear is that the Golden Visa Scheme in Spain will be reviewed. This is more than likely to result in change, and now things are settled politically in Spain, this change is likely to come sooner rather than later.
Current Opportunities and Future Uncertainties
However, at present the scheme remains unchanged. Real Estate can still be bought in Spain for 500,000 EUR and this would qualify the buyer (and their family) to the Spanish Golden Visa and all the benefits that this provides. In fact, there are schemes where you can qualify for as little as 350,000 EUR into a property investment, with long term rental income being paid up front.
Whilst the scheme still remains operational, investors can still benefit from the ‘no stay requirement’ policy. Meaning that, if you may not be looking to move to Spain straight away, you can still apply and hold the real estate asset to give you the Visa in preparation for when you do decide to move, with no visit requirements. This can provide protection were the Golden Visa rules to change.
What 2024 holds will become clear as we work our way through the year. For anyone looking to make the move to Spain, and to utilise the Golden Visa programme to do this, now is the time to start investigating your options……before it may be too late.
Author: Sam Daynes, Holborn Assets (Contact Sam here for a Golden Visa consultation & Join our here Free Golden Visa webinars!)
