Spain puts an end to golden visas 12 years later

Between 2013 and 2025, almost 16,000 visas will have been granted to non-EU foreign nationals, just 0.3% of the transacted residential market.

Today, 3 April, the amendment to Law 14/2013, of 27 September, on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalisation, which eliminates investment visas, better known as “golden visas”, comes into force.

Following the publication on 3 January of Organic Law 1/2025, of 2 January, on measures for the efficiency of the Public Justice Service. The first law passed in 2025 gave three months to abolish articles 63 to 67 of Law 14/2013, which until now regulated the residency regime for foreigners who make significant investments in the country, including the purchase of property in Spain for a minimum value of 500,000 euros.

The “golden visa”, or residence visa for investment, was originally designed to attract foreign investment in a context of economic crisis back in 2013, incentivising the acquisition of real estate and other assets such as public debt, investment funds or investments in Spanish companies or projects of general interest.

It came into being during the mandate of Mariano Rajoy (PP), as did other European economies such as Portugal and Greece after the outbreak of the 2008 crisis. It was initially granted for two years and could be renewed for successive five-year periods, provided that the investment was maintained. Moreover, it was not necessary to reside permanently in Spain to maintain it, allowing freedom of movement within the Schengen area.

Already in the last legislature, the former minister and now governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá, stated that the Executive was working on revising the conditions of this visa. And it was in April 2024, when the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced the elimination of this visa through the purchase of homes. At that time, the government justified the end of the “golden visa” due to the increase in the purchase of homes by non-resident foreigners from 2022, especially the British (after Brexit), Russians, Chinese and Latin Americans.