It’s already been widely reported that Spain is considering abolishing the option of obtaining a Golden Visa for residency via property investment because analysts claim that this level of investment is distorting the property market. However, the Government may not cancel it now, but increase the level of investment instead.
Currently, Spain’s Golden Visa scheme permits non-EU nationals to acquire residency if they make a minimum investment of 500,000 euros, but this amount was set ten years ago now when the program was first launched and is now seen as too low making it too easy as a way to become a resident in Spain.
According to a report in El Pais, the central government is considering increasing this minimum amount of investment to a million euros, instead of abolishing this method of gaining residency.
Political party, Mas Pais, are in favour of the investment route being stopped, saying that it has led to a “brutal” surge in property prices and pushed locals out of their neighbourhoods without creating any new jobs. “Spanish citizenship should not be bought,” they added.
The Spanish government launched the Golden Visa Program in 2013 to stimulate the country’s economy, granting residency to applicants who met certain requirements and made significant investments, thus offering its beneficiaries visa-free access to the Schengen Zone and a path to permanent residency, among others.
From the beginning of the program until November last year, Spain issued nearly 5,000 permits, with Chinese investors benefiting the most from this scheme, with 2,263 visas issued, or 45% of the total.
In February this year, Mas Pais submitted a proposal to Spanish Congress to abolish the Residency by Investment scheme, because, they say, investing in real estate is different than residency gained by investing in businesses in Spain, which contribute to the growth of the country’s economy.
In addition to this, they claim that the Spanish government does not investigate thoroughly enough where the money to purchase real estate has come from.
Golden Visa programs launched in several European countries have often been criticised and urged to be terminated by the EU authorities following their involvement in several illegal affairs.
Earlier this year, Portugal announced that it was terminating its Golden Visa Program, while the decision to abolish the Residency by Investment scheme was also taken by Ireland.
