Spain to end “golden visa” program in April after over a decade

Spain will bring an end to its “golden visa” program in April, a measure that has allowed citizens from non-European Union (EU) countries to gain residency by investing in real estate or making substantial financial investments.

The program, which has been in place since 2013, will officially expire on April 3, 2025, according to a law passed in November and published in the Official Gazette on January 3.

Introduced by Spain’s right-wing government during an economic crisis, the golden visa was initially designed to attract foreign investment.

It provided residency permits to non-EU nationals who invested in Spanish property worth more than €500,000 or made investments exceeding €1 million in the country’s economy.

Over the years, the program has granted residency to approximately 15,300 foreign investors. Statistics show that 96% of the beneficiaries acquired their visas through real estate investments. The leading countries whose citizens have benefited from the program include China, Russia, Iran, the United States, and Venezuela.

In the wake of the growing housing crisis in Spain, the current left-wing coalition government has pushed for the termination of the program. Rising housing costs have negatively affected the purchasing power of Spanish citizens, prompting concerns over the impact of foreign investment on the local housing market.