What is the Golden Visa and how could it be obtained?
The Spanish Golden Visa, introduced in 2013, was a measure designed to attract foreign investment by granting legal residency to non-EU citizens who made a substantial investment in Spain. It was not just a visa, but a fast track to residency, with highly attractive benefits such as the possibility of bringing family members, working legally, and travelling freely within the Schengen Area.
Until now, it could be obtained through various methods:
• Property investment: purchasing property in Spain for at least €500,000 (the most popular route).
• Investment in financial assets:
o €2 million in Spanish public debt.
o €1 million in shares of Spanish companies, bank deposits, or investment funds.
• Business projects: those with economic, social, or technological impact in Spain.
The general requirements included having no criminal record, providing private health insurance, and demonstrating financial solvency. The Golden Visa did not require physical presence: one simply needed to visit Spain at least once a year to maintain it.
A Historic Legislative Change: The End of the Property Investment Route
On 3 April 2025, the Spanish Government passed Law 1/2025, which eliminates the possibility of obtaining the Golden Visa through property investment. This decision responds — according to the Government — to the need to disconnect access to residency from speculative practices, which, in their view, contribute to the rise in property prices, especially in major cities and tourist areas.
New applications can no longer be processed through this route, although those who had already applied before the law came into effect will still be assessed under the previous regulations. Additionally, the rights of those who have already obtained this visa will be respected, allowing them to renew it if they continue to meet the necessary conditions.
Conclusion and Personal Opinion
The elimination of the Golden Visa through property investment does not merely mark a turning point: it is a drastic decision that has been made more from the heart than from the head. In its rush to make a statement about the housing crisis, the Government has opted for a symbolic gesture that will hardly address the real problem of access to housing. It is easy to blame foreign investors — many of whom were buying property to reside in rather than speculate — but much more difficult is sorting out a market inflated by the lack of public housing, uncontrolled tourist rentals, and chronic urban planning bureaucracy.
Completely closing this route for foreign capital is, frankly, a strategic mistake. While countries such as Portugal, Italy, and Greece adjust their investment programmes to remain competitive, Spain has decided to step off the board, throwing away a tool that, if properly regulated, could still be useful.
The most ironic thing is that the true contributors to the rise in property prices — large funds, Real Estates Investments Trusts (REITs), and mass rental platforms — will continue operating without being affected by this measure. The ones truly excluded are the foreign families who wanted to make Spain their home, the entrepreneurs who were investing in the country’s stability, or the retirees who were investing in their future.
Would it not have been more sensible to correct the excesses rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater? Setting geographical limits, annual restrictions, incentives for rehabilitation or investment in social housing… there were alternatives. Instead, the easy headline has been chosen over the difficult solution.
Spain does need investment, yes. But it also needs political courage to manage that investment with intelligence, not with legislative populism.
