Spain plans end to ‘golden visa’ scheme in major blow to British expats

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez said ending the scheme would help make access to affordable housing ‘a right instead of a speculative business’

People relaxing on the beach in Benidorm, Spain (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Spain will scrap its so-called “golden visa” programme granting residency rights to foreigners who make large investments in real estate in the country.

In a blow to British ex-pats, Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters on Monday that ending the scheme would help make access to affordable housing “a right instead of a speculative business”.

At the moment the programme permits non-EU citizens investing at least £428,000 (500,000 euros) in Spanish property to live and work in the country for three years.

“Today, 94 out of every 100 such visas are linked to real estate investment...in major cities that are facing a highly stressed market and where it’s almost impossible to find decent housing for those who already live, work and pay their taxes there,” Mr Sanchez said.

He added that the government would launch the process to eliminate the scheme at Tuesday’s weekly cabinet meeting after studying a report submitted by the Housing Ministry.

From the start of the golden visa scheme in 2013 until November 2022, Spain issued almost 5,000 permits, government figures show.

Chinese investors top the list followed by Russians who invested more than 3.4 billion euros, according to a 2023 Transparency International report that questioned whether authorities investigated the origin of the funds.

Spain has for years been a popular destination for Britons to relocate in Europe with around 284,000 people living there as of 2023.

The so-called “golden visa“ has allowed Britons to bypass EU stay limits. Without the current permit you are allowed to visit Spain for 90 days visa-free, before having to apply for a residency or visa.

Mary Dunne, of estate agents Hamptons International, told the Daily Mail: “It’s like a bomb went off this morning. It’s going to be a big issue for expats wanting to move and a lot of people are very unhappy about it. What’s being done isn’t hugely different from other European countries, but it’s not a positive message.”

Spain’s housing problem was not caused by the golden visa scheme, but rather by a lack of supply and a spike in demand, said Idealista spokesperson Francisco Inareta.

“The measure announced today, which focuses on international buyers rather than encouraging new homes to come onto the market, is yet another misdiagnosis,” Inareta said.

Neighbouring Portugal has recently revamped its own “golden visa“ scheme and excluded real estate investment to tackle a housing crisis. Foreigners who want to secure residency rights can still put their money into investment funds.

The European Commission has long called for an end to such programmes, citing security risks.