SPAIN’S GOLDEN VISA

Spain’s Golden Visa scheme, which was launched 18 months ago, was introduced to attract wealthy non EU investors into its property market has registered 530 applicants for far.

Individuals who spend more than 500,000 Euros on property in Spain, are granted automatic residence and working rights and this can be spread across a portfolio of properties and can include family, dependants and unmarried partners in the visa. And this added attraction has appealed to a large number of Russian, Chinese and Arab investors.

The majority of property purchases according to Spain’s Ministry of Public Works, has come from this exclusive group of investors, while investors in the USA have bought Spanish public debt – an investment which also grants a Golden Visa, and if the investor pours more than 2 million Euros into a fund or buys more than 1 million shares in a Spanish company.

This Golden Visa, not only allows foreign nationals right to claim residence in Spain, but by extension, the rest of the European Membership countries too. This opens the doors to education and healthcare systems in these countries – something that is proving very attractive to Chinese and Russians alike.

A Golden Visa was given to 490 non-European purchasers during the first 13 months of this scheme and in the process Spain received more than 700 million Euros in foreign investment, as a result.

The rules have been slightly loosened since its launch and an investor will now receive a Golden Visa six months in advance of finalising their property purchase. Previously, such schemes saw the investor having to leave the country prior to completion, which slowed down the transaction or, in some cases, led to cancellations.

A Golden Visa can be renewed every 5 years and the owners do not have to be in Spain to renew it – something else to sweeten the deal for investors.


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