Spain to End ‘Golden Visa’ Program for Foreign Investors

Calle Gran Vía, Madrid, Spain.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced this week plans to terminate the country’s golden visa scheme to ensure citizens’ housing rights were respected.

The program, which offers residency rights to foreigners who invest more than 500,000 euros in Spanish real estate, was launched in 2013.

“We are going to start the procedure to eliminate the granting of the so-called golden visa,” said Sánchez, citing the need to prioritize housing instead.

The program, he said, has “made it impossible to find decent housing for those who live and work in cities and pay their taxes every day.”

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

“That is not the model of the country that we need,” he said, arguing that such schemes foster inequality and societal discord while hindering access to affordable housing for ordinary citizens.

Actions to eliminate the program are set to begin after a Spanish cabinet meeting this week. Spanish authorities claim that the decision is in line with the European Commission’s call two years ago to terminate golden visa programs due to security concerns.

In this direction, Greece tightened its investor visa rules earlier this month in an effort to address a growing housing problem.

Spain’s golden visa program was ranked 5^th among the world’s Top 5 most attractive investment migration programs last month, according to global wealth advisory firm Henley & Partners.