The end of Spain's golden visa: winners, losers and how to move now
Kelly Scales from East Sussex discovered that she'd been granted a Spanish golden visa just six days after the country's residency-by-investment scheme ended on April 3.
Although she had dreamt of moving to Spain for nine years, it was only after selling her short-term rentals business last year that she was able to purchase a property over the €500,000 minimum investment — but it was a rush to beat the deadline.
'In my wildest imagination I never dreamt that I might buy a house on January 1, complete on February 20 and then get my visa in three weeks,' says Scales, 54, whose three-bedroom property is in Competa, a quintessential white village in the mountains, half an hour from the Andalusian coast.
'I've been navigating
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Seven EU countries to back pan-European savings product label
PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) - Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Luxembourg and Spain on Thursday will launch a new marketing label for savings products that target European investments, France's finance ministry said. The move is intended to be a first limited step towards better integrating the European Union's financial markets, which tend to be fragmented along national lines. The seven countries have agreed that the European savings product label will require at least 70% of assets to be invested in EU countries, with a focus on equity investments to help shore up firms' balance sheets, according to a statement from the French finance ministry. Products must encourage long-term holding with a minimum five-year investment and offer no public capital guarantees. Any tax incentives will be determined individually by each EU member state. Competent authorities in each country will be responsible for ensuring that the banks, insurers and asset management firms that use the label meet its criteria. The right to use it will be withdrawn in the event of misuse. A more ambitious capital markets union has eluded the EU for years in the face of entrenched national interests, different business and financial cultures, and regulations in European countries. However, it is increasingly seen as essential to boost financing of European companies, which tend to be far more dependent on bank loans than their competitors in the United States, where deep financial markets make raising capital much easier.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Jefferies hires Lazard's Thomas for activism defense, sources say
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) - Jefferies (JEF.N), opens new tab has hired a veteran Lazard banker as global head of the firm's activism defense practice, people familiar with the situation said on Wednesday, as more corporations face pressure from activist investors. The New York-headquartered bank is bringing on Richard Thomas, a managing director who has served as co-head of Lazard's Equity Advisory practice, the people said. Thomas will replace Chris Young, who had been the head of activism at Jefferies and is leaving the bank, said the people who were not authorized to discuss personnel matters publicly. Thomas will report to Chris Roop, who is head of mergers and acquisitions for the Americas. Bloomberg first reported the news of Thomas' move. A Jefferies representative declined to comment. Thomas and Young did not respond to requests for comment. The move comes as many banks are paying more attention to defending their clients from the overtures of investors flexing their muscle and demanding a host of changes from selling the company to switching out the chief executive officer. While protecting companies against pushy investors was once a nice-to-have add-on service, it has become a lucrative business that major investment banks and many boutiques are scrambling to offer clients. In April, JPMorgan hired two managing directors to beef up its activism defense group and other banks are said to be looking to make new hires, bankers and lawyers said. Jefferies ranked 10th in Bloomberg's tally of Global Financial Advisers last year, trailing Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Bank of America, which claimed the top three spots in defending companies against activists last year. At the same time, Jefferies has been on a broader hiring spree, having most recently poached four senior tech bankers from Guggenheim Partners.
Finextra
an hour ago
- Finextra
Humans Group initiates arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Uzbekistan
Humans Mobile Ltd (Singapore), part of Humans Group, an international holding company and owner of Humans' business in Uzbekistan, has formally initiated arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Uzbekistan before the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Case No. ARB/25/24). 0 The grounds were a violation of the provisions of the bilateral Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Singapore on the Encouragement, and Protection of Investments dated 15 July 2003. The reason behind the arbitration proceedings lies in the actions of several state authorities and state-owned companies, including the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the state-owned operator AK "Uzbektelecom". In September 2024, the Central Bank, in violation of established legal procedures, effectively paralyzed the operations of one of the leading players in the digital transactions market, payment organization AO "Maroqand", a key element of the Humans ecosystem. Simultaneously, AK "Uzbektelecom" began exerting pressure on the company and its management, systematically abusing its dominant position by restricting Humans' capabilities as a virtual operator, and imposing discriminatory limitations on Humans' customers. Humans Mobile seeks compensation for the damage caused to it by the actions of several state authorities in order to restore justice and the rule of law. 'We have always believed and continue to believe in Uzbekistan and its citizens. We sincerely admire the efforts made by the President of the Republic to modernise the economy, digitalize it, and expand entrepreneurial freedoms. 'We realise that on the path of transformation, we meet opponents who nullify efforts to create a free market, increase openness and accelerate growth. We are in favour of transforming Uzbekistan with the rule of law, and without arbitrary bureaucracy. 'Arbitration is a common tool that allows investors to protect their interests from unfair treatment by the host states. Our position is that the damage caused should be compensated and the proceedings should be a step toward strengthening the principles of fair, predictable regulation and support for entrepreneurship. We believe that Uzbekistan can maintain a strong investment climate, and realize its huge economic potential,' Vladimir Dobrynin, CEO and founder Humans Group, said.
