Ten stats that explain why Spain is axing its golden visa scheme
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez first announced plans to cancel the country's golden visa option back in April 2024, a decision which made international headlines given Spain's popularity among foreigners.
For over a decade, the scheme has allowed non-EU nationals to gain Spanish residency by either buying property or investing in Spain, with more flexible requirements compared to other visas for third-country nationals.
The primary reason Spain's government has given for axing its golden visa is the impact affluent non-EU nationals and their purchasing power have allegedly had on Spain's housing crisis.
However, many have argued since then that the decision was a populist move rather than an actual solution to the rise in property prices in Spain as the homes golden visa holders have bought only represent a small fraction of yearly transactions.
Furthermore, these foreign home buyers have mainly purchased luxury homes, whilst ordinary Spaniards are struggling to buy lower-priced properties.
It took Spain's Socialist-led government a year to overcome several legal obstacles which prevented the scheme's cancellation from coming into force, but in January 2025, it was finally given a deadline - April 3rd 2025.
Here are some key stats we've put together to explain Spain's golden visa scheme and why it's being scrapped.
12 years: Is the amount of time Spain's golden visa has been available for. It was originally approved by Mariano Rajoy's cash-strapped right-wing government in 2013 as a means of drawing international investments to Spain when the country was in the midst of an economic crisis.
€500,000: Is the minimum amount non-EU nationals had to pay for a property to be eligible for the visa. That is currently equivalent to £418,000 GBP, or $540,000 USD. There were other non-real estate options available to third-country nationals who wanted to get Spain's golden visa: investing €1 million in shares in Spanish companies, or €2 million in government bonds, or transferring €1 million to a Spanish bank account.
95 percent: Is the percentage of Spanish golden visas issued which were based on the purchase of one or more Spanish properties (14,576). This reflects that the other investment options in public debt, bank deposits and investments were not at all popular, and yet the government still decided to scrap them even though they were having no impact on Spain's housing market.
€657,204: Is the average amount golden visa applicants spent on property in 2024, far above the €500K threshold. In 2022, it was €857,105 on average and in 2023 €769,332, figures which serve as examples of just how wealthy these non-EU nationals achieving Spanish residency were.
15,450: Is the number of golden visas that were issued in the decade from 2013 to 2023 according to Housing Ministry data, including all investment options.
33,237: Is the total number of foreigners in Spain who obtained Spanish residency through the golden visa. This includes partners and children of the main applicants.
Chinese and Russians: Most of the beneficiaries of Spain's golden visa were citizens of two countries – China and Russia. From 2013 to 2023, 2,712 Chinese people received the visa and 1,259 Russians were issued one. They are followed by British, American, Ukrainian, Iranian, Venezuelan and Mexican citizens.
Six golden visa hotspots: Data released by Spain's Ministry of Housing indicates that 90 percent of residence permits for real estate investment were concentrated across six provinces: Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga, Alicante, the Balearic Islands, and Valencia.
Golden visa surge caused crackdown: The number of people being granted the golden visas doubled in 2022 to 2,017 and continued to grow in 2023, reaching 3,273. This was cited as the reason for the scheme being cancelled by Spain's Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez, who said "it was in 2022 when the alarm was raised as golden visas doubled. In 2016, 471 golden visas linked to Spanish real estate were issued. In 2017, 946. In 2018, 988. In 2019, 861. In 2020, 632. In 2021, 997. In 2022, 2,017. And in 2023, 3,272."
Last-minute golden visa rush: 780 is the number of golden visas that were granted between January and October 2024, most of them after Sánchez announced the scheme's cancellation. Although no official figures have been released since then, estimates from Spain's real estate sector suggest around 500 more visados de oro have been issued in the first three months of 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Spain
15 hours ago
- Local Spain
Spanish police enter ruling Socialist HQ in corruption probe
A police report released last week implicated Socialist heavyweight Santos Cerdán and ex-transport minister Jose Luis Ábalos in receiving kickbacks in the improper awarding of public contracts. In a ruling issued on Friday, a Supreme Court judge ordered the Civil Guard to clone the contents of Cerdán's work email account at the Socialist headquarters. The judge also requested information on Cerdán's bank accounts and wealth, summoning him to testify on June 30th, and instructed officers to clone Ábalos's email account at the transport ministry. The images of police entering Socialist headquarters are damaging for an administration that came to power in 2018 promising to clean up Spanish politics after the rival conservative Popular Party (PP) was convicted in its own graft affair. Cerdán has relinquished his powerful post as Socialist organisation secretary and as an MP. The party has definitively expelled Ábalos. The scandal has shaken the minority coalition with far-left formation Sumar and relations with an array of leftist and regional separatist parties the government depends on to pass legislation. Legal investigations are also underway against Sánchez's wife, brother and Socialist-appointed top prosecutor. But the Socialist premier, one of Europe's longest-serving leftist leaders, has rebuffed demands from the PP and far-right party Vox to resign and call early elections.
Local Spain
a day ago
- Local Spain
EU slams Spain for taxing non-residents on theoretical property earnings
The European Commission has said that it is "discriminatory" for Spain to tax non-resident foreigners on the value of their Spanish homes even if they don't earn income letting them out. According to Brussels, the non-resident tax rule violates the fundamental principles of the European Union, including the freedom of movement of workers and capital. The commission has demanded that the Spanish authorities modify their non-resident income tax (IRNR), specifically when it comes to real estate income. Spanish law states that non-fiscal residents have to pay tax of up to 2 percent of the cadastral value of their Spanish homes, even if they make any rental income from them. This 2 percent of the cadastral value would be 1.1 percent if the cadastral value has been revised within the last 10 years. The Spanish Treasury is essentially just charging non-residents a tax for theoretical income, even if they are not making any money from renting out their second home while not using it. However, this rule also affects Spanish residents who have a second home in Spain. For example, a Spanish fiscal resident who has their habitual residence in Barcelona but has a second home in Málaga would pay the aforementioned tax on the latter, even if they didn't make any money from it while not using it. Therefore, some commentators in Spain have said that the tax is not prejudicial at all for non-tax residents. An unfair tax for everyone perhaps, but not discriminatory towards non-residents or foreigners per se. The reason why Brussels may consider it discriminatory for non-residents with second homes in Spain is perhaps the fact that these people presumably pay any income tax derived from letting it out any of the properties they own in their own country of fiscal residence. There's also the fact that in most cases their Spanish home will be their habitual residence during the periods they spend in Spain, and in many cases their one and only Spanish property. The EU believes Hacienda's non-resident tax on theoretical earnings is incompatible with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). Specifically, the Commission invokes Articles 45 and 63 of the TFEU, which guarantees the free movement of workers and capital. It also cites Articles 28 and 40 of the EEA Agreement, which provide similar guarantees for countries in the extended economic area that are not part of the EU, such as Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. They argue that this tax could discourage non-EU citizens from investing or temporarily moving to Spain and creates a barrier to the freedom of movement. The Commission has urged Spanish authorities to correct the situation within a maximum of two months. If the EU find the response does not solve the problem though, they may consider starting further proceedings at the European Court of Justice. Whatever happens, it certainly indicates what could happen to the Spanish government's plans to introduce a 100 percent property tax on home buyers who reside outside of the EU, a proposed measure to help alleviate the current housing crisis. The so-called 'supertax' suggested by Spain's ruling Socialist party was officially presented in a draft proposal in the Congress in May. The text confirmed that the 100 percent would be applied to the taxable base or value of the property itself, not on the property transfer tax. This would effectively double the price of the property for these buyers. The document specified that it would be a 'State Complementary Tax on the Transfer of Real Estate to Non-Residents of the European Union'. This suggests that EU residency determines this extra property tax, rather than EU citizenship. Incredibly, if a Spanish citizen who lives in the UK wanted to buy a holiday home in Spain, they would be charged this 100 percent tax. In any case, this headline-grabbing 100 percent property tax would have to get approval in the Spanish Parliament, where Sánchez's PSOE have a weakened position, and there's every likelihood that Brussels could once again have the last word.
Local Spain
2 days ago
- Local Spain
LISTED: The new flights to and from Spain this summer
If you plan on travelling to or from Spain this summer, then you're in luck because many different airlines have launched new routes for the season, connecting cities throughout Spain with Europe and beyond. EUROPEAN DESTINATIONS Jerez to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds (UK) Jet2 has launched new routes between the Andalusian city of Jerez and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds in the UK, starting from this May up until October 31st 2025. Reus to Glasgow (UK) EasyJet launched a new route between the small Catalan town of Reus (where Antoni Gaudí was born), which started on June 2nd. Almería to London (UK) EasyJet added a new route to London Luton from the southern coastal city of Almería, starting from June 1st, with over 14,000 seats. Madrid to Manchester (UK) EasyJet is adding a new route between the Spanish capital and Manchester, operating from June 23rd with 20,000 seats. Ryanair is offering new routes to the Hungarian capital of Budapest and Krakow in Poland from Castellón in the region of Valencia. They will begin to operate from this summer with two weekly frequencies. Barcelona to Copenhagen (Denmark) Ryanair has launched a new service between the Catalan city of Barcelona and the Danish capital this summer. Seville to Baden Baden (Germany) and Rome (Italy) Irish budget airline Ryanair has launched its summer 2025 flight schedule with two new routes from Seville to Baden-Baden in Germany and Rome Fiumicino in Italy. Palma de Mallorca to Strasbourg (France) EasyJet started connecting the Mallorcan city of Palma with French city of Strasbourg on June 4th. Palma de Mallorca to Palermo (Italy) From June 23rd EasyJet it will open a new route between the capital of Mallorca and the city of Palermo on the Italian island of Sicily. Ibiza to Milan (Italy) EasyJet will fly between Ibiza and Milan-Linate from June 24th. WORLWIDE DESTINATIONS Bilbao to New York (US) United Airlines has launched a new route between the Basque city of Bilbao and New York. The inaugural flight landed on June 1st and more flights will continue throughout the summer. There will be three weekly flights from Bilbao on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 12:30pm, and from New York to Bilbao on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 9:15pm. Barcelona to Boston (US) Delta Airlines launched direct flights between Barcelona and Boston in May which will run throughout this summer with three weekly connections. Madrid to Boston (US) Another American airline, JetBlue, also launched a new Spain-US link in May with its flight between the Spanish capital and the East Coast city. Barcelona to Halifax (Canada) WestJet is launching a new seasonal direct route between Halifax and Barcelona, starting on June 27th. It will operate four times weekly until late September. This is first-ever direct connection between Atlantic Canada and Spain.
