The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has announced the end of the ‘Golden Visa’, which allowed obtaining a residence permit through the purchase of homes valued at more than 500,000 euros.
“I want to announce that tomorrow’s Council of Ministers is going to study a report submitted by the Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda to modify the law, approved by the Popular Party in 2013, which allows obtaining a residence visa if you invest in housing in our country,” Sánchez said at an event in Dos Hermandas.
“We are going to start the procedure to eliminate the granting of the so-called ‘Golden Visa’, which allows access to the residence regime when more than half a million euros are invested in real estate,” Sánchez stressed. “We are going to take the necessary measures to guarantee that housing is a right and not a mere speculative business.”
A legacy from the Rajoy Government
The ‘Golden Visa’ concept is actually called ‘residence visa for investors’. It was approved in the summer of 2013 by the Government of Mariano Rajoy as a mechanism to attract foreign capital in the midst of the financial crisis.
The PP Government opened two doors to attract investors. On the one hand, through the purchase of properties, one or several, as long as they together exceed 500,000 euros. On the other hand, through the acquisition of more than 2 million euros in public debt securities; or more than one million euros in bank deposits or company shares. At the moment, the Government has not clarified whether this last option will be maintained.
After the invasion of Ukraine, brakes were already put in place, because the ‘Golden Visa’ for Russian citizens was limited. Other European countries that also opted for this vehicle, such as Portugal, have already decided to eliminate them in order to “combat real estate speculation”, as justified by the former Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa.
The Government estimates that there were 6,200 investor visas or ‘Golden visas’ issued between 2013 and 2022, which include residence permits for investors in capital, real estate and business projects. Of the more than 6,000 investor visas, nearly 20% correspond to Russian investors. The majority, 45%, have been issued to Chinese citizens; and 2.7%, to Ukrainians.
The Government assures that the majority of permits linked to the purchase of houses are focused on cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Alicante, Palma and Valencia. Areas where the rental market is stressed.
The elimination of the ‘Golden Visa’ for home purchases has been one of Sumar’s requests since the beginning of this legislature. Its spokesman, Ernest Urtasun, has assured after the announcement by the President of the Government that “it cannot be that someone, because they are a millionaire and making a real estate investment, is guaranteed a residence permit” and that this means identifying “that there are citizens of first and second.” “We are happy” that this measure is being implemented, Urtasun stressed.
Source: www.eldiario.es
