The Golden Visa

In 2013, the Spanish government launched a program to allow prospective residents to invest in the country in exchange for a permanent residency visa and an easier path to citizenship.

There are several options for how to qualify for this investor visa:

• A minimum 2 million euros sovereign debt purchase;
• Establishing a business that creates employment or post-graduate study;
• Property purchase with a minimum value of 500,000 euros. This can be one property or an accumulation of two or more less-expensive properties, but the initial 500,000 euros investment must be mortgage-free (although any portion over 500,000 euros may be funded via a mortgage). Purchase may be via a company if you can prove you are the majority shareholder.

This investor visa covers the legal spouse of the visa holder, civil and common law partners, dependent parents, and dependent children (including those over 18), to whom a two-year, renewable residency permit will be provided, allowing visa-free travel through the 26-country Schengen Area.

The 500,000 euro investment must be maintained in the country for the duration of your residency. The other basic requirements are the same as for the “regular” residency option (clean criminal record, health insurance, sufficient resources to support you and your family).

To initiate the process, you can apply in Spain for a six-month visa once a contract to purchase a property is signed and deposit funds are in a Spanish bank account. Thereafter, a five-year renewal is given and this can be done from outside Spain. The visa includes the right to work and the right to access social security and health care once employed.

No minimum stay in Spain is required during this period so it is possible to hold a residency visa and remain fiscally non-resident, although you may be asked to provide evidence of where you are actually resident.