This time, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Spain’s golden visa scheme will cease to exist in the coming weeks.
It’s been more than eight months since Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez initially announced that he would cancel the scheme that grants Spanish residency to non-EU nationals who purchase a €500,000 property in Spain (among other large investments).
The Spanish PM’s justification for scrapping the scheme was its alleged negative impact on the Spanish housing market, something property experts have called into question.
However, Sánchez’s Socialist government has struggled to find the legal means to get rid of the scheme since April.
Firstly, they planned to add it to their renewed Housing Law, but pulled out before it even went up for a vote given their weakened position in the Congress.
Then Spain’s left-wing coalition government decided to ‘slip it in’ to the unrelated Judicial Efficiency Law, a tactic which appeared to work as the golden visa cancellation was approved by the Congress in November.
Nevertheless, new legislation in Spain has to first go to the Senate before coming into force, and it was there where the opposition right-wing Popular Party, who introduced the golden visa over a decade ago, vetoed the scheme’s suspension in early December, sending it back to the Congress for the last time.
Finally, in what appears to be the last twist of events, the PSOE’s slim congressional majority meant that on December 19th the golden visa’s cancellation received the definitive green light in the lower house, with 177 votes in favour and 170 against.
For laws to come into effect in Spain, they must be published in the Official State Bulletin (BOE).
Prior to the veto in the Spanish Senate, it was expected that the golden visa would no longer be available to new applicants from January 2025.
Given this last-minute hiccup and the Christmas break up ahead, there is a possibility that this end date could be slightly delayed.
Spain will continue to allow golden visa seekers who have submitted their documents to apply for their visado de oro.
READ ALSO: Golden visa cancellation spells end of Spain's 'best' residency option
The scheme is not retroactive either, meaning that those who currently hold golden visas, as well as their direct family members, will be able to continue enjoying the benefits it brings.
A total of 573 golden visas have been issued to non-EU citizens since April 2024, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez first announced he would be scrapping this residency option, with the best option for high-income non-EU nationals now being either the non-lucrative visa or the digital nomad visa.
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