A few days ago, the Government announced that they intended to eliminate the Golden Visa, the residence permit for investors. What happens now?
Last week we woke up to sudden news: the Council of Ministers had a proposal to deliberate on, whether to eliminate the Golden Visa or residence permit for investment in Spain.
Since its introduction in 2013, this residence permit has been used by few people, compared to the large number of other permits applied for annually in Spain, and always carries with it an economic investment in Spain.
As stated by the council’s news portal, this proposal would be aimed at avoiding speculation in the real estate market, as one of the options for investors seeking the Golden Visa is to invest in properties in Spain worth more than 500,000 euros.
First reactions after the announcement.
Media and public opinion has quickly echoed the news, and we agree with this trend of thought: the data on residence permits for real estate investment over the last 11 years show that their use is negligible. Even if the government were to go ahead with this proposal and eliminate this residence permit, it would not bring about any significant change in the real estate market.
Of course, we are also subject to the decisions that will be taken in Madrid in the immigration sector, so we will have to be attentive to the next announcements.
What should we do now?
Recall that, despite the announcement, nothing has changed yet.
Until approved, permits remain valid and applications can be submitted. We should be aware of the content of the amendment, whether the elimination is complete, the effective date and whether any alternative is regulated.
In the event that the proposal to repeal this permit is approved, we will have to act quickly: all those who already have a permit will have to evaluate what possibilities they have to convert their residence permit to another one of the existing permits.
And for those who are waiting to make the investment to regularize their situation, we wish to convey a message of calm, since we can evaluate other options if this possibility is eliminated.
Sincerely yours,
Álvaro Porcar Abogados.
