Spain is scrapping the «golden visa» program

Foreign investors are granted expedited residence under the plan.

Ministers decided to stop granting the visa during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The visa is awarded in exchange for the purchase of real estate valued at at least €500,000.

The Mariano Rajoy conservative administration launched the visa program in 2013.

It was viewed as a means of drawing much-needed foreign investment in the aftermath of the eurozone crisis, which notably affected Spain’s real estate market.

Transparency International, an organization, claims that 6,200 visas were granted for real estate investment until 2023, however some sources place the figure much higher.

Transparency International reports that 2,712 recipients of Spain’s Golden Visa were Chinese, making up over half of the total.

With 1,159, Russians were the second most numerous awardees, followed by Iranians (203), Americans (179), and British nationals (177).

Additionally, residence was granted via the «golden visa» program in exchange for investments of at least €2 million (£1.7 million) in state bonds or in early-stage Spanish businesses.

According to him, the majority of visas granted were contingent upon the acquisition of real estate in locations like the Balearic Islands, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Alicante, and Málaga, all of which have extremely tight housing markets and make it nearly impossible for residents to find affordable housing.