Spain's golden visa has ended: what it means for buyers
Spain's golden visa ended on 3 April 2025. Who it affects, what happens to people who hold one, and the residence routes that remain for non-EU buyers.
What you will learn
- When and how the investor visa was abolished
- What happens to people who already hold one
- The residence routes still open to non-EU buyers
Spain's golden visa ended on 3 April 2025. Since that date a non-EU citizen can no longer obtain Spanish residence by buying property worth €500,000 or more. The change was made by Ley Orgánica 1/2025, a law mostly about the courts, which emptied the articles that created the residence visa for investors. Buying a house in Spain is still open to everyone. It simply no longer brings a residence permit with it.
What exactly ended
The investor visa was created in 2013 by the law supporting entrepreneurs, Ley 14/2013. It offered residence for a property purchase of at least €500,000 per applicant, free of charges on that amount, and also for large investments in Spanish public debt, shares, investment funds or bank deposits, or for a business project of general interest. All of those routes ended together: articles 63 to 67, which governed the investor visa and the investor residence permit, have had no content since 3 April 2025.
Who it affects, and people who already hold one
The change affects only nationals of countries outside the European Union. EU citizens, and others with equivalent free movement rights, were never covered by these rules, because they can live in Spain under free movement.
People who already held an investor visa or permit on 3 April 2025 keep it for the period for which it was issued. If they apply to renew it, the application is decided under the rules in force when the first permit was granted. Investors who had applied before 3 April 2025 could still receive the visa or permit under the rules in force on the day they applied.
After the Spain golden visa ended: the routes that remain
The end of the visa did not close Spain to non-EU buyers who want to live here. It removed the shortcut. The routes that remain depend on how you will live, not on what you buy.
Non-lucrative residence. For people who will live in Spain without working. Under the immigration regulation in force since 20 May 2025, the applicant must show means of at least 400% of the IPREM, a public income index set each year, per month for themselves, and 100% of the IPREM for each dependent family member, and must hold health insurance. You apply at the Spanish consulate where you live. The visa is not a work permit; the consulate in Manchester lists the documents, including insurance with a company authorised in Spain that covers the same risks as the public health system.
International telework, often called the digital nomad visa. For qualified people who work remotely for companies based outside Spain. Employees may work only for foreign companies; the self-employed may also work for Spanish clients, up to 20% of their activity. Applicants need a degree or at least three years of professional experience, a working relationship of at least three months with a company that has been active for at least a year, and income of at least 200% of the Spanish minimum wage. The visa lasts up to one year, after which a residence permit can be requested from within Spain. The Spanish consulate in New York explains the rules.
Work, business and family. The same 2013 law still offers residence routes for entrepreneurs, highly qualified professionals, researchers and staff moved within a company, and the general immigration rules cover employment, self-employment and family reunification. Each has its own requirements and none is tied to buying property.
Owning without living here. Many buyers do not need residence at all. A non-EU owner whose main home stays elsewhere can still buy, use the house for stays within the visit rules that apply to their nationality, and pay Spanish non-resident tax on it each year. Our guide to non-resident property tax in Spain explains that side.
None of these routes is automatic. A house can still be your home in Spain, but the permit depends on your income, your work and your health cover, not on the price you pay. Ask an independent immigration lawyer which route fits your case before you commit to a purchase timetable.
British buyers are now outside the EU and follow the same rules. Our guide to buying property in Spain after Brexit covers the 90 days in any 180 day period and the other practical points.
The practical order has changed: settle the residence route first, then plan the purchase around it. Once that is clear, we can help with the search and with the move itself through our relocation service, and the villas on the Costa Blanca North show what is on the market now.
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Written by Nicolas Strebel.