Spanish Golden Visa
On September 30th, 2013, Spanish Parliament passed an important new law that aims to promote new business schemes within an international reach. Law 14/2013 regulates how to gain a residence permit when investing in Spain, most likely through a property.
The Spanish Golden Visa allows Non-European citizen to obtain a permit to allow them “family residency”. This visa can be renewed every two years and after five years, the opportunity to gain a permanent residency in the country arises. Once you have achieved 10 years of citizenship, you no longer have to live in the country to retain and renew the Spanish Golden Visa, as you can apply for full-time citizenship.
Only certain types of investment qualify in these circumstances, these are:
(1) Real Estate investments to a minimum amount of 500,000.00 EUR (per person, excluding loans/mortgages).
(2) Investments in Spanish Public Debt or in Spanish companies. When investing in Spanish Public Debt, the minimum amount is 2,000,000.00 EUR; when investing in shares of Spanish Companies, the minimum amount is 1,000,000.00 EUR.
(3) Investment in Projects that could be deemed to be of public interest.
The original visa remains valid for one year and can be extended and renewed as residency every two years. The prerequisite for renewal is that the person is under the same conditions as when they first obtained the Spanish Golden Visa. They must have also travelled to Spain at least once during their first year of residency.
Applicants must be able to meet all other requirements that are needed to become a resident, such as holding public or private health insurance, having appropriate resources for themselves and their family as well as being able to show a clean criminal record.
In principle, the minimum real estate investment is €500,000 per person for a residence permit. However, in the case of a family, further investigation should be conducted to show that the head of the family is able to support the rest of their family (spouse and children under the age of 18) through a Sponsorship letter.
Purchase of real estate can be achieved through an investment company vehicle, providing the company is not incorporated in a tax haven jurisdiction. Also, the applicant for the residence permit holds voting majority rights. They are therefore entitled to appoint the majority of the members within the Board of Directors.
If you would like to find out more about the Spanish Golden Visa, you can get in touch by filling out our online form for a FREE consultation. You can also email us at clientservices@manzanareslawyers.com or call us on +34 952 59 50 42 (Alhaurin) or +34 952 82 41 12 (Marbella).
Spanish Golden Visa
General Requirements
The application for the Residence Visa must be submitted to the competent consulate of Spain in the country where the foreigner lives and the following general procedure will be needed:
- Investment in Spain and registration
- Preparation of application file
- Pre-check
- Consulate appointment (home country)
- Immigration Spain
- Spanish Police station
- Collection residence permit
