Spain's golden visa has closed: the residence routes that remain

From 2013 Spain granted residence to non-EU investors who bought real estate worth at least EUR 500,000, invested EUR 1 million in Spanish shares, funds or bank deposits, acquired EUR 2 million of Spanish public debt, or developed a business project of general interest. The Twenty-First Final Provision of Organic Law 1/2025, published on 3 January 2025, deleted the investor articles of Law 14/2013 with effect from 3 April 2025. Applications filed before that date continue under the previous rules, and permits already granted may still be renewed, but no new investor residence can be obtained. Buying a home in Spain remains open to foreigners; it simply no longer leads to a permit.

For financially independent families the main remaining route is non-lucrative residence under Organic Law 4/2000 and its Implementing Regulation, Royal Decree 1155/2024, in force since 20 May 2025. The applicant must show monthly means of 400% of the IPREM index plus 100% for each family member, private health insurance with an insurer authorised in Spain, a clean criminal record and a medical certificate. The initial permit lasts one year from entry and renewals are granted for two years. Holders may not work in Spain, and renewal requires more than 183 days of real and effective residence in the calendar year. Other routes remain under Law 14/2013 for international remote workers, entrepreneurs and highly qualified professionals, each with its own conditions.

Moving to Spain usually means becoming tax resident. An individual is resident if present for more than 183 days in a calendar year or if Spain is the main centre of business or economic interests, and residents are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates. Wealth tax and the solidarity tax on large fortunes can also apply, with significant regional variations. Under Article 93 of the personal income tax law, qualifying impatriates who have not been Spanish resident in the previous five years can opt for a special regime for the year of arrival and the following five years, paying 24% on employment income up to EUR 600,000; since 2023 it is also available to remote workers and entrepreneurs. The regime needs careful planning because foreign investment income is treated differently from the general rules.

Non-lucrative residence can include the spouse or registered partner and minor children, each counted in the means test, and other relatives only on the narrower family-reunification grounds. After five years of continuous legal residence, holders can apply for long-term residence, which allows work. Spanish nationality by residence ordinarily requires ten years of legal, continuous residence immediately before the application, reduced to two years for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and to one year for spouses of Spanish citizens. Applicants must pass the DELE A2 Spanish exam and the CCSE civics test. Spain generally requires renunciation of the previous nationality, except for nationals of those privileged countries and under bilateral agreements such as the one with France.